[Ron Reuter]

The other day I had a another long box show up on the porch and my wife (in a jovial, kidding way) stated that she was going to kill me. I stated that would be fine as long as she buried me with the sword and my armour. She stated that she would if that would be my pleasure.

That got me thinking, hmm, one last time to show it all off. Historic arms and armour has been a big part of my life and I have pretty much never done anything "normal", so it really wouldn't surprise anyone that knows me.

So...... Does anyone here have any thoughts on this subject. Has anybody made this request, or thought about this for themselves? Is this way out of line? Is there any precedent? By precedent I am referring to modern times. Would this be offensive to "Real" knights?

BTW.. I am in pretty good health now, so nothing in the near future as best I can tell :>).

Ron

[Joe Fults]

I say go for it if that's what you want to do.

You're going to be dead anyway (at your funeral) so why worry overmuch what other folks think about the idea.

[Eric W. Norenberg]

The trick is, getting a monument to match...
Few commercial cemeteries would object, I would think. People are interred in various uniforms and with things, either significant or symbolic or both. You might run into objections if your are to be buried Roman Catholic or Jewish Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox.
Most cemeteries, secular-commercial and church-operated, have rules regarding the size, shape, and appearance of the marker, often simply for landscape maintenance reasons. I personally would love a brass, late 14th century style, even 'tho that sort of thing really ought to be in a church floor. Maybe you could have your second-best sword (buried with #1, maybe, or bequeathed to the Gaffer's Daughter?) set into a big ol' hunk of granite, use that as your memorial stone.

Here's hoping it is many good years before this conversation is anything besides idle!

[Sam Gordon Campbell]

Well, I'd like to be entombed in my armour and weapons.
Like those sarcophagi with the sculpture of the person in them on the lid.
Then put that in a barrow.
Then put that barrow somewhere secluded.
Then fill it with gold and tell a few people so that a rumour goes around.
Then when treasure hunters break in to my tomb I'll come back as a skeleton knight and kick arse!
Man, I think I've put waaay too much thought into this.

[Jean Thibodeau]

[J.D. Crawford]

I've had idle thoughts of being buried with a favorite sword, but then again I'd rather be cremated so I'm not sure how that would work. Perhaps the best bet would be to burned like a heathen on a big bon-fire with my weapons, but no doubt they have laws against that.

On a vaguely related note, I've somtimes been tempted to throw a few swords in the pond across the road when done with them, as done in olden times, but that conflicts with my 21st century 'green' sensibilities!

[Joe Fults]

My problem with the favorite sword thing, is that the favorite changes all the time. Would hate to get the wrong one and timing death to get the right one will hopefully be more than a bit difficult. Then if the right one suddenly becomes the wrong one...

...vexing!

[Luke Zechman]

Just as finely crafted items have survived the ages, so to will modern reproductions survive. Someday the items we buy will be examined by historians, and they will be puzzled by the wide range of items that attempt to replicate the real deal. I would have a tendency to think that burying your self in armor would increase the chances of it not surviving. On the other hand, a lot of famous finds come from burial sites. I would like anything that I accumulate (and certainly anything I make) to survive the ages. I say do what you will. I personally don't even want to be put in a box when I am buried, and people typically think this is odd. Each to their own.

[Craig Shackleton]

I occasionally think about this. Mostly I plan to live forever, but you never know.

Really, it's up to my survivors what they think should be done. I kind of like the idea of being laid out in armour, maybe with a dog or lion at my feet. At the same time, I'd like to see my son or daughter take up my armour when I'm gone. I feel the same way about my swords.

Perhaps they could armour me up one last time, and then after the funeral, do something else with the armour and cremate my remains.

Really, what I think is best in the long run is that those close to me who want mementos or parts to use take them, and everything else gets auctioned off for a charity. But I think of all my swords and armour as functional, not decorative, so I'd rather see it continue to be used.

[JG Elmslie]

[Jared Smith]

It is a personal choice, but.... One thing to consider is that being buried in armour worn as if for combat may be considered "very uncommon historically" for some culture-time periods and styles of armour. For me, if I believed it were not appropriate historically, I would not want to have it done.

[Scott Hrouda]

I am being shot out of a cannon for my funeral. Adding my 14th century armour to the equation would increase the size of the black powder charge necessary and possibly endanger my guests.

Bad Form, Bad Host.

[Robert Hinds]

Interesting topic, some really funny posts on here too.

Some people might think its weird, some might think its cool...some might even think it means you plan on coming back and ruling the world or something...anyway, like they say...its your funeral.

Personally I would love to be buried in my armour. But then again like someone else said previously on here, I kinda always imagined passing my gear down to my kids...

Grandson: was this really grandpas sword daddy?

My son: yes it was junior.

Grandson: did he ever actually fight with it daddy?

My son: no son he didn't...but he always wanted to. he always wanted to. *tears come to eyes*

...anyways by the time I die i'll hopefully have more than 1 set of armour and I can leave 1 behind and be buried with the other.

At any rate I have a long time to figure out what i'm gonna do about that. lol.

[Michael B.]

We had a member of our group die in recent years. He loved his armour and swords, his family didn't bury them with him. We, as a group, managed to buy his armour from his family. It's the most cared for suit in the group hands down. Since we still call it "Frank's Armour", some of the newer students get confused when they've never met him, but it gives us an opportunity to talk about it, and keep him alive in our memories. I'm sure without a doubt he would have loved being buried in it, but I think he would find it wonderful what we've done. We presented his favorite sword and a picture of him in his harness to his daughter at his wake.
I hope that when I pass, my "stuff" can go to a good use. I haven't given much thought about it at all though.
RIP Frank.

[David Wilson]

I want to be buried, with all my arms and riches, in the furthest underground level of a complex dungeon-type maze under a fairly innocuous looking huge marble mausoleum/monument. The way to my sarcophagus would be lined with booby traps and trap doors. Oh yes, and I want angry, scary monsters to gaurd my hoard -- failing that, I'll settle for angry, scary cockroaches, and spiders (not necessarily dangerous ones, I'm just hoping for that the looters will be extreme arachnophobes). Then I want some kind of curse placed on my burial chamber, like "May he who disturbs my slumber, be forever cursed with really bad breath" or "May your computer contract a virus which will permanently erase your hard drive, prior to which it will access your addressbook and e-mail your porn collection to your mother", or "Leave my stuff alone, you little &^*#@$%!!!"

Oh, did I mention I would want to be dead before I did this? Well, I should hope that would have been an obvious prerequisite.

Also, I want the location of my tomb to be a secret, so I'll have to have all the people who worked on it buried with me -- alive. And I'll want all my concubines buried alive with me too. So, any volunteers? Anybody? Oh come on, of course I will have a bathroom and entertainment center installed.... anybody? Hmpf. How ungrateful....

(ps. I was hoping for those concubines BEFORE I died, if that was unclear. Any takers....?)

[Russ Ellis]

[Jean Thibodeau]

[Harry J. Fletcher]

I am going to be buried in clean underwear. Remember how you mother always said to wear clean underwear because if you had an accident and were wearing dirty underwear how embarrassing it would be? Imagine arriving at the Emergency Room and the first thing the ER nurse says is check his drawers! Well when I am dug up in the centuries to come I want them to say "...he was wearing clean underwear!" Also I am to be buried with my Albion Baron sword and the ashes of my four cats maybe five if I out live her.

Oh yes, everyone here is invited to come in full metalic dress and rattle their swords over my grave and drink a tankard of ale at the post burial festivies.

Regards,

Harry

[David Teague]

Hello All,

I had a friend fall to his death at work back in the early 1980's.

He was very much into the American Fur Trade and a fellow back powder shooter and living historian.

His family asked that we wear our historical clothing at the funeral and he himself was dressed in his best beaded buckskins in his casket. I do not know if they buried with rifle, possable bag, powder horn, hawk or knife, but he was interned in his beloved 19th century clothing.

Cheers,

David

[Dave Leppo]

I believe that cremation (pyre or otherwise) would be detrimental to the heat-treat of a blade.