In each culture and historical moment, the different societies have lived death in a different way In some places there has been and there is a true cult and in others it hides to ward off the suffering it produces. In past ages, superstition and fear of the afterlife and the souls that could not rest had to follow some rituals that today seem ridiculous. In Supercurioso we saw 5 victorian funeral preparations that make death look like a show and this time we want to approach an element of medieval origin related to cemeteries: the Doors of the Resurrection. Here you have 10 Curiosities of the Lychgates. Discover them!
In medieval England, specific laws on burials existed for centuries as they represented an entrance of money for parishes. Nobody could be buried outside the cemeteries marked for that purpose without special permission and it was obligatory to transfer the bodies of the deceased to their final resting place. This was done through the terrifying Paths of the Dead and with them are also related Doors of the Resurrection.
10 Curiosities of the Gates of the Resurrection
1. The Doors of the Resurrection they are portals covered with a small roof that we can find at the entrance of traditional English cemeteries. The ancient ways of the dead usually ended in a Gate of the Resurrection.
2. The English name of these constructions is R resurrection gate or Lychgate . Lych in Old English (Saxon) means "corpse".
3. These doors had a special meaning and that is that they were the point at which the deceased was considered to enter the "beyond". The lychgates marked the separation between the mundane and the spiritual, and this was something very evident and important for the medieval ones, for that reason a lot of attention was paid to these entrances that are sometimes carved and decorated. After crossing that threshold, the deceased were left waiting for the resurrection.
4. These constructions were located at the entrance of the old cemeteries and served, in addition to their spiritual function, to guard the corpse until the burial proceeded one or two days later.
5. The Doors of the Resurrection they used to have seats so that corpse guards could guard them and keep them safe from body thieves .
6. It was normal for the priest to do the first part of the funeral under the Door of the Resurrection.
7. The bodies, for centuries, were not buried in coffins, but were simply wrapped in shrouds and Resurrection doors they protected them from the inclemencies of time. In some places they even had the shape of houses.
8. In Sweden there are also Doors of the Resurrection and how cemeteries used to be on church grounds marked the point at which a fugitive from secular justice could avail himself of the protection of the Church on sacred ground.
9. Many of the Swedish lychgates were built on two levels so that the animals could not access the cemetery.
10. In some Doors of the Resurrection there are large flat stones on which the corpse was placed so that it did not touch the ground directly. The superstition said that this prevented him from being contaminated or prevented the spirit of the deceased from escaping and returning to the place where he had died to annoy the living.
Did you know the existence of Doors of the Resurrection ? Is there something similar in the cemeteries of your country? If you want to know more curious things about the graveyards, we invite you to read:
- 15 Awesome Ancient Cemeteries | Peace and restlessness at the same time
- 15 Abandoned cemeteries of the world | Not everyone dares to enter
- 10 Cases of ghosts in the cemetery | Unsettling anecdotes