Introduction to the Hearse
The History of the Hearse: A Journey Through Time
An Introduction to the Hearse
The word ‘hearse’ comes from the french word ‘herse’ meaning ‘to spread a pall over,’ and with respect to the word, a hearse can be defined as a conveyance that facilitates the transport of the dead from one place to another, and most commonly, to a burial site. Turning back the pages of the history, it is interesting to witness how the concept of a hearse originated. The first ever use of a hearse dates back to the Roman Empire where doing so was both a and a social norm. Even though the architecture has evolved, our social understanding of these symbols and customs have not. The origins of a hearse goes back to antiquity where the need to transporting bodies through primitive forms of carts was saw and hence the invention of a hearse. Just like any industrial society would tell you, the more evolved a society is, the more is the need for vehicles associated with it. Over time and with industrial revolution taking place over the years, the use of motorized vehicles serving the same purpose began replacing carriages.
It has always been a social norm across societies across cultures, that the dead are always treated and buried with all due respect. The significance of a hearing comes down to tradition, cultures and long standing rituals and practices which explore and explain overwhelming human emotions like mourning. In ancient societies, the outlook towards death and the process surrounding it was very different than modern society. The horse drawn carriages that spurred a revolution paved an emphasis on how important a last rite is. History goes to show that the honoring of a deceased body was, bare minimum, a societal expectation as opposed to an exception. There are accounts which reference long spectacular processions which surrounded the community and then the body, marking the beginning of the processes of burial. Such elaborate carriages not only served the purpose of fulfilling societal norms, but they were a depiction of the a calm and important final goodbye too. Hence a great deal of change and development has been noticeable in the way life and change have intertwined.
Across various cultures, the term hearse has different meanings attached to it. To put it differently, in some cultures recovering the remains of an individual is looked as combating the individual’s final journey and the hearse has always been perceived as the mode of transport to take the individual back to the heavens – an aspect that explains the embellishment of the hearse in some societies whose objectives are to encapsulate the personality or wealth of the deceased. Hearing this this will be strange but the truth is hearses have transformed over the years some of them are westernized, and some still retain their traditional outlook which families choose based on what they like. But there were still elements in it that did not change; the major one being the part of the hearse that transported the body of the deceased while enabling members of the family to remember the deceased as the last moment of the person’s life fades away completely. It’s with the use of the hearse that enables the act of celebrating the life of the deceased and saying am honored farewell to the individual in the most respectful way.
Origem do carrinho de funerária: e das procissões fúnebres
A história dos carros de funerária da comecei por civilizações em que o transporte do falecido era uma prático além de um ceremonial, o que por sua vez, originou o carrinho de funerária. Os primeiros carro de funeraria eram, na maioria das vezes, simples carroças ou arcos utilizados para o transporte do falecido. Cada povo tinha uma maneira de desfilar para tais funerais, revelando suas ideias a respeito da morte e da vida após a morte. Por exemplo, no caso dos egípcios, os faraós eram transportados em suas carruagens, as quais eram bastante ornamentadas com símbolos de divindade e poder.
Com o passar dos anos, assim como a cultura e civilização, os rituais fúnebres também sofreram alterações. Os gregos e romanos apresentaram práticas semelhantes, utilizando carinhas rompantes a viam de acordo com a posição social do morto. Um grande grupo de conhecidos sempre encaminha a defunto e ao destroço, o que retira na verdade o sentido do luto e se concentra no ritual da morte. Tal morte se tornou uma maciça referência para as relações sociais e culturais.
As the Middle Ages emerged, the idea of the hearse began to change considerably. The church became more involved in providing funerary services, as a result there was a more organized method in which funeral processions were conducted during this time. The hursecarts that were used started to become more adorned with religious beliefs which highlighted the importance of the person who had died. Also, this period saw the beginning of the day when the black hearse was used, which was a clear sign of mourning and this made it easy for families to express their sorrow without interfering with social norms.
This period stood out unique to the history of hearses as it rolled out the first signs of elaborate mausoleums and other bracarias after just hurn carts. This change shows how funeral processions have maintained their importance in various cultures and ages underscoring the core relationship human beings have maintained with death and mourning.
Image Result for History of hearse making The image of course of horse drawn and later automobile era. The hurn cart came a long way and many things changed. It has been a journey indeed and a rather interesting one to say the least. Its transformation though has at every stage raised eyebrows and evoked strong reactions among the professionals that designed them.
In terms of technology and manufacturing, each time the manner and perspective from which reverence and mourning towards the dead is looked up has completely changed. In the beginning, a shell or very basic structure abounded which served only the purpose of transporting the lifeless wax models from one place to another. Function over beauty is in fact how these basic designs can be described best.
In adjusting the time scales especially during the 18th and 19th centuries, the designs of funeral vehicles developed and changed quite a lot. Horse-drawn-carriages set a trend to a more dignified and sophisticated look. There started to be skilled wood craftsmen who created a variety of features such as mahogany and walnut woods and ornamental features like gold leaf or velvet trimming. This time period concentrated on the hearse being thought of as a sophisticated vehicle and many times employed to wealthy families with fine carvings and various parts that corresponded with the period’s rituals of mourning.
Massive enthusiasm for stylistic experimentation in the design of funeral cars was especially characteristic of the Victorian period. The embellishments during this era called for heavy gothic revival style with pointed arches adding, and beautiful designs of lace that were common in other forms of architecture. Also, by the end of the nineteenth century, the industrial means made it possible to produce a large number of hearses that met the changing style requirements, which made it possible to not only serve their functional purpose.
An important shift occurred in the early 20th century, where the use of motorized hearses replaced horse-drawn carriages. This new approach to construction leveled in hand skills designs with cuting edge mechanics by using metal and glass artifacts to mold hopeful carriages. The designed of the hearse today seems to cover all the needs as modernization, civilization and the attitude toward the religion and bury changing. Nowadays you can find a big collection of hearses from historical reproductions to modern day hearses of different engaging and ethnic groups.
The Industrial Revolution and Development of the Hearse
The Industrial Revolution from the end of the eighteenth century to the thirteen centuries mid was resound for many bullets, the hearses making industry included. The drastic Changes from Craft to techonogical production in the time surely stamped in improvement of vehicles which in this case was limited to vehicles that were used for carrying the corpse. Steam power which was relatively new and modern methods of manufacture as that greatly aided the change over of hearsescarts from just being slaved items used during burial services to functional works of art.
The period preceding the Industrial Revolution was marked by knows as hand crafted burial carts or hearses. That means that these carts were built for each family with the desires as well as the financial capabilities of the family being considered. Each cart was unique envisioning a lot of time into the production process that resulted in the final cost being very expensive for the family that was mourning as well. Now, around that time, the need for hearses began to increase in demand which later the mass production came to the industry and ever since the economy started to boom, funerals homes started to grow rapidly around the nation, and with that, there was also a rise in demand for certain features.
The latter part of the 19th century saw a new invention that indeed played a quite essential role in the hearses industry and that is gasoline powered hearses. The hearses powered by gas changed the entire funeral transportation solutions and progress of the family between the strategic locations such as converting home to burial ground became easier. What is remarkable in this entire scenario is the changing environment and attitude of a society towards death, as with the rapid grown of the population in cities, with every passing day there were more and more people that required funeral services. It will always remain astonishing to note the shift in population sentiment and their focus on grave death, the appreciation of motorized services was indeed through the roof.
The advancement of motorized hearses also facilitated the funeral business for funeral directors by adding features such as temperature control, better seating, and more space for flowers. This change demonstrated very well that the Industrial Revolution was not only the changing of the tools of the trade but rather the evolution of the whole funeral service and creation of forms that have already been changed greatly and are still mostly in use in the society today.
Hearing Variations in Uses across Cultures
Hearse, which is a custom made vehicle used for conveying corpses, is a vehicle that carries different cultural practices based on societies’ approach towards death. Hearses have indeed been a witnessed phenomenon in many cultures albeit their use is sometimes associated with unique practices, designs and rituals that are often intertwined with the history of that people. For example, in the Western cultures, the general appearance of hearses is quite plain for the most part black in color meaning that there is grieving or respect for the dead person. An example of this is that centuries ago, there was the use of horse-drawn hearses which has now developed to todays commonplace use of motorized hearses.
