A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones. A headstone, tombstone or gravestone is a marker normally carved from stone, placed over or next to the site of a Burial It may, or may not, be located near and administered by a church.
Since the mid-1800s, the term cemetery has become a more popular label for most burying grounds. A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried.
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Origins and class distinctions
Graveyards were usually established at the same time as the building of the relevant place of worship (which can date back to the 8th to 14th centuries) and were often used by those families who could not afford to be buried inside or beneath the place of worship itself. In most cultures those who were vastly rich, had important professions, were part of the nobility or were of any other high social status were usually buried in individual crypts inside or beneath the relevant place of worship with an indication of the name of the deceased, date of death and other biographical data. The term profession is applied to those persons who have specialized and technical skill or knowledge which they apply for a fee to certain tasks that ordinary and unqualified people cannot Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary (see Hereditary titles) or for a lifetime In Sociology or Anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in Society (one's Social position) In terms of European architecture a crypt (from the Latin crypta and the Greek κρυπτη, kryptē) is a stone chamber or A place of worship or house of worship is a building or other location where a group of people (a congregation) comes to perform acts of religious praise honour In Europe this was often accompanied with a depiction of their family coat of arms. A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people
Most of middle or low social status others were buried in graveyards around the relevant church again divided by social status. Families of the deceased who could afford the work of a stonemason had a headstone carved and set up over the place of burial with an indication of the name of the deceased, date of death and sometimes other biographical data. The craft of stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of Civilization - creating Buildings structures and Sculpture using stone from the earth A headstone, tombstone or gravestone is a marker normally carved from stone, placed over or next to the site of a Burial Usually, the more writing and symbols carved on the headstone, the more expensive it was. As with most other human property such as houses and means of transport, richer families used to compete for the artistic value of their family headstone in comparison to others around it, sometimes adding a statue (such as a weeping angel) on the top of the grave. Art refers to a diverse range of Human activities creations and expressions that are appealing to the Senses or Emotions of a human individual An angel is a Spiritual Supernatural being found in many Religions Although the nature of angels and the tasks given to them vary from tradition to tradition
Those who could not pay for a headstone at all usually had some religious symbol made from wood on the place of burial such as a Christian cross, however this would quickly deteriorate under the rain or snow. The Christian cross is the best-known Religious symbol of Christianity. Some families hired a blacksmith and had large crosses made from various metals put on the place of burial. blacksmith is a person who creates objects from Iron or Steel by Forging the Metal; i
Permission for burial
Not everyone could be buried in a local graveyard. Usually one of the following conditions had to met to obtain permission for burial:
- The deceased had to have been resident in the parish of the relevant place of worship attached to the graveyard, and have attended religious services as a member of the congregation. A parish is a Local church; it is an administrative unit typically found in episcopal or presbyterian churches This article refers to the religious act For the album by Michael W
- If the deceased person had been resident outside the parish or unexpectedly died elsewhere, then his or her remains could be only buried in the graveyard if he had been a member of the parish and congregation in the past.
- If the deceased was not a resident in the parish and never a member of the congregation, then his or her remains could be only buried in the graveyard if but had a close family relative interned in the graveyard and was to be placed inside the same tomb. For the New York prison see The Tombs. A Tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead.
- If the deceased was not a resident in the parish, never a member of the congregation and had no close relatives buried in the graveyard, but transport of the remains back to his original parish or place or residence were not possible (out of financial or practical reasons) then permission for burial could be granted.
- If the relevant parish or place of residence of the deceased could not be determined, permission for burial could be granted.
Graveyards replaced by cemeteries
Various conditions in the late 18th century and throughout the 19th century lead to the burial of the dead in graveyards being discontinued. Among the reasons for this were:
- A very sharp rise in the size of the population during the early stages of the Industrial Revolution
- Continued outbreaks of highly infectious diseases in towns and cities due to lack of public hygiene. The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture manufacturing and transportation had a profound effect on the An infectious disease is a clinically evident Disease resulting from the presence of Pathogenic microbial agents including Pathogenic viruses Pathogenic Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts and informed choices of society organisations Many graveyards in cities were located on land enclosed within the city walls. See also List of cities with defensive walls A defensive wall is a Fortification used to defend a city or settlement from potential aggressors
- Limits to, and lack of, space in graveyards for new headstones and dead bodies. A headstone, tombstone or gravestone is a marker normally carved from stone, placed over or next to the site of a Burial
As a consequence of these reasons, city authorities, national governments and places of worship all changed their regulations for burials. In many European states, burial in graveyards was outlawed altogether either by royal decrees or government legislation. A decree is an order made by a Head of state or government and having the force of Law. Legislation (or " Statutory law " is law which has been promulgated (or " Enacted quot by a Legislature or other Governing
In some cases, skeletons were exhumed from graveyards and moved into ossuaries or catacombs. In Biology, the skeleton is a strong and often a rigid framework that supports the body of an animal holding it upright and giving it shape and strength (Also skeletal The first Burial galleries to be referred to as catacombs lie beneath San Sebastiano fuori le mura, in Rome. A large action of this type occurred in 18th century Paris when human remains were transferred from graveyards all over the city to the Catacombs of Paris. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city The Catacombs of Paris or Catacombes de Paris are a famous underground ossuary in Paris, France.
However in most places across Europe completely new places of burial were established away from heavily populated areas and outside of old towns and city centers. Many new cemeteries became municipally-owned, and thus independent from churches and their churchyards, however even these were still segregated by the faith of the deceased to be buried there. A township (or Municipality) is a settlement which has the status and powers of a unit of local government
Thus cemeteries (certainly in their modern landscaped or garden cemetery form), rather than graveyards, became the principal place of burial for the deceased and continue to this day.
Burial in graveyards after the 19th century
Even as far as the 20th century, permission was granted to many small towns and villages to continue using their local graveyards for burials. Many of these places had very small populations with few deaths every year, and had a much better record of public hygiene. Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts and informed choices of society organisations Therefore they did not require the establishment of a new burial ground.
Present status
Thousands of graveyards still stand across the world today and are usually the place where the oldest graves of a community or part of a city can be found.
However, many churches, most notably in the United Kingdom, have sold their churchyards in part or in whole, with or without a graveyard still situated on it. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Also in many cases in the late 19th and 20th centuries, churches were forced to sell large portions of their churchyard in order for a road to be built or expanded. The loss of part (or all) of the churchyard, often also led to the removal and permanent loss of century-old graves and headstones. In some cases the human remains were exhumed and the gravestones transferred. Burial, also called interment and inhumation, is the act of placing a person or object into the ground A headstone, tombstone or gravestone is a marker normally carved from stone, placed over or next to the site of a Burial
In other cases, the churches themselves removed the headstones in the graveyards, to recreate a park-like environment on the churchyard or simply to facilitate the seasonal cutting and removal of grass or weeds. Grass is the common word that generally describes Monocotyledonous green Plants The family Gramineae ( Poaceae) are the "true grasses" and include WEED (1390 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Spanish format
A very small number of graveyards across the world are still being used for burials today.
Famous graveyards
References
See also
External links
- Outsider Graphics high quality graveyard photography
- Cemeteries of the World - Photoblog
- Graveyards of Illinois