When the funerals filled the streets of Barcelona and could be heard

BarcelonaPhilip II died in the monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial on September 13, 1598, after a long agony. Before breathing his last, like most of his contemporaries, he had detailed in his will everything that was to be done afterward. Among other things, he had ordered that 20,000 Masses be celebrated for his salvation. The more Masses, the less time in purgatory, the Church said.

The monarch died in what is now the Community of Madrid, but all the cities in the kingdom were to hold the funeral. In Barcelona, ​​​​as usual, preparations began the moment the official communication arrived, which had to be signed by the successor or the queen. It was not at all easy to reach an agreement among the city's powers that be, who had to pay part of the obsequies out of their own pockets. There were highly controversial debates. One of the main ones was where each person should be placed.

Whenever a death occurred, not just of a monarch, but of any citizen, the city streets were transformed. The landscape changed, not only visually but also audibly. Since October 2022, a team from the UAB has been investigating how processions transformed the Catalan capital between the 15th and 18th centuries. Part of their project, How processions moved: sound and space in performance of urban ritual Funded by the European Research Council, it was presented last month at the Barcelona Conference on Historic Basilicas.

"The processions were very inclusive; everyone had to prepare for death, and each deceased person had a parish or parish church that was mobilized to carry out the procession," explains researcher Tess Knighton. There were more than two a day, and priests left the cathedral or parish churches to administer last rites and then transport the bodies to the burial site. From the windows and doors of their homes, citizens watched the procession, often also accompanying it, and the pomp varied according to the deceased's economic resources and social status. There was always holy water, crosses, candles, and above all, sounds.

A way to demonstrate status

"These are urban rituals that offer us a lot of information about how the city functioned, what daily life was like, the networks and relationships between different institutions," Knighton points out. "The number of priests could vary greatly and did not always depend on economic status. Many women, for example, might not have much money, but they could ask for up to 24 priests," the British historian adds. The procession was the last social expression, the last time a person could demonstrate their status, and it was given great importance. Different brotherhoods had distinctive bell sounds, and when they were heard, brotherhood members had to mobilize. In fact, they were obliged to stop work and participate in the burial of their professional association.

The processions traveled through different streets, and the perimeter covered varied depending on the power of the deceased. "For example, in the case of both the kings and the bishops, a different route was taken; they didn't return along the same streets, thus maximizing the route," explains researcher Sergi González. During the journey, several stops had to be made. Death could be felt differently depending on the neighborhood. There were areas and streets that had to endure a much greater noise impact. For example, the residents of Saint Mary of Pi were much more exposed. Not all retinues were the same, and their size depended on budgets. Details had to be given on the number of priests, sacristan, song master, altar boys, whether there would be plain singing or polyphony, etc.

In the case of the death of a king, all cities came to a standstill, and the obligation to go and pray for the soul of the deceased was in place. "The impact that a king's funeral had on the city was enormous. For example, when John II died in Barcelona on January 19, 1479, the ceremonies lasted ten days." Everything had been written down, and what had to be done was followed point by point. The day before, liturgical texts and chants were read in the cathedral, and the next day, mass for the dead was held. "Heaven," Knighton specifies. The deceased was covered with an orange, red, or yellow cloth.

Political conflicts were staged at funerals

As funerals were, they were also a reenactment of the political moment. The death of Philip II of Castile in 1598 created a great deal of tension. Furthermore, days before his death, a satirical writing against the monarchy had appeared on the door of the City Hall, which did not please the viceroy, the Duke of Feria. When his death was officially announced, the councilors ordered the person who usually rang the city bell, accompanied by two men and mounted on horseback, to go through all the streets of Barcelona proclaiming the king's death. The first proclamation was made at the City Hall: "Devout Christians, men and women: Pray to God for the soul of the Sacred Catholic Royal Majesty of King Philip, our Lord, who has passed from this life to the next."

The controversy arose when the city's institutions and powers had to establish the terms of the celebration and rituals of the funeral, as well as the places each person would occupy. All the city's powers, especially the councilors and the viceroy, marched in procession and carried the canopy. On Friday, October 9, the funeral rites were held in Barcelona Cathedral. The first to arrive at the City Hall, between seven and eight in the morning, were the councilors, along with the prominent figures and officials of the Council of One Hundred. From there, they set out in procession to the cathedral and ascended to the high altar. They were unable to sit in their usual place, on the pews placed next to the Gospel, but instead sat next to the Epistle. The viceroy sat next to the Gospel. There was another problem. The viceroy's pews of the Royal Council had backrests, while those of the councilors did not. They solved this problem by using the ones in the cathedral's chapter house.

Like all his predecessors, Philip II had sworn to respect the laws and privileges of the Principality, but his representatives, viceroys and members of the royal audience often clashed with the deputies of the Generalitat and other institutions such as the Consell de Cent of Barcelona. Catalan institutions They denounced the viceroys' lack of respect for their privileges and the growing Castilianization of the Church. And all this tension also permeated their funerals.