Apall (also calledmortcloth orcasket saddle) is a cloth that covers acasket or coffin at funerals.[1] The word comes from theLatinpallium ('cloak'), throughOld English.[2] Apall or palla is also a stiffened square card covered with whitelinen, usuallyembroidered with a cross or some other appropriate symbol. The purpose of this pall is to keep dust andinsects from falling into the Eucharistic elements in achalice. The derivation is the same: the cloth is named after the presumed cloth that covered the body of Jesus.
The use of a rich cloth pall to cover the casket or coffin during the funeral grew during theMiddle Ages; initially these were brightly coloured and patterned, only later black, and later still white. They were usually then given to the Church to use forvestments or other decorations.[3]
The rules for the pall's colour and use vary depending onreligious andculturaltraditions. Commonly today palls are pure white, to symbolize the white clothes worn duringbaptism and the joyful triumph over death brought about by theResurrection. The colour is not fixed, though, and may vary with theliturgical season. Traditionally, it is common for the pall, as well as the vestments of theclergy to be black. The pall will often be decorated with a cross, often running the whole length of the cloth from end to end in all four directions, signifying the sovereignty of Christ's triumph oversin and theCrucifixion.
The pall is placed on the casket or coffin as soon as it arrives at the church and will remain on the coffin during all of proceedings in the church. If the family members wish to view the deceased, this would normally be done previously at thefuneral home before the casket or coffin is brought to the church; but customs will vary from denomination to denomination. The pall will be removed at the graveside, just before the casket or coffin is lowered into the ground. If the remains are to becremated, the pall-covered casket or coffin will go through a curtain, and the pall will be removed.
In theEastern Orthodox Church the pall often bears a depiction of the cross andinstruments of the Passion as well as the text of theTrisagion hymn. Since Orthodox funerals are normally open casket, the pall comes up only to the chest of the deceased. When an Orthodoxbishop dies, hismandyas (mantle) is used as a pall.
Militaryfunerals often use the nation'sflag as a pall. In theUnited Kingdom, members of theRoyal Family or thepeerage may use a flag bearing theirarms as a pall, as seen for example at the funeral ofQueen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. TheCity of LondonLivery Companies have collections of often magnificently embroidered "hearse-cloths", which were from the 16th century traditionally donated by prominent members for use in covering distinguished members' coffins. An exhibition of such palls was made in theVictoria and Albert Museum in London in 1927.[4]
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