Funerary texts or funerary literature feature in many belief systems. Its purpose is usually to provide guidance to the newly deceased or the soon-to-be-deceased about how to survive and prosper in the afterlife.

Antiquity

The most famous example of funerary literature is that of the ancient Egyptians, whose ''

Book of the Dead The ''Book of the Dead'' ( egy, 𓂋𓏤𓈒𓈒𓈒𓏌𓏤𓉐𓂋𓏏𓂻𓅓𓉔𓂋𓅱𓇳𓏤, ''rw n(y)w prt m hrw(w)'') is an ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom ...

'' was buried with the deceased to guide him or her through the various trials that would be encountered before being allowed into the afterlife. The ''Book of the Dead'' followed a tradition of Egyptian funerary literature that dated back as far as the 26th century BC. Similar practices were followed by followers of the cult of

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to ...

, who lived in southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

in the 6th–1st century BC. Their dead were buried with gold plates or laminae on which were inscribed directions about the afterlife. In

Mandaeism Mandaeism ( Classical Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ ; Arabic: المندائيّة ), sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnostic, monotheistic and ethnic religion. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam, Ab ...

, the ''

Left Ginza The Left Ginza is one of the two parts of the Ginza Rabba, the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The other part of the Ginza Rabba is the Right Ginza. Summaries of each book (or tractate), based mostly on Häberl (200 ...

'' and parts of the ''

Qolasta The Qolastā, Qulasta, or Qolusta ( myz, ࡒࡅࡋࡀࡎࡕࡀ; mid, Qōlutā, script=Latn) is the canonical prayer book of the Mandaeans, a Gnostic ethnoreligious group from Iraq and Iran. The Mandaic word ''qolastā'' means "collection". The ...

'' serve as funerary texts.

Medieval

Tibetan Buddhists Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

still make use of the ''

Bardo Thodol The ''Bardo Thodol'' (, "Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State"), commonly known in the West as ''The Tibetan Book of the Dead'', is a terma text from a larger corpus of teachings, the ''Profound Dharma of Self-Liberation ...

'' (also known as ""Tibetan Book of the Dead"", dating to ca. the 8th century), which describes the experiences of the mind after death. It is recited by

lama Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hig ...

s over a dying or recently deceased person, or sometimes over an effigy of the deceased. Pure Land Buddhists regularly recite the '' Amitabha Sutra'', which describes the Buddha Amitabha and Sukhavati, the Western Pure Land, in brief detail. It is ordinarily recited at funerals or at memorial services. In late 15th-century

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, the ''

Ars moriendi The ''Ars moriendi'' ("The Art of Dying") are two related Latin texts dating from about 1415 and 1450 which offer advice on the protocols and procedures of a good death, explaining how to "die well" according to Christian precepts of the late Mi ...

'' ("The Art of Dying Well") became one of the most popular and widely circulated early printed books. It was published in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

around 1470 as a guide to how to meet Death and avoid the temptations (Impatience, Pride, Avarice, etc.) that would consign a soul to

purgatory Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgat ...

or, worse, to hell. The ''Funeral Oration'' ( Halotti beszéd) is the oldest extant record of the

Hungarian language Hungarian () is an Uralic language spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighbouring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Outside Hungary, it is also spoken by Hunga ...

, dating back to 1192–1195.

Modern

References

{{reflist

External links

*William Caxton, The book of the craft of dying, and other early English tracts concerning death (1917) Death customs Religious literature Cultural aspects of death Religion and death

Antiquity

Medieval

Modern

See also

References

External links