1. Definition
A castrum doloris (‘castle of grief’; German Trauergerüst, in Grimm also Trauerburg, Trauerbühne – ‘sepulchral scaffold/tower/stage’ [1]) is an architectural structure that was increasingly used from the beginning of the early modern period for the public viewing of deceased prominent personalities or their effigies (see below, 2.). This was thus a form of ephemeral festival decoration as an element of sepulchral culture, since it was only put up for the dura…