Since they remained unburied and unshriven, these unfortunates, as was noted earlier, were regarded as unclean dead.
In addition, among those who had died unshriven, had not received a Christian burial and whose souls were denied passage into the next world, an important place was occupied by those suspected of witchcraft.
A wicked man, who had died angry and unshriven, came out of his grave every night and roamed the streets, corrupting the air with his breath, so that plague broke out and many died.
Years ago, the worst possible thing that could happen to a person was to die unshriven - or to die with sins still not forgiven.
Our ancestors feared, the narrator observes, that ‘they might go to their creator unshriven.’