THE ENACTMENTS OF JUSTINIAN.
  
THE NOVELS.
~  LIX  ~
CONCERNING THE FUNERAL EXPENSES OF DECEASED PERSONS.


 
( S. P. Scott, The Civil Law, XVI, Cincinnati, 1932 ).
 
 
The Same Emperor Justinian to John, Praetorian Prefect, Twice Consul and Patrician.
PREFACE.
  It is necessary for each of the good works of which We are the author to be begun with the favor of God, or if corruption should find its way into the beneficial laws of Our predecessors, this must be remedied by Us, and they be placed in their former condition, in order that We may always endeavor, either by enactments or amendments, to participate in measures advantageous to the public welfare. Hence We think that matters connected with the funerals of deceased persons require correction, and that provision should be made for all contingencies so that no one shall be subjected to the double embarrassment of losing his property, and, at the same time, of suffering personal injury. But as what Constantine, of pious memory, after due deliberation, decreed, and Anastasius, of pious memory, subsequently confirmed by making additions to the revenues set apart for funeral expenses, seemed about to fall into disuse, We are compelled to restore it, taking every precaution and proper means to do so, with a view to rendering it permanent. For Constantine, of pious memory, set apart nine hundred and eighty warehouses in the different quarters of this Most Fortunate City for this purpose after having exempted them from taxes, the income from which was payable to the Most Holy Principal Church. Anastasius, of pious memory, not only increased the number of said warehouses by a hundred and fifty, but also, by two pragmatic sanctions, apportioned a certain revenue to be employed by the reverend stewards, to be paid to persons who conducted funeral ceremonies. Many individuals, however, have applied to Us, stating that matters were not as they should be, and that funerals were not conducted gratuitously, but enormous sums of money were extorted; and it has been ascertained that much property has been taken from mourners against their consent, and that even those who were unable to do so were called upon to contribute; hence We have determined that all these abuses should be remedied.
CHAPTER I.
  Therefore, in the first place, as the number of warehouses originally set apart has been greatly diminished, We restore them all to the Most Holy Principal Church, addressing for this purpose a pragmatic sanction to the Urban Prefect; in order that he, along with his subordinates, may place eleven hundred warehouses at the disposal of the defenders and most holy stewards of the said church. Eight hundred of these warehouses shall be charged with furnishing pallbearers to the defenders, and the remaining three hundred with paying the stewards the revenues allotted to the Most Holy Church by Anastasius, of pious memory. No payment, however, small as it may be, can be exacted for conducting funerals, as the stewards have the revenue from three hundred warehouses for the purpose of paying the deans and other persons employed the monthly salary which is due to them; and the defenders have under their control the income of eight hundred warehouses to furnish pallbearers, and provide what is necessary for the funerals of deceased persons, in order that all the expenses of those who mourn their loss may be defrayed.
CHAPTER II.
  Therefore it is necessary for the aforesaid eleven hundred warehouses to be preserved for the use of the reverend stewards and defenders, without any diminution of their revenues, as well as to remain exempt from taxation; and if any accident should happen, or any change in their arrangement or destination should take place, this must be effected by the Most Glorious Prefect of this Fortunate City, in order that the stewards charged with the administration of property to defray the expenses of burial, having at their disposal the revenue of three hundred warehouses free of taxes, and the defenders, having control of eight hundred of these warehouses, the Most Holy Church may defray the funeral expenses of deceased persons. As We have already stated, the said stewards shall, in addition to the revenue of the three hundred warehouses aforesaid, use for this purpose the property which they have petitioned Us to enable them to acquire, with this end in view. Therefore, for the reason that among the eleven hundred warehouses situated in this Fortunate City, there are many in a ruinous condition, We direct that they shall immediately be repaired, in order that the entire number may remain undiminished, and without taxation; and that they shall continue to be divided between the stewards and the defenders, as We have just stated; so that there may be not less than eight hundred deans furnished to the defenders by eight hundred warehouses; and that, so far as the other three hundred warehouses allotted to the stewards are concerned, the latter shall be permitted to obtain from them three hundred deans or less, or to collect from all or some of the said three hundred warehouses an income in money which the said stewards have not obtained up to this time, and which We Ourselves have informed them they must expend in the funerals of deceased persons, distributing it in the same way as the income from other property, among the deans, hermits, canons, and acolytes, as We shall prescribe hereafter. For the said stewards, having informed Us that in the future it will be impossible to collect the same revenues as heretofore, We have very properly given them an increase of three hundred warehouses, in order that the revenues which have heretofore regularly been paid to those who conduct funerals may be available hereafter, that is to say, four hundred solidi shall be divided every month among the deans, acolytes, ascetics, and canons, in accordance with the custom observed up to this time; the deans shall be entitled to one hundred and eighty-two solidi, the ascetics to ninety-one solidi, the acolytes to ninety-one solidi, and the canons to thirty-five solidi a month, which sums shall be paid semi-annually to those who have been in the habit of receiving them.
CHAPTER III.
  The stewards shall be required to pay the share due to the most reverend ascetics, in accordance with the amount which We have just established through the agency of Eugene, Deacon, and Superior of the Hospital of Samson, of holy memory, which has been founded by Us; and through the agency of those who, after him, are the heads of similar houses already mentioned, for the reason that the ascetics employed at funerals are subject to the control of the temporal heads of these venerated establishments. Thus, as the stewards pay to the acolytes and most reverend canons the money to which they are entitled through the medium of those who at present exercise authority over them, and to whom their interests are committed, these officials shall distribute the money among the ascetics, canons, and acolytes subject to their authority. But if the stewards should be in default in paying the said officials, and if six months should have elapsed, and the second half year should have begun without anything having yet been paid, then the entire amount due shall, after the expiration of the first six months, be collected from them with interest at four per cent. The Most Holy Archbishop and Patriarch of the Principal Church of this city shall be charged with the execution of this provision.
CHAPTER IV.
  If, however, an entire year should elapse, and the stewards should not pay anything to the most reverend women, or to the aforesaid deans, the Most Holy Patriarch shall be permitted to collect from them not only the amount due with the interest previously mentioned, but also to compel them to pay whatever has been decreed; and (if he should wish to do so) to deprive them of the administration of the property, and force them to surrender it in good condition. The Most Blessed Archbishop and Universal Patriarch, to whose authority the members of the clergy and everything relating to the Principal Church are subject, shall exercise the greatest care with reference to all these matters.
  (1) Where these things have once been accomplished, nothing shall be accepted by way of compensation for watching a corpse; and that everything may be plainly understood on this point, We direct that an assisterium shall be assigned gratuitously to every bier, which shall consist of ascetics or canons preceded by not less than eight women, who, chanting, shall precede the bier, and three acolytes, who shall be entitled to nothing whatever for their services. If, however, any of the heirs of the deceased should voluntarily, and without compulsion by anyone, desire to have two assisteria, or even more, he can employ them at his own expense; and in order that We may not leave this matter in doubt, We desire that those who perform this duty shall consist of the same number of canons and acolytes which We have already prescribed, that is, that there shall not be less than eight ascetics or canons, and three acolytes in each assisterium.
CHAPTER V.
  When the funeral ceremonies take place within the new walls of this Fortunate City, there shall be paid to the ascetics or canons, in excess of the number which ought to accompany the body gratuitously, the third part of a solidus, which they must not divide with the acolytes. Where three acolytes, in excess of the three who are required to give their services gratuitously, are employed, they shall remain content with three siliquse, and where there are six, they must be satisfied with six siliquse, and so on, according to the number. It is certain that if the distance which the funeral procession is compelled to traverse is very long, and more pallbearers are necessary to carry the bier, then the ossisterio, which are in excess of the one gratuitously furnished will be entitled to something more by way of compensation for this increased labor. This rule which We have just established is only applicable to funerals conducted within the space enclosed by the new walls and the Passage of Justinian, as, in this case, the distance will not be very great, and much time and trouble will not be required to reach the sepulchre. Where the funeral ceremonies are celebrated outside of the new walls of this Fortunate City, or in some other place beyond the Passage above referred to, half of a solidus shall be paid to the ascetics or canons, which they must not divide with the acolytes, and the latter in each assisterium shall receive four siliquse, to be divided among them (as We have already stated) ; but there must always be one assisterium, which, along with three acolytes, shall gratuitously follow the bier which has been furnished. This assisterium, composed of eight ascetics and three acolytes, shall, as previously mentioned, receive absolutely nothing for their services, nor shall they exact any compensation for tapers, or under any other pretext whatsoever.
CHAPTER VI.
  We have established all these rules for persons who are not sufficiently liberal or ostentatious to demand the two large biers deposited in the venerated Hall of Vases; We mean the biers of Studius, of glorious memory, and of Stephen, of magnificent memory. If anyone should desire to have these, as several men are required to carry them and great care must be exercised when they are used, We do not include these biers with the ones already mentioned, and since those who desire to use them for the purpose of making a display must pay the pallbearers, ascetics, and canons a certain sum for their use, We decree that this shall not exceed ten solidi for the said two biers of Studius and Stephen. And so far as the gilded bier deposited in the Most Holy Church is concerned, a solidus shall be paid for each pallbearer, which makes four in all; and the ascetics, canons, and acolytes shall receive double the amount which We have previously allotted them. Again, the assisterium, or canons who precede the other biers gratuitously, shall be entitled to the same as the others, and the acolytes shall also receive twice the sum which We have already prescribed, when the bier used for the funeral ceremonies is one of the three that We have just mentioned; for if the defenders are compelled to furnish pallbearers and biers out of the revenues of the eight hundred warehouses which We have placed at their disposal, they shall not be required to incur other expenses, and the stewards shall not be obliged, on account of the revenue which has been allotted to them by Anastasius, of Divine memory, to pay out of the income from the three hundred warehouses set apart for their use any other persons than those employed in funerals, in accordance with the general rule which We have established. In this way nothing will remain unprovided for; those who desire burials to take place with moderate expense will enjoy the benefit of this arrangement; and others who are given to pomp and display will not be put to great expense, but will be liberal, and at the same time practice moderation.
CHAPTER VII.
  This is what We have decreed with reference to warehouses and their revenues, and funeral ceremonies, whether the latter are conducted gratuitously, or at the expense of the relatives of the deceased. We charge not only the Most Glorious Prefect of this City and his subordinates, but especially Your Highness and those subject to your jurisdiction, to see that the number of these warehouses is never diminished. We also impose a fine of fifty pounds of gold upon your office if any one of your attendants should fail to obey this rule, and double that sum upon those who may hereafter occupy your place; for We desire that the number of eleven hundred warehouses shall never be decreased, and that the division which We have established shall always be maintained. But if Your Highness, or your successor, should ascertain that the number of warehouses is not complete, you or he must take pains to make it so. The warehouses shall be free from all burdens of any kind, and shall not be interfered with either by Your Highness or by anyone else, in order that there may be no occasion to exact any contributions for the funeral expenses of anyone whomsoever, in contravention of what We have decreed. We make no distinction between deceased persons, whether they be rich or poor, unless, as We have already stated, one of the three biers with reference to which We have formulated appropriate regulations should be selected. We desire that this Imperial pragmatic sanction shall be strictly observed, and that, in accordance with what We have prescribed, it shall remain unchanged and immortal, and be obeyed by all persons, as long as there are men upon the earth; that the name of Christian shall be great and praised among them, and its renown daily increased by the efforts of Divine Providence. The Most Holy Patriarch of this Most Fortunate City will himself, before all other persons, see that this law is observed; he will make use of his pontifical authority to prevent it from being violated; and will not permit this to be done by any person of sacerdotal or judicial condition; and We, as the representative of the government, fixing Our eyes upon God, pray that, as the Eternal Master of all rulers, He may vigilantly provide for the execution of this law. For the maintenance of pious institutions concerns the living as well as the dead, and, above all, involves the salvation of those entrusted with the cares of government; and it is also important that the efforts of preceding legislators should not be rendered void by the negligence of their successors. And, just as We have decreed that the eleven hundred warehouses allotted to the service of the Principal Church shall be preserved intact in number, and free from all taxes, so We order that all other warehouses shall be liable to taxation, and that none of them shall be absolutely exempt from it, whether the said warehouse belongs to a religious church, a hospital, a hermitage, a monastery, or any such establishment whatsoever, or even to Our Imperial House, or to a great or wealthy man. We also desire that all warehouses shall be equally liable to the payment of taxes, and that none of them can exempt itself, or be released from liability from the share which it owes, so as to impose the entire burden of taxation upon a small number of warehouses, which are not able to sustain it.
EPILOGUE.
  Therefore after Your Highness has received your office and appointed the members of Your court, you will see that what it has pleased Us to enact by this Imperial pragmatic sanction is perpetually observed.
  Given at Constantinople, on the third of the Nones of November, during the eleventh year of the reign of Our Lord the Emperor Justinian, and the second after the Consulate of Belisarius.