OK, this is making me nuts...

[rolanni]

What class of citizen was buried at the cross roads, and why?

Especially and why.

Abundant Spanish Aunts.

Comments

[prismakaos.livejournal.com]

I've only ever heard of it being important in folk tales, such as burying undead or witches at crossroads so that when they rose, they were confused and did not know which road to take to get to their slayer.

From wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burial)

Burial at cross-roads

Historically, burial at cross-roads was the method of disposing of executed criminals and suicides. Cross-roads form a crude cross and this gave rise to the belief that these spots were selected as the next best burying-places to consecrated ground. Another possible explanation is that the ancient Teutonic peoples often built their altars at the cross-roads, and as human sacrifices, especially of criminals, formed part of the ritual, these spots came to be regarded as execution grounds.[citation needed] Hence after the introduction of Christianity, criminals and suicides were buried at the cross-roads during the night, in order to assimilate as far as possible their funeral to that of the pagans. An example of a cross-road execution-ground was the famous Tyburn in London, which stood on the spot where the Roman road to Edgware and beyond met the Roman road heading west out of London.

Superstition also played a part in the selection of cross-roads in the burial of suicides. Folk belief often held such individuals could rise as some form of undead (such as a vampire) and burying them at cross-roads would inhibit their ability to find and wreak havoc on their living relations and former associates.[citation needed]

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Yes, that. Also, if you stood at a crossroads and did appropriate rituals, you could summon the Devil. "Supernatural" uses it frequently. So did the Coen Bros. in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

Scary places, crossroads.

[romsfuulynn.livejournal.com]

Suicides were my first thought - I don't have immediate sources though. I can go look.

Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett

[maiaarts.livejournal.com]

Terry Pratchett addresses this issue when one of the wizards comes to his time of death, but can't die - because Death has been given the boot.

The Wizards talk about the ways to lay Zombies and other undead - it is RICH in folklore about this - and they have a whole scene where they are digging up the center of a main street intersection in AnkhMorpork.

There is a whole bad of "Undead" and they talk about all of that stuff - vamps, boogie men, Old Man trouble and more...

I have these only on audio, so I can't tell you the exact page.

[malkingrey.livejournal.com]

The Greek goddess Hecate was the goddess of the crossroads (also of the underworld, and witches, and childbirth, and the moon, and a whole bunch of other similar stuff.)

[queenmaggie.livejournal.com]

specifically, vampires and suicides: both so that they could not rise again.

[scaleslea.livejournal.com]

Were suicides known to rise again?

Doc

[queenmaggie.livejournal.com]

Suicides were considered particularly at risk of becoming ghosts.

[muehe.livejournal.com]

LOL, I thought they displayed criminals at cross roads on Crosses, Pikes, … because the traffic was higher. The mythological never occurred to me until I started reading other people posts.

Gibbet, this is what i was thinking of when i made the earlier post

[muehe.livejournal.com]

Gibbeting was common law punishment, which a judge could impose in addition to execution. This practice was regularised in England by the Murder Act 1752, which empowered judges to impose this for murder. It was most often used for traitors, murderers, highwaymen, and sheep-stealers, to discourage others. The structures were therefore often placed adjacent to public highways

[(Anonymous)]

I thought it was vampires so they had a smaller chance of finding their way back. But everyone else's comments make sense too. Witches, zombies, etc, etc.

Oh - Oh Brother Where Art Thou was actually parodying/paying homage to another movie called Crossroads. Horrible grade B stuff, except for the guitar-duelling scene at the end - the Devil gets someone from the Rolling Stones (I think?) to play for him.

Mind you, I think Crossroads was based on the folklore that this blues-great sold his soul to the Devil in order to be able to play the best blues. Good story, lousy evidence.

Lauretta@ConstellationBooks

[k-10b.livejournal.com]

ummm... O Brother Where Art thou may tip its hat to Crossroads, but it's really a re-telling of the Odyssey. My favorite part is John Goodman as the Cyclops.

Kristen

[6-penny.livejournal.com]

I think that the God Janus also had altars at crossroads as well as gates.

Buried at the crossroads

[dvdscar.livejournal.com]

Suicides, murder victims, anyone you don't want climbing out of the ground and wandering around with vague corpsey thoughts of mayhem on their corpsey mind.

See http://irelandsown.net/crossroads.html.

David

[rosemary_edghill]

Wellllll....

When and where?

The answer to your question is going to be a thought different in Ancient Greece than it is in the American South, you know.

The place "where three roads meet" was sacred in Ancient Greece to Hecate Triformis, Lady of the Three Ways.

In the American South, a conjure man could call up Old Scratch at a crossroads and do a deal with him, as legendary bluesman Robert Johnston was said to have done.

In Medieval Europe, suicides were not permitted to be buried in hallowed ground (specifically a churchyard) and thus were often buried at crossroads. It has been suggested that the rationale behind this was that the ghost would become confused by the multiplicity of roads available to it (since it would inevitably rise) and not be able to find its way home to its family to imperil them.

Interestingly, burial at a crossroads is also part of the "long form" execution of a vampire: drive a stake of white hawthorn wood through its heart, cut off its head, fill its mouth with garlic, garland its body with white roses, and bury it at a crossroads. (As the old joke goes: What will a stake through the heart kill? Pretty much anything...)