Course:History 344 Nasty Families/Cultural Topics/Death and Funerals

Death was a very familiar event, and was the extinction of the flame of life, the moment when most Christian believed the soul left the body. Mortality rates were high for people in all age groups, and people rarely died in isolation from their social environment. Many in Stuart England had seen death, and by age 30, most had lost at least one parent, spouse, or child. Death rates normally fluctuated around 25 per 1000, with mortality of 35 per 1000 or higher in the worst of seasons.

Death by sickness or old age typically happened at home. The family would notify the parish sexton, who would ring the parish bell to mark the impending death. If needed, the coroner was called in to inspect the body and make a report to the authorities. After death, the corpse would be washed, redressed, and wrapped with sprigs of rosemary in a cloth that covered the entire body. The wrapped corpse would then be laid out on a table so that friends and relatives could pay their respects and sit with the body. Embalming was only used by the wealthy, who needed to preserved the body long enough to make arrangements for an elaborate funeral.

In most cases, the body would be buried within a few days, before putrefaction would set in, and was most often buried on the same day the person had died. At the funeral, the parish bell was rung again, and the corpse was carried in to the churchyard, where the priest would perform the burial ritual. The corpse would be laid in a wooden coffin, on a temporary loan from the parish. Only the wealthy could afford coffins. The body was then laid in an unmarked grave in the yard on the south side of the church. Grave monuments were for those of high standing.

Family and friends observed a period of mourning that lasted up to a year, during which they wore black mourning attire.

The burial would be recorded in the parish register, and inventory was taken of the deceased goods, and if there was a will, the executor implemented it.