BURIAL. 



fiinfral ceremonies three feveral epnclis. (Worm. Mon. 

 Dan. p. ^o.) The lirrl, whicli was the fame with that 

 in qnc'.Uon, was called Rnifolci and Brcntel'ijile, or the age of 

 burning. Tlie fecond, vas itylcd Hoigoldy and Hoicljetijdd, 

 or the age of tnmuh or hilioeks. Tlie corpfe at this period 

 was placed entire, with all the ornaments which graced 

 it dnring life. The bracelets, or arms, and even the horfe 

 of the departed hero were placed beneath the heap. Money, 

 and all the rich property of the deceafed, nfed to be buried 

 ■with him, from the perfnafion that the fonl was immortal 

 (Pomp. Mela. I. iii. c. 2.) and would Hand in need of thelc 

 things in the other life. 



Among the northern nations, when pimcy was efteemed 

 honourable, thefe ilhiltrions robbers direfted that all their 

 rich plunder (hould be depolitcd witli their remains, (Bar- 

 tholinui Antiq. Dan. 4.;8. ) in cn'dcr to itimuhite their o(f- 

 fpring to fiipport themklvts, and the glory of their name 

 by deeds of arms. Hence it is we hear of the vail riches 

 difcovered in fepulchres, and of the frequent violation of 

 the remains of the dead, in expeclation of treaiureo, even 

 for centuries after this cuftom had ceafed. The third age 

 was called CbriJIendoms-ohl, when the introduftion of Chrif- ' 

 tianity- put a ftop to the former cultoms. 



From the remarks of the writers who have been already 

 cited, we learn that the cullom of burning, among the 

 feveral nations, ceafed with paganifni. It therefore fell firll 

 into difufe with the Britons ; for it was for fome time 

 rttained by the Saxons after their conqneft of this kingdom ; 

 but was left off on their receiving the light of the gofpel. 

 The Danes retained the cnilom of urn-burial the lall of any : 

 for of all the northern nations who had any footing in thefe 

 kingdoms, they vverethe latell who embraced the doftrines 

 of Chriftianity. 



With regard to the barrows or tnmnli, fo freqnent through 

 the country, we have no good criterion by which a correct 

 judgment may be made of the people to whom the different 

 fpecies belong : whether they are Britifh, Roman, Saxon, 

 or Danifh. Some of them coniill of heaps of naked Hones, 

 fuch as thofe in the ifle of Arran ; in many parts of Scot- 

 land ; and in fome parts of Cornwall. Others are conipofed 

 with ftones and earth, nicelv covered with earth and fod. 

 And they were fometimes of earth only. The fize of the 

 tumulus ufually marked the quality of the perfon : and 

 the earth and fods which were fcimmed and paired from the 

 furface round it, were lightly heaped up, and conferred 

 on the deceafed the lad good wilh, 3';V t'ib'i terra levis. The 

 generality of thefe were round; but others were conical; 

 and fome, as on the plains of Wiltflrire and at RoUwright, 

 of an oblong form. Finally, other places of ancient fepul- 

 ture confifted only of a flat area, encompad'ed like the 

 druidical circles, with upright ftones ; and fuch were thofe 

 of Ubbo, and of king Harald in Sweden. (Suecia Antiqua 

 and Hodierna, tab. 315.) 



The urns are alfo found placed in different manners, 

 with the mouth refting downwards upon a flat ftone, fecured 

 by another above ; or with the mouth upwards, guarded in 

 a like way. 



Very frequently the urns are difcovered lodged in a fquare 

 cell compofed of flags ; and fo:netimes more than one of 

 thefe cells arc found beneath a earn or tumulus. Mr. Pennant 

 even met with no fewer than feventeen, near Dupplin in 

 Perthlhire, difpofed in a regular form. The urns found in 

 thefe cells are ufually furrounded with the fragments of bones 

 that had refifted the fire ; for th^- friends of the deceafed 

 were particularly careful to colleft every particle ; which 

 they placed, with the remains of the chdrcoal, about the 



urns, thinking the negleA of it the utmoft impiety. (Pennant'* 

 Tour in Wales, loc. cit.J 



The intruduelion of Chriftianity made a great alteration 

 in the mode of burying the dead. Cremation ceafed. Tlie 

 believing Romans betook themfelvt-. to the ufe of fircopha^i. 

 The Romanized and coiivtitcd Britons would naturally 

 do the fame. The Saxons as the fncceffors of the Britons 

 inclined from the very firll to adopt their prafliccs. And 

 after the arrival of St. Aullin in 59'^, and the confequent 

 converfion of the nation, c^ fiins, as well as the mok- of 

 placing the body to the call, univerfaily took plice. The 

 oldeft inftancc of a coffin that we know of in the Saxon 

 times, was that of Etheldreda in 61^5 (Sep. Mon. I. xxvii.) ; 

 and from this time downward, ftoiit. coffins have been ce.n- 

 tinnaHy difcovered in every part of England. They may 

 be regularly traced among us from the ninth century to the 

 reign of Henry HI.: anil in fome cafes to that of Henry 

 VIII. (Gent. Mag. 1-59. p. G6.) 



In the Norman times it was the cuftom to bury monks 

 in the bare ground. Warin, the twertieth abbot of St. 

 Albans, in 1195, ordered that they ftiould be buried in 

 ftone coffins as more decent. (Matt. Paris, vii. ab. Albani 

 P-950 



Among the primitive Chriftians burying in cities was not 

 allowed for the firft 300 years, nor in churches for many 

 ages after; the dead bodies being firft depofited in the 

 atrium or church-yard, and porches, and porticoes of the 

 church. On the introduftion of Chrilljanity into this 

 country, a regular form of difpofing of the dead'bcdics took 

 place. The altjir in the firft Chriftian balihc was placed in the 

 eaft of it, under a window, to receive the firft advantarre of 

 light, or in conformity with what is faid of our Lord's 

 afcenlion. The people for greater regularity in worftiip 

 were taught to look towards the altar; and the dead for 

 a fimilar reafon, were buried with their faces the fame way ; 

 except the priefts who were ordered by the fame authority 

 to face the congregation. The reafon alleged by Gregory 

 the Great for burying in churches or in places adjcinin<r 

 to them, was that tlnrir relations and friends, remembering 

 thofe whofe fepulchres they beheld, might hereby be led to 

 offer up prayers for them. Hence too that ftriking and 

 folemn addiefs which marked the epitaphs of the monkifll 

 ages : Orate pro atiima nujerrimi peccatoris. Gregory's reafon 

 was afterwards transferred into the body of the canon law. 

 To this fuperllition and the profit arifing from it, we may 

 afcribe the original of church-yards. In the eighth century,. 

 the people began to be admitted into them, and fome 

 princes, founders, and biftiops, into the church. The praftice,. 

 firft introduced into the Romiih church by Gregory the 

 Great, was brought over here by Cuthbert, archbiftiop of 

 Canterbury, about the year 750 : and the practice of erect- 

 ing vaults in chancels and under the altars was begun 

 by Lanfranc, archbiftiop of Canterbury, when he h.'.d 

 rebuilt the cathedral there, about 1075. From that time 

 the matter feems to have been left to the difcretiou of the 

 bifhop. 



It was remarked to the writer o£ the prefent article by a 

 learned antiquary, who is now no more, that in ancient 

 times in this, and perhaps in other countries, then Roman 

 Catholic, interment was never praftifed on the north fide of 

 th; church. An opinion prevails that it was left for ma- 

 lefaftors, for the unbaptized, for fuicides, and for fuch 

 as had incurred the greater cenfure of the church : and 

 common obfervation will confirm the fadt. at the prefent 

 moment, that many more graves occur on the fouth than on 

 the north fides of our churches. An extradt from a letter 



of 



