There are topics that are unpleasant to think about. Nevertheless, at any moment they can touch each of us. One of them is funeral arrangements. All services related to them are provided by funeral homes: from paperwork to transportation of the deceased to the cemetery.
For transportation use, as a rule, a hearse. This vehicle, having appeared many centuries ago, has changed along with human civilization. And one day, technological progress turned the ancient funeral chariot into a modern hearse.
When the hearse appeared
It may seem surprising, but the history of the hearse goes back to the ancient world. The surviving bas-reliefs give an idea of what the first vehicles for transporting the dead looked like.
Of course, it was about rulers and nobles. Their hearses were large canopied stretchers mounted on a chariot.
In the Middle Ages, a hearse was no longer a privilege of the nobility. At that time, expensive stretchers were finally replaced by horse-drawn carts - transport available to almost all social classes.
In the 19th century, horse-drawn funeral carriages became widespread. Thus, dependingfrom we alth, the relatives of the deceased could choose between a simple wagon and a more prestigious carriage. The latter were decorated with carvings, plumes, velvet and gilding.
Hearses today
With the advent of cars, a lot has changed. Ritual horse-drawn carriages were replaced by auto hearses. By 1920, there were between 30 and 40 companies in the United States alone manufacturing funeral vehicles.
Today, in the minds of many of us, a hearse is a car specially designed to transport a coffin to a cemetery. Nevertheless, explanatory dictionaries interpret this concept a little wider.
According to them, the meaning of the word "hearse" is not limited to a vehicle. In addition, it means, for example, an elevation for the coffin in the room where the funeral service takes place, as well as a stand on which the coffin is moved.
