Mos Teutonicus is a practise that was used mainly during the Second Crusades and after. It is when a body is taken and boiled in vinegar or water until the flesh falls off from the bones. The words "Mos Teutonicus" come from the Latin words meaning "German custom". During the Crusades it was difficult to transport the bodies of dead wealthy knights back to Europe for a proper burial. Therefore instead of taking the body with the flesh still attached, it was boiled off and the bones were taken back. Often the bones were regarded as relics. Despite the almost macabre fashion of this practise, it was regarded highly amongst the Catholic Church, although there remains little documentation of it. In 1300, however, Pope Boniface VIII issued the bull De Sepulturis, which forbade the practice. [1]
References
- Brown, Elizabeth A. R. 1981. Death and the human body in the later Middle Ages: The legislation of Boniface VIII on the division of the corpse. Viator. 12:221-270.
- Brown, Elizabeth A. R. 1990. Authority, the Family, and the Dead in Late Medieval France. French Historical Studies. 16:803-832.
- McDonald, Maggie. "Mayans not guilty of routine human sacrifice", New Scientist, December 5, 2001. Retrieved on 2006-05-16.
- Mafart B, Pelletier J-P and Fixot M. 2004. Post-mortem ablation of the heart: a medieval funerary practice. A case observed at the cemetery of Ganagobie Priory in the French Department of Alpes de Haute Provence. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. 14:67-73.
