Tudor England

In Tudor England, life expectancy was extremely short, with a quarter of children dying before they reached the age of 5 and 40% never reaching 16. You were considered elderly if you reached your 50s or 60s, and very few people lived into their 70s. The general life expectancy was between 35 and 48, and disease was the most common cause of death.

Because death was constantly on the minds of those in the Tudor age, religion was essential. Heaven and Hell were places you went to if you were good or wicked, with most people trying to cut down their time in Purgatory by atoning for sins while still alive. You could also have others pray for you, which is why the rich would often give money and gifts to the church so the priests could pray for their souls.

When a person died, no more than 3 days would pass between the passing and the burial. Those who died of infectious diseases, however, would be buried right away. The rich and royalty would often be embalmed so they could lie in state, giving people the opportunity to pay their respects. In most cases, after death, the body would be washed, wrapped in a shroud with herbs and flowers, and kept in the home until the time of burial. Usually only the rich would be buried in coffins; poor people were carried to the church in a coffin, but they were buried in their shroud. The same applied to headstones; only the wealthy had them.

If the deceased was a prominent member of society, the funeral procession would parade through the streets. The size of the procession and the number of people involved would be seen as a measure of the deceased’s status.

Everyone wanted to be buried as close to the church as possible; it was believed that the closer you were to the church, the better afterlife you had.

Picture is a depiction of the funeral procession of Philippe le Bel.

Source:

www.hrp.org.uk