Death messenger

For the fairy tale, see Death's Messengers. For the film, see Messenger of Death.

Death messengers, in former times, were those who were dispatched to spread the news that an inhabitant of their city or village had died. They were to wear unadorned black and go door to door with the message, "You are asked to attend the funeral of the departed __________ at (time, date, and place)." This was all they were allowed to say, and were to move on to the next house immediately after uttering the announcement.^[1] This tradition persisted in some areas to as late as the mid-19th century.

References

↑ Swenna Harger & Loren Lemmen, The County of Bentheim and her Emigrants to North America, 4th edition (Holland, MI: Swenna Harger, 1994), p. 7.

Death and related topics

Outline

In medicine

Lists

Mortality

After death

Body	Algor mortis Beating heart cadaver Bed burial Body donation Burial Burial at sea Chariot burial Coffin birth Cremation Cryonics Death erection Decomposition Disposal Embalming Excarnation Fossilization Gibbeting Jar burial Livor mortis Maceration Mummification Natural burial Pallor mortis Plastination Post-mortem interval Promession Putrefaction Resomation Rigor mortis Ship burial Skeletonization Sky burial Space burial Taxidermy

Other aspects	Afterlife Cemetery Consciousness Customs Death mask Eternal oblivion Examination Funeral Grief Intermediate state Mourning Obituary Resurrection Taboo on the dead Vigil

Paranormal

Legal

Fields

Other

Category
Portal
WikiProject

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, August 24, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.

Death messenger

See also

References