Talk:Catafalque/Archive 1

unsigned comment
I would like to show a modern picture of a catafalque, but I do not know how to add an image to the article. The following image of of the catafalque for Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre who died in 1991.

http://www.seminaire-econe.ch/gbcom/doc/archives/ph_2b.htm

http://www.seminaire-econe.ch/gbcom/photos/memoriam/ph072.jpg

Lincoln Catafalque
I removed the middle paragraph from this section (describing the construction & measurements), as it appears to have been copied word for word from the Architect of the Capitol's website. Jedikaiti (talk) 22:18, 7 June 2012 (UTC)

confusion with a bier
This article does not sufficiently explain the difference between a catafalque and a bier. The article says that a catafalque is a "raised bier, box, or similar platform", but neither the photos nor the text identify the raised element (or aspect) that distinguishes a catafalque from a bier. If you read the bier article, it is practically indistinguishable from this one. For what it's worth, I have cobbled together the following language from 3 sources. This is not my writing and may or may not be copyrighted, but it makes the distinction MUCH more clearly. "A catafalque is a temporary and ornamental structure, representing a tomb, used for the absolution of the dead without a body present. It is simply constructed of a bier, which is then covered by a black pall, or further, with a type of symbolic coffin, similarly covered." If this definition is correct, it is not the raised aspect of the structure that distinguishes it from a bier, but 1) the absence of a body, 2) the presence of a black pall, 3) its symbolic and liturgical function (versus the practical function of a bier), and 4) the optional presence of an empty coffin-like structure, similarly draped (making the entire structure more closely resemble a cenotaph, which is a permanent structure, unlike the catafalque, which is temporary.) I must be one of the least informed people in the world on this subject, so it would be great if someone more knowledgeable set things right in these two articles (bier and catafalque). Jayintheusa (talk) 19/3/2013 —Preceding undated comment added 01:37, 20 March 2013 (UTC)
 * I don't know about anyone else but I found Jayintheusa's clarification was 1) Useful 2) Clear 3) well written. Thanks!

--24.244.23.103 (talk) 19:17, 18 August 2014 (UTC)