Placebo (at funeral)
Encyclopedia
An obsolete usage of the word placebo was to mean someone who came to a funeral, claiming (often falsely) a connection with the deceased to try to get a share of any food and/or drink being handed out. This usage originated from the phrase "placebo Domino in regione vivorum" in the Roman Catholic Church
's Office of the Dead
ritual.
from those used in most English bibles: for example, the Vulgate Psalm 114 is Hebrew Psalm 116. See Composition of the Book of Psalms.
By the eighth century, the Christian Church in the West had an established form and content of its Office of the Dead
ritual, taking the relevant verse from the Vulgate.
At the end of each recited passage, the congregation made a response (antiphon
) to each recitation. The celebrant’s first recitation was Psalm 116:1–9 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=23&chapter=116&version=9 (Psalm 114:1–9 in the Septuagint), and the congregation’s first responding antiphon was verse 9 of that Psalm.
Psalm 114:9 in the Vulgate says, "placebo Domino in regione vivorum"http://www.drbo.org/lvb/chapter/21114.htm ("I will please the Lord in the land of the living"); the equivalent verse in English bibles is Psalm 116:9, "I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living".
The Vulgate verse follows the Greek Septuagint in meaning. The Christian scholar John Chrysostom
(347–407) understood the verse to mean that "those who had departed [from this life] accompanied by good deeds ... [would] abide forever in high honor", and it was from this perspective that he chose to read the Septuagint as saying, "I shall be pleasing in the sight of the Lord in the land of the living" (εὐαρεστήσω ἐναντίον κυρίου ἐν χώρᾳ ζώντων), (Hill 1998, p. 87). See also Popper (1945), Shapiro (1968), Lasagna (1986), Aronson (1999), Jacobs (2000), and Walach (2003).
ritual. As a consequence, distant relatives and other, unrelated, parasites would attend the ceremony, simulating great anguish and grief in the hope of, at least, being given food and drink.
The practice was so widespread that these parasites were soon recognized as the personification of all things useless, and were considered to be archetypical simulators. Because the grief simulators' first collective act was to chant "placebo Domino in regione vivorum", they were collectively labelled (in French) as either "placebo singers" or "singers of placebo"; they were so labelled because they sang the word "placebo", not because they were "choral placaters", using their song to please.
had Chaucer’s Parson in mind when he wrote: "What a book a Devil's Chaplain
might write on the clumsy, wasteful, blundering low and horridly cruel works of nature.")
The English word "placebo" also denoted a sycophant
; this use seems to have arisen among those otherwise unaware of the words’s origin but who knew that the word is Latin for "I will please".
Chaucer’s Merchant’s Tale contains a character called Placebo, and other significantly named characters:
This may have helped to give "placebo
" the English medical meaning of "simulator".
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
's Office of the Dead
Office of the Dead
The Office of the Dead is a prayer cycle of the Liturgy of the Hours in the Roman Catholic Church, said for the repose of the soul of a decedent. It is the proper reading on All Souls' Day for all souls in Purgatory, and can be a votive office on other days when said for a particular decedent...
ritual.
Origin and significance of "placebo Domino in regione vivorum"
The numbers of the Psalms are different in the VulgateVulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
from those used in most English bibles: for example, the Vulgate Psalm 114 is Hebrew Psalm 116. See Composition of the Book of Psalms.
By the eighth century, the Christian Church in the West had an established form and content of its Office of the Dead
Office of the Dead
The Office of the Dead is a prayer cycle of the Liturgy of the Hours in the Roman Catholic Church, said for the repose of the soul of a decedent. It is the proper reading on All Souls' Day for all souls in Purgatory, and can be a votive office on other days when said for a particular decedent...
ritual, taking the relevant verse from the Vulgate.
At the end of each recited passage, the congregation made a response (antiphon
Antiphon
An antiphon in Christian music and ritual, is a "responsory" by a choir or congregation, usually in Gregorian chant, to a psalm or other text in a religious service or musical work....
) to each recitation. The celebrant’s first recitation was Psalm 116:1–9 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=23&chapter=116&version=9 (Psalm 114:1–9 in the Septuagint), and the congregation’s first responding antiphon was verse 9 of that Psalm.
Psalm 114:9 in the Vulgate says, "placebo Domino in regione vivorum"http://www.drbo.org/lvb/chapter/21114.htm ("I will please the Lord in the land of the living"); the equivalent verse in English bibles is Psalm 116:9, "I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living".
The Vulgate verse follows the Greek Septuagint in meaning. The Christian scholar John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
(347–407) understood the verse to mean that "those who had departed [from this life] accompanied by good deeds ... [would] abide forever in high honor", and it was from this perspective that he chose to read the Septuagint as saying, "I shall be pleasing in the sight of the Lord in the land of the living" (εὐαρεστήσω ἐναντίον κυρίου ἐν χώρᾳ ζώντων), (Hill 1998, p. 87). See also Popper (1945), Shapiro (1968), Lasagna (1986), Aronson (1999), Jacobs (2000), and Walach (2003).
"Placebo singers" in French custom
In France, it was the custom for the mourning family to distribute largesse to the congregation immediately following the Office of the DeadOffice of the Dead
The Office of the Dead is a prayer cycle of the Liturgy of the Hours in the Roman Catholic Church, said for the repose of the soul of a decedent. It is the proper reading on All Souls' Day for all souls in Purgatory, and can be a votive office on other days when said for a particular decedent...
ritual. As a consequence, distant relatives and other, unrelated, parasites would attend the ceremony, simulating great anguish and grief in the hope of, at least, being given food and drink.
The practice was so widespread that these parasites were soon recognized as the personification of all things useless, and were considered to be archetypical simulators. Because the grief simulators' first collective act was to chant "placebo Domino in regione vivorum", they were collectively labelled (in French) as either "placebo singers" or "singers of placebo"; they were so labelled because they sang the word "placebo", not because they were "choral placaters", using their song to please.
Adoption of the expression in English
By the time of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (circa 1386), the disparaging English expression "placebo singer", meaning a parasite or a sycophant, was well established in the English language. In Chaucer’s Parson’s Tale, for example, the Parson speaks of how flatterers (those who continuously "sing Placebo") are "the Devil’s Chaplains". (Perhaps Charles DarwinCharles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
had Chaucer’s Parson in mind when he wrote: "What a book a Devil's Chaplain
A Devil's Chaplain
A Devil's Chaplain, subtitled Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love is a 2003 book of selected essays and other writings by Richard Dawkins. Published five years after his previous book Unweaving the Rainbow, it contains 32 essays covering subjects including pseudoscience, genetic...
might write on the clumsy, wasteful, blundering low and horridly cruel works of nature.")
The English word "placebo" also denoted a sycophant
Sycophant
Sycophancy means:# Obsequious flattery; servility.# The character or characteristic of a sycophant.Alternative phrases are often used such as:-Etymology:...
; this use seems to have arisen among those otherwise unaware of the words’s origin but who knew that the word is Latin for "I will please".
Chaucer’s Merchant’s Tale contains a character called Placebo, and other significantly named characters:
- January: the old, blind knight, with hair as white as snow.
- May: his beautiful, lusty, and extremely young wife (and, thus, a January–May marriage).
- Justinus (the "noble man"): his correct and thoughtful brother, who strongly advised against the marriage of January to May (which also involved a considerable transfer of money, land, and wealth to May).
- Placebo (the "Yes man"): his sycophantic, flattering brother, who never once raised objection to any of January’s thoughts, and actively supports January's proposal.
This may have helped to give "placebo
Placebo
A placebo is a simulated or otherwise medically ineffectual treatment for a disease or other medical condition intended to deceive the recipient...
" the English medical meaning of "simulator".