TILE EARLY CHRISTIANS. Christianity abol ished cremation. The belief in the resurrection of the body made inhumation preferable. Em balming was not practiced, except occasionally. though spices and unguents were used to retard decay. Several of the Roman burial customs survived in certain regions until the _Middle Ages, such as the placing of a small coin (obo Ins) in the mouth and the use of charms. The use of separate tombs was abandoned in favor of cemeteries. These were either subterranean—a class popularly called catacombs (q.v.)—or above ground (sub dio). The catacombs could be used only where the sub-soil contained strata of rather soft, friable rock, like tufa. They consisted of narrow galleries cut in the solid rock, in which the side walls were honeycombed with rows of marrow niches just long enough and deep enough to receive the body or bodies, the opening being then closed with a slab on which the name of the deceased was usually inscribed. The more distin guished persons were buried in chambers opening out of these passages in marble sarcophagi, often carved, or in table tombs under arched tops. With the close of the era of persecution in the Fourth Century, these subterranean cemeteries, were discontinued. and as all the burial cere monies were in the hands of the clergy. it became 'natural to attach the cemeteries, wherever pos sible, to the churches, especially to suburban churches. Often there were built parallel brick walls with rows of shelves for the bodies. There were no sepulchral chambers, but the bodies were laid in regular rows of trenehes, sometimes merely excavated, sometimes constructed of brick or stone work, while at other times the trenches contained plain sarcophagi of different materials. This custom has continued with hut. one impo• tant variation, the introduction during the Mid dle Ages of the custom of burying within the church itself, and in the cloisters attached to it. This led to the use of magnificent sepulchral monuments, which became an important part of church ornament. Each monastery also buried its members in a cemetery attached to its elinrch. Often the space under the pavement of churches scums honeycombed with tombs, frequently marked by sepulchral slabs. Certain ehurches, such as Westminster Abbey and Saint Denis, became national funerary Halls of Fame. There were also, from an early date, special sepulchral chap els and oratories for saints, martyrs, and other personages.
The Northern nations, such as the C;oths, pre served after their conversion sonic of their old funeral customs. such as the burial of arms,
jewelry, and other objects of value in great numbers with the deceased. As a rule, however, the ancient custom of burying articles of value in the tomb gradually ceased during the poverty of the early Middle Ages, and was never revived. The ceremonial connected with Christian burial is a regular part of the liturgy of the different branches and denominations, and took definite form at an early date. (See LITURGY.) While at first the dead were buried at the cost of the Church, after the Fourth Century this was done only for the poor. The eyes and mouth were closed by the nearest relative, the body washed and anointed--a custom which became obsolete after the Tenth Century. The ointments used were for partial preservation of the body. The body was then closely swathed in white linen and bound. Very soon the custom was intro (bleed, especially in the case of the clergy and the nobility, of burying in the richest vestments, and the finest examples of early stuffs have been found in tombs. After the exposure of the body in the house—usually in an upper or inner cham ber—the bishop, with his clergy, visited the house. recited prayers, and sprinkled it with holy water; and the ceremony included a eulogium of the deceased, which was often pronounced in the church. Most of these early customs have survived.
For further information as to burial rites, see MAN. paragraph Sophiology; MORTUARY CUS Toms. See also CEMETERY LAWS; CORPSE.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. Maspero, The bairn of CiviliBibliography. Maspero, The bairn of Civili- zation (Eng. trans., New York, 1894) ; Wilkinson, _Thinners and Customs of the Anrient Egyptians, Vol. Ill. (New York, IS79) ; flub] and honer, Life of the //reeks and Romans (Eng. trans., New York, IS/T) ; Wagner, "Death and Burial," in Manners, Customs. and Observances (London, IS95) ; Ilasenelever, Dc• altchristliche Graber sch rick ( Brunswick, ; Vueasovie, "Fu neral Customs and Rites Among the Southern Slays in Ancient and Modern in :trehires of the International Folk-Lore .tssociation (Chi cago. IS9S) ; Preuss, Ufr Bcgrabnissarten der .1 merikaner mid eVordasiaten ( Kiln igsberg, 1S94) ; Yarrow, "Mortuary Customs of North American indbills," first Smithsonian Report, Bureau of Ethnology (Washington, 18S1 ) ; Walker, authvrings from GraJ.c.nords, Particu larly Those of London (London, 1839) ; Wickes, Ncp urc: / ts Methods and Requisites (Phila delphia, ISS4 ) ; Brand, Popular Antiquities (London, 1877).