The treatment of mortal remains in lands of Murcia during the reigns of Charles III and Charles IV

Abstract

Using as main source testaments issued in Murcia and Cartagena during the reigns of Charles III and Charles IV, we analyze what the usual treatment given to the dead body, from the certification of death until burial, as well as the variants that began to take place for health and theological questions. Religious doctrine emphasized the importance of attending to the spiritual part at the expense of material, both the daily pass as in the embodiment of the will, considered safe passage for the salvation of the soul. For this reason, much importance is attached to the rituals around the body, once it had fallen from its earthly bonds.