The art of embalming is believed to have been started by ancient civilisations, most notably the Ancient Egyptians, who are perhaps most famous for their mummification techniques. However, the desire to preserve the body has endured over the millenia, and many different techniques have been used to try and forestall the decay of the deceased.
Medieval Methods
Until quite recently, in Western civilizations there was considered to be little need to preserve the earthly body. Papal decree forbade most dismemberment of the body, and funerary preparations were mostly limited to washing and clothing the deceased. However, many famous figures did have at least part of their body preserved. For example, the famous Scottish warrior Robert the Bruce requested that his heart be removed and preserved so that it could be taken on the Crusades by his friend James Douglas. Medieval methods of preservation were somewhat more crude than the intricate procedure that was later developed; Bruce’s heart was submerged in hot tar, essentially cooking it. It was carried in a canister around Douglas’ neck for several years before eventually being returned to Scotland for burial.
Sometimes, preserving the body was a practical need rather than a romantic desire. This was often the case if an important figure died unexpectedly. Prior to the Renaissance, if a body needed to be kept from decomposing, it was generally submerged in alcohol. There are many accounts of this taking place, especially to those who had died at sea. Perhaps best known of these is Admiral Nelson, whose body was placed in a barrel of brandy after he was killed during the Battle of Trafalgar.
Modern Embalming
Where it was available, bodies were sometimes put on ice or special cooling mats. However, these were only viable for short periods of time and were generally unsuitable for transporting bodies long distances. With the advent of railways, people began to request burial in places much further afield from where they lived or died. It therefore became necessary to find methods of preservation that were more reliable than old techniques.
Before formaldehyde became the embalming fluid of choice, arsenic was often used to preserve bodies. During the 1830s, arsenic was commonly used to preserve cadavers for medical students. Its use was accelerated by the advent of the American Civil War, where unprecedented numbers of soldiers often had to be transported hundreds of miles for burial. The practice was popularised by the embalming of Abraham Lincoln, whose body was meticulously preserved in order to carry out a grand funeral procession that lasted three weeks.
Embalming Today
Today, it is not often necessary to preserve human bodies for long periods of time unless they are being donated to medical science. Modern refrigeration means that bodies can be kept from decaying without the need for invasive techniques, and embalming is usually only performed as part of funeral preparations when requested by the family. Embalming is much more common in the US, where open casket funerals followed by burial are far more popular than cremation. This is the opposite of the UK, where 90% of people opt for cremation, though there is now growing popularity for ‘green burials’.
Modern embalmers carry out the process by injecting the body with a formaldehyde solution (known as formalin) which stops the body decaying. Plastic caps are inserted under the eyelids before they are glued shut, and the jaw is stitched closed. Cosmetic work is then done to give the body a more restful appearance for viewing.
Sources and Further Reading
https://www.britannica.com/topic/embalming
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3931544/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338116727_Embalming_-History_to_its_Recent_Advancements
Whorton, J. C., The Arsenic Century, (Oxford, 2010)