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Article NOTES UPON FUNERAL SOLEMNITIES. ← Page 2 of 4 →
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Notes Upon Funeral Solemnities.
and formalities of heraldry in marshalling the funeral obsequies of the rich and the noble . These last words may cause a sneer , and demand explanation . The costly ceremonies celebrated at these funerals were such as could be defrayed by the rich alone , and none but those of noble birth and goodly lineage cared to assume honours which by
law were restricted to properly qualified claimants . They belonged then exclusively to the " great ones of the earth , " to the feudal baron , the warrior knight , the high-born , and the territorialist . The poor man died and was buried without taper light or emblazoned scutcheon , with the green turf for his hearse cloth and the damp clay for his pall .
Such indeed was the case , but when the rich man Avas buried were the poor forgotten ? most assuredly not . In perusing various accounts of funerals of the fourteenth and
three following centuries , we find that almost without an exception ample provision was made upon these occasions for the less favoured brethren of the deceased . In some instances amidst the panoply of war , and the pomp of heraldry , the corpse was borne by poor men , poor men were among the mourners , and were sometimes the most sincere ,
for they lamented a benefactor and a friend , and to these poor men who in some cases were utterly destitute or afflicted by disease , food , money , and clothing Avere freely distributed . Nor were these alms given undeservedly or without discrimination , —in the houses of the rich and noble a special officer called an almoner was appointed for this
duty , and where an almoner was not retained , a superior domestic , or the minister of God assigned to each poor dependant the dole or funeral rations , which varied according to the indigence of the recipients , or the services performed by them for their departed lord and master .
But to return to the point of similarity between the funerals of the present day and those of the middle and subsequent ages , namely , the observance of the rules of heraldry and the presence of its accessories which may still be traced though in so mutilated a form almost to defy recognition .
The upholder * or undertaker is the representative of the herald , whose duty it is to uphold and proclaim the titles or dignity of the deceased , and to declare his achievements in arms . The duties of the dismal looking personages called
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Notes Upon Funeral Solemnities.
and formalities of heraldry in marshalling the funeral obsequies of the rich and the noble . These last words may cause a sneer , and demand explanation . The costly ceremonies celebrated at these funerals were such as could be defrayed by the rich alone , and none but those of noble birth and goodly lineage cared to assume honours which by
law were restricted to properly qualified claimants . They belonged then exclusively to the " great ones of the earth , " to the feudal baron , the warrior knight , the high-born , and the territorialist . The poor man died and was buried without taper light or emblazoned scutcheon , with the green turf for his hearse cloth and the damp clay for his pall .
Such indeed was the case , but when the rich man Avas buried were the poor forgotten ? most assuredly not . In perusing various accounts of funerals of the fourteenth and
three following centuries , we find that almost without an exception ample provision was made upon these occasions for the less favoured brethren of the deceased . In some instances amidst the panoply of war , and the pomp of heraldry , the corpse was borne by poor men , poor men were among the mourners , and were sometimes the most sincere ,
for they lamented a benefactor and a friend , and to these poor men who in some cases were utterly destitute or afflicted by disease , food , money , and clothing Avere freely distributed . Nor were these alms given undeservedly or without discrimination , —in the houses of the rich and noble a special officer called an almoner was appointed for this
duty , and where an almoner was not retained , a superior domestic , or the minister of God assigned to each poor dependant the dole or funeral rations , which varied according to the indigence of the recipients , or the services performed by them for their departed lord and master .
But to return to the point of similarity between the funerals of the present day and those of the middle and subsequent ages , namely , the observance of the rules of heraldry and the presence of its accessories which may still be traced though in so mutilated a form almost to defy recognition .
The upholder * or undertaker is the representative of the herald , whose duty it is to uphold and proclaim the titles or dignity of the deceased , and to declare his achievements in arms . The duties of the dismal looking personages called