Catafalque

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Catafalque

A catafalque is a raised bier

Bier

A bier is a stand on which a dead body, or coffin containing a corpse, is placed to lie in state or to be carried to the grave.In Christian burial, the bier is often set up in the center of the nave with candles placed around it, and there it remains during the funeral....
or platform, often movable, that is used to support the casket

Casket

A casket, or a jewellery box is a receptacle for trinkets and Gemstone. It may take a very modest form, covered in leather and lined with satin, or it may reach the monumental proportions of the jewel cabinets which were made for Marie Antoinette, one of which is at Windsor, and another at Versailles, the work of Schwerdfeger as cabine...
, coffin

Coffin

A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of deceased remains ? either for burial or cremation....
, or body of the deceased during a funeral

Funeral

A funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour....
or memorial service. Catafalque decorations are known as castrum doloris
Castrum doloris

Castrum doloris is a name for the structure and decorations sheltering or accompanying the catafalque or bier that signify the prestige or high estate of the deceased....
.

The term originates from the Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
catafalco, which means scaffolding

Scaffolding

Scaffolding is a temporary framework used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures....
.

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Encyclopedia

A catafalque is a raised bier

Bier

Casket

Coffin

A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of deceased remains ? either for burial or cremation....
, or body of the deceased during a funeral

Funeral

Italian language

Scaffolding

Scaffolding is a temporary framework used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures....
. The most notable Italian catafalque was the one designed for Michelangelo

Michelangelo

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance Painting, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer....
by his fellow artists in 1564.

West Norwood and Kensal Green Catafalques

London's

London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
West Norwood cemetery

West Norwood

West Norwood is a place in the London Borough of Lambeth.It is primarily a residential suburb of south London but with some light industry near Knights Hill in the south....
catacombs

Catacombs

Catacombs are ancient, human-made underground passageways or subterranean cemeteries composed thereof. Many are under cities and have served during historic times as a refuge for safety during wars or as a meeting place for cults....
were constructed with a hydraulic catafalque to lower coffins from the Episcopal

Anglicanism

Anglicanism is a tradition of Christianity faith. Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs, worship and church structures....
Chapel to the vaults. The single-pump hydraulic lift was installed in 1839 and could swivel to make unloading the coffins easier.

In 1844 a dual-pump version was installed in the Kensal Green

Kensal Green

Kensal Green is a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Brent. The area is also referred to as Kensal Rise....
cemetery catacombs. This catafalque could both raise and lower coffins from the Anglican Mortuary Chapel. The lift at Kensal Green has been restored, while the lift at West Norwood fell into disrepair and no longer works.

Lincoln Catafalque

In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, the Lincoln catafalque

Lincoln catafalque

The Lincoln catafalque is a catafalque hastily constructed in 1865 to support the casket of Abraham Lincoln while the president's body lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C....
, first used for Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
's funeral in 1865, has been used for all those who have lain in state

Lying in state

Lying in state is a term used to describe the tradition in which a coffin is placed on view to allow the public at large to pay their respects to the deceased....
in the Capitol Rotunda. When not in use, the catafalque is kept below the Crypt in a small vaulted chamber called Washington's Tomb

Washington's Tomb

Washington's Tomb is a small room in the basement of the United States Capitol building. It was designed to entomb the body of President George Washington, the first President of the United States....
, which was originally intended, but never used, as the burial place for George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States of the United States of Americas ....
.

The Lincoln Catafalque is a simple bier of rough pine

Pine

Pines are Pinophyta trees in the genus Pinus, in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species....
boards nailed together and covered with black cloth. Although the base and platform have occasionally been altered to accommodate the larger size of modern coffins and for the ease of the attending military personnel, it is basically the same today as it was in Lincoln's time. Presently the catafalque measures 7 feet 1 inch (216 cm) long, 2 feet 6 inches (76 cm) wide, and 2 feet (61 cm) high. The attached base is 8 feet 10 inches (269 cm) long, 4 feet 3-1/2 inches (131 cm) wide, and 2 inches (5 cm) high. The platform is 11 feet 1 inch (338 cm) long, 6 feet (183 cm) wide, and 9-1/4 inches (23.5 cm) high. Although the cloth covering the catafalque has been replaced several times, the style of the drapery is similar to that used in 1865.

Lincoln's catafalque was most recently used at the State funeral for U.S. President Gerald R. Ford

Death and state funeral of Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford died on December 26, 2006 at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, California, at 6:45 p.m. Pacific Time Zone . At 8:49 p.m. Pacific Time Zone, President Ford's wife of 58 years, Betty Ford, issued a statement that confirmed his death: "My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, fathe...
. It was noted by commentators that the structure of the original pine timbers and boards have been reinforced, albeit being left 'original'.