De sepulturis

De sepulturis is a papal bull on the practice of internal examinations , it was issued in 1299 by Pope Boniface VIII .

To the internal investigation

According to the ideas of the Roman Catholic Church , in the Middle Ages the body and health were connected with the cosmos . Because of this way of thinking, the opening of corpses met with resistance from the clergy , which was underpinned in this bull.

Boniface VIII objected to the division and decoction of corpses and prohibited them. The main features of the bull were a script against the fact that the corpses of deceased crusaders were transferred to Europe after they had been boiled . In order to obtain relics from people who might in future be regarded and venerated as saints, their corpses were sometimes boiled (e.g. from Thomas Aquinas ).

Impact history

With this bull, the Pope did not categorically oppose the autopsy , but it was interpreted as such and initially ensured critical handling, as well as the containment and development of autopsy practice.

Web links

• Dominik Groß: The development of the internal and external inquest in historical and ethical terms (2002).