Arval

By Richard Watson

In the past the three main categories of funerals, in most places, consisted of those of the very important people with territorial power whose obsequies were stage managed by the heralds of the College of Arms who ensured a display of political power and largesse to the poor; at a price, of course!

At the other end of the scale were the paupers who sadly had very little in the way of worldly goods, their passing was marked purely by basic religious rites.

In between these two extremes was a broad spectrum of an area's inhabitants whose desire was to be brought home as handsomely as possible. To use a middle of the road sample, the puritan devine Adam Martindale in his autobiography describes the 1658 funeral of his father;

"But considering how good a father he had beene, and how fashionably (in the time of his prosperity) had lived amongst his neighbours, we thought it convenient to bring him home handsomely out of his owne, and soe we did. For all that came to the house to fetch his corpse thence (beggars not excepted) were entertained with good meat*, piping hot, and strong ale in great plentie. Then at Prestcott, when the corpse was interred and the soules of the auditors feasted with an excellent sermon, preached by Mr. Wright, upon that proper text, Psalm XC. 10, there was a rich dinner readie prepared at the tavern for the kindred, and so many more as a great roome would receive with plentie of wine and strong drinke, and for all the rest tag and rag sufficient store of such provisions as are usuall at ordinary burials."

The final sentence about the tag and rag provisions is what used to be described in the North West as the arval. The word arval is common in Scandinavia and also occurs in Wales as arwel, and it means funeral and was attached to the traditional fare given as part of the poor-dole, that is, the ale, bread and cheese; certainly amongst the rural people this applied. The dole was often money, the Penny-Dole being sometimes quoted in wills, being distributed to all the paupers who attended the funeral. The wealthier people often made provision for black cloaks and other suitable accessories to be worn, the pauper recipients escorting the cortege at the funeral and being the better off for clothing in the future.

Widow Elizabeth Browne of Bartle directed that at her funeral in 1670 a penny-dole had to be dealt to the poor, and all things had to be provided decently and in good order both at the house and at the church. When we consider that in the late seventeenth century a married couple could live in retirement in relative sufficiency on £8 a year, the scale of expenditure on the burial is brought in focus when we learn that Woodplumpton farmer, Myles Bayne's funeral in 1662 cost £5.1.0 (£5.05) out of his entire personal estate of £10.10.10 (£10.54). The desire for a proper send off was in most people's minds. Although, Thomas Archer of Sowerby had an estate of only £14.6.8 (£14.34) he allotted one third part of this to "the bringing of me home" and charged two of his friends to oversee that.

Regarding the arval itself, in 1672 William Carter of the Lower End of Pilling bequeathed to his eldest son Robert "the lead** wherein we brew for Arvarelum", but this was a wealthy household. Six years later, and nearby, widow Margrett Dager of Preesall desired ...."after my funeral chargis is payd and cofinge and the arvall to be all at wido Nicksons of Preesall with bread drinke and cheese at the same..." Obviously, Widow Nickson kept the local pub, but arval ale could also be distributed at the church as the valuers of the goods of John Eccleston of Catforth noted in 1657:

Charges at house and Penny-dole £1.2.5. (£1.13)
For drink and bread at the church and church dues £3.8.7 (£3.43)
All out of personal estate of £73.14.1 (£73.71)

By comparison, Alice Faire of Heyhouses in Lytham fourteen years later allowed £1.6.8. (£1.34) "...to be spent at the Towne". Her sparse possessions only amounted to £8.6.0. (£8.30) which brings into focus the importance of the arval, and no matter what it cost one had to be seen to be brought home according to your degree and station in life.

* Food, not flesh.
** A lead cistern for brewing.