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A shroud is a cloth used to wrap a body for burial, often made from natural fibers and left plain or decorated with religious motifs. It was traditionally used to preserve clothing and could be sewn closed or used before a coffin. Shrouds continue to be used in some communities and are supported by advocates of natural burial.
A shroud is a sheet of cloth that is used to wrap a body for burial. Depending on the cultural and religious beliefs of the deceased, a shroud may be left plain or decorated with various artistic motifs. A particularly famous shroud is the Shroud of Turin, a linen that would have been used to prepare Christ for burial, even though the shroud’s provenance has been repeatedly questioned by members of the scientific community.
Traditionally, shrouds are made from natural fibers such as cotton, linen, silk and wool. These fibers would have been the only materials available for most of human history, but they decompose rapidly, returning to Earth along with the bodies they cover. It is also typical to use undyed or bleached material for a shroud, and any ornamentation added to the shroud is usually simple and religious in nature; for example, a shroud might be embroidered with a cross for a Christian burial.
To prepare a body for burial in a shroud, survivors of the deceased stripped the body, washed the body thoroughly, and then wrapped the naked body in the shroud. In some cases, the body might be anointed with precious oils, herbs, or spices before burial, and in many cultures, the items are wrapped in the folds of the shroud so the deceased can carry them to the afterlife. It is also common for shrouds to be sewn closed, making it easier to move the body respectfully.
The word ‘shroud’ comes from the Old English scrud, meaning ‘garment’, reflecting the idea that shrouds are clothing for the dead. When shrouds were commonly used, clothing was expensive to obtain and make, and so burying the dead in usable clothing would have been quite expensive. Shrouds could be used to respectfully cover the dead while preserving their clothing, and depending on the wishes of the deceased, jewelry such as wedding rings could be left on or removed and passed down to descendants.
While a shroud alone was acceptable for burial in many cultures, especially among the poor, shrouds may also be used to wrap a body before coffin, or a shrouded body may be cremated. Shrouds were also used historically to wrap bodies for burial at sea, in which case the shroud may be weighted down so that the body sinks. Shrouds continue to be in use in some communities into the modern era, and many proponents of natural burial support shrouding because it allows bodies to fall quickly and gracefully into the ground.
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