Twelve Tables of Rome

Lex Duodecim Tabularum


iconTable X. Funeral Rights

1No one shall, hereafter, exceed the limit established by these laws for the celebration of funeral rites.
2None is to bury or burn a corpse in the city; No greater expenses or mourning than is proper shall be permitted in funeral ceremonies; No one shall erect a funeral pyre nearer than sixty feet to the building of another
3Wood employed for the purpose of constructing a funeral pyre shall not be hewn, but shall be rough and unpolished.
4When a corpse is prepared for burial at home, not more than three women with their heads covered with mourning veils shall be permitted to perform this service. The body may be enveloped in purple robes, and when borne outside, ten flute players, at the most, shall accompany the funeral procession.
5Women shall not lacerate their faces, or tear their cheeks with their nails; nor shall they utter loud cries bewailing the dead on account of a funeral.
6No bones shall be taken from the body of a person who is dead, or from his ashes after cremation, in order that funeral ceremonies may again be held elsewhere. When, however, anyone dies in a foreign country, or is killed in war, a part of his remains may be transferred to the burial place of his ancestors.
7The body of no dead slave shall be anointed; nor shall any drinking take place at his funeral, nor a banquet of any kind be instituted in his honor.
8No wine flavored with myrrh, or any other precious beverage, shall be poured upon a corpse while it is burning; nor shall the funeral pile be sprinkled with wine; Large wreaths shall not be borne at a funeral; nor shall perfumes be burned on the altars.
9Anyone who has rendered himself deserving of a wreath, as the reward of bravery in war, or through his having been the victor in public contests or games, whether he has obtained it through his own exertions or by means of others in his own name, and by his own money, through his horses, or his slaves, shall have a right to have the said wreath placed upon his dead body, or upon that of any of his ascendants, as long as the corpse is at his home, as well as when it is borne away; so that, during his obsequies, he may enjoy the honor which in his lifetime he acquired by his bravery or his good fortune.
10Only one funeral of an individual can take place; and it shall not be permitted to prepare several biers.
11Gold, no matter in what form it may be present, shall, by all means, be removed from the corpse at the time of the funeral; but if anyone's teeth should be fastened with gold, it shall be lawful either to burn, or to bury it with the body.
12No one can acquire by usucaption either the vestibule or approach to a tomb, or the tomb itself.
13No assembly of the people shall take place during the obsequies of any man distinguished in the State.