This volume of essays provides a comprehensive treatment of a very significant component of the societies of late medieval and early modern Europe: the dead. It argues that to contemporaries the 'placing' of the dead, in physical, spiritual and social terms, was a vitally important exercise, and one which often involved conflict and complex negotiation. The contributions range widely geographically, from Scotland to Transylvania, and address a spectrum of themes: attitudes towards the corpse, patterns of burial, forms of commemoration, the treatment of dead infants, the nature of the afterlife and ghosts. Individually the essays help to illuminate several current historiographical concerns: the significance of the Black Death, the impact of the protestant and catholic Reformations, and interactions between 'elite' and 'popular' culture. Collectively, by exploring the social and cultural meanings of attitudes towards the dead, they provide insight into the way these past societies understood themselves.

This book provides a comprehensive account of attitudes towards the dead and their 'placing'.
Reviews
'These are microstudies of a very high standard, with thorough bibliographies, which provide a refreshing examination of topics that are important for the history of theology.' Expository Times



Book Information
ISBN 9780521645188
Author Bruce Gordon
Format Paperback
Page Count 340
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 545g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 153mm * 23mm