Anointing In The Middle Ages

Anointing of oil has sometimes been understood as a spiritual aid and was joined with other sacramental acts in a larger process of ritual preparation for death. The same council that reminded bishops to perform the blessings of the oil on Holy Thursday passed the following decree concerning the treatment of the sick: "If anyone is borne down by sickness, he should not lack, through priestly negligence, either confession and the sacerdotal prayer or anointing with the sanctified oil. And finally if he sees the end near, the priest shall commend the Christian soul to the Lord his God in the sacerdotal manner with the reception of holy communion." In this text, confession and forgiveness of sins are clearly delineated from anointing and connections …show more content…
Popular belief was that the soul could rest only when the body has been laid in a proper grave. The period from the fifth to the tenth century the sarcophagi fell out of use and became very limited to the wealthy and prominent Christians in Roman society. By the Middle Ages sarcophagi were rarely used and were beyond the reach of the majority of Christian members. Likewise, catacombs and underground burial places were out of date during the eighth and ninth centuries, despite the importance of the art history of early Christianity. By the 9th century, most graves were in churchyards and linked closely to the …show more content…
The symbolism involved in the placement of the grave was a biblical teaching, but also because the head facing west symbolized the end of life. When old graves were disturbed, as was necessary after the churchyard was filled with graves, the old bones were put in the charnel house. Another common practice, particularly among the rich and powerful, was to remove on or more organs, usually the heart, to buried at the place of death. Sometimes monasteries demanded it, since many of the rich had died in