Pallbearer

A pallbearer is a person who helps carry the casket of a deceased person from a religious service or viewing to their final resting place, or to and from the hearse which does so.

Related Topics:
Casket - Resting place - Hearse

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A pall is the heavy cloth that is draped over a coffin; by metonymy the term pallbearer is used to signify someone who bears the coffin which the pall covers.

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Some traditions distinguish between these two roles, with pallbearer being an honorary position, while casketbearers do the actual heavy lifting and carrying.

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Pallbearers were usually associated in an intimate manner (such as brother, uncle, father, or husband - pallbearers are not always male, but male pallbearers are the most common) with the deceased before their death, though this is not always the case.

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Pallbearers are mentioned in literature and music:

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In Saint James' Infirmary

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In the Alfred Hitchcock movie Downhill

Related Topics:
Alfred Hitchcock - Downhill

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