Bier 300966 213614811 2008-05-20T02:16:46Z Iamwisesun 4767928 [[Image:JPII on bier.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Pope John Paul II]] [[lying in state]] on his funeral bier at [[St. Peter's Basilica]] in [[Rome]].]] {{otheruses1|a frame to transport corpses}} A '''bier''' is a stand on which a [[dead body|corpse]], or [[coffin]] containing a corpse, is placed to [[lie in state]] or to be carried to the [[grave]].<ref>''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 1973), s.v., "bier"</ref> In [[Christian burial]], the bier is often set up in the center of the [[nave]] with candles placed around it, and there it remains during the funeral. [[Image:Bier.JPG|thumb|left|A wheeled bier from [[Grendon, Northamptonshire|Grendon]] church, [[Northamptonshire]].]] The bier is a flat frame, traditionally [[wood]]en but sometimes made of other materials. In antiquity it was often simply a wooden board on which the dead was placed, covered with a [[shroud]]. In modern times, however, the corpse is almost never carried on the bier without being first placed in a [[coffin]], though the coffin is sometimes kept open. A bier is often draped with cloth, to add to the dignity of the funeral service. The modern funeral industry uses a collapsible aluminum bier on wheels, known as a "church truck" to more conveniently move the coffin in and out of the church or [[funeral home]] for services. ==References== {{Reflist}} {{wikt|bier}} ==See also== *[[Catafalque]] *[[Hearse]] [[Category:Funeral transportation]] [[de:Totenbahre]] [[simple:Bier]]