Burning Bodies like the heathen kings

[Holbytlass]

Originally Posted by alatar

Just a thought: was burning the dead seen as a way to keep the body from becoming an undead tool or plaything of the enemy - wight, zombie, ghost, etc?

Originally Posted by piosenniel

It is Gandalf in the chapter, The Pyre of Denethor from The Return of the King who speaks of heathen kings. And he defines them as being those under the Domination of the Dark Lord who slew themselves in pride and despair along with their kin.

No, seeing how the 'enemy' was Sauron and they were under his dominion. In that instance, I would think that Sauron would see cremation as disloyal and a betrayal, if he so chooses to use the dead as a tool.