412 BuoniCattolici
off odors. A cross was placed at the head, again to protect against demons.^207
The presiding priest then said a final prayer, and the clerics returned to the
church, following the cross. In Siena, they assembled outside the choir and
recited a commendation of the dead, at least if the deceased had been a
priest.^208 The bereaved stayed on a while at the grave, saying their Paters
and Aves and so commending the departed soul to God in lay fashion. Con-
fraternities required such graveside suffrages; the common formula was ten
repetitions each of the Pater and Ave.^209 In Verona, after deposition, the
mourners accompanied the clerical procession to the church, where the
clergy chanted seven psalms for them and the priest pronounced a final
collect.^210 Elsewhere the family went straightaway to the house after the
burial.^211 If the deceased was a married man, his widow traditionally led this
procession, escorted by her mourning companions, numbering at Florence
as many as ten men and six women. Before her, one companion carried a
lighted candle of at least six pounds.^212
After the deposition, the time of the main meal, midday, was nigh. Those
who gathered at the house expected a funeral dinner with, at least, a gener-
ous supply of bread, wine, and ‘‘other side dishes.’’^213 Wine flowed freely. At
Parma, wine merchants used to show up at the very graveside to peddle their
wares—the city tried to stop that.^214 But no one stopped vendors from mak-
ing deliveries to the house. Tradition dictated that the pallbearers and the
criers who had announced the funeral receive a special meal with plenty to
drink; societies provided for them in their statutes.^215 All who attended the
funeral expected to take part in the banquet and festivities. A widow presided
over her husband’s funeral dinner, which provided a rare opportunity for
gathering her female relatives and friends. By putting on a good meal, the
family showed their appreciation to the neighbors and friends who had been
with them in their time of grief. The wealthy, or would-be wealthy, had
another chance to display their resources. So the later communes enacted
sumptuary legislation, restricting funeral dinners to the immediate family.
Siena excluded women beyond three degrees of relation to the deceased.^216
- On these practices, see Sicardo,Mitrale, 9. 50 , col. 428 ;Ordo Senensis, 2. 98 ,p. 504 ;Rituale di Hugo
[di Volterra], 318 (which also provides for a Mass at the grave); Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale,
msConv. Soppr. D. 8. 2851 , fols. 26 v– 28 r.
208 .Ordo Senensis, 2. 100 ,p. 506. - E.g., ‘‘Statuto dei Disciplinati di Bologna’’ ( 1260 ), 19 , Meersseman,Ordo, 1 : 486 ; ‘‘Statuto dei
Disciplinati di Vicenza’’ ( 1263 ), 21 , ibid., 1 : 487. Piacenza Battuti Stat. ( 1317 ), 65 , prescribes twelve Paters
and Aves. - Verona, Biblioteca Capitolare,ms mcix, fol. 56 v.
- As we know from statutes, e.g.: Bol. Pop. Stat., 1 (Toschi, 1256 ,c. 38 ), 104.
- Florence Stat.i( 1322 ), 5. 10 , pp. 225 – 26.
- Lucca Stat. ( 1308 ), 1. 12 ,p. 17.
- Parma Stat.iii( 1316 ), 269 – 70.
- E.g., Bol. Pop. Stat., 2 (Formaggiari, 1242 , cc. 3 – 4 ), 166 – 67.
- Siena Stat.ii( 1310 ), 5. 214 , 2 : 322. For other attempts to limit funeral banquets, see Bologna Stat.
ii( 1288 ), 4. 91 , 1 : 246 ; Lucca Stat. ( 1308 ), 1. 11 ,p. 15 ; Siena Stat.ii( 1310 ), 5. 207 , 2 : 320 ; Modena Stat. ( 1327 ), - 172 , pp. 475.