The corpse in the Middle Ages : embalming, cremating, and the cultural construction of the dead body

"To what extent are the dead truly dead? In medieval society, corpses were assigned special functions and meanings in several different ways. They were still present in the daily life of the family of the deceased, and could even play active roles in the life of the community. Taking the materiality of death as a point of departure, this book comprehensively examines the conservation, burial and destruction of the corpse in its specific historical context. An ambivalent treatment of the dead body emerges, one which necessarily confronts established modern perspectives on death. New scientific methods have enabled archaeologists to understand the remains of the dead as valuable source material. This book contextualizes the resulting insights for the first time in an interdisciplinary framework, considering their place in the broader picture drawn by the written sources of the period, ranging from canon law and hagiography to medieval literature and historiography"-- Provided by publisher.

Object Details

• Alternative title: Der Leichnam im Mittelalter
• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• ISBN: 9781909400870 ; 1909400874
• Dimensions: 29 cm
• Extent: 780 Seiten
• Language: Englisch

Classification and Topics

• Keyword: Geschichte 500-1500 ; Leiche ; Totenkult ; Bestattungsritus ; Einbalsamieren ; Kultur

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): London, Turnhout
• (who): Harvey Miller Publishers
• (when): [2020]
• Creator: Schmitz-Esser, Romedio
• Contributor: Classen, Albrecht ; Radtke, Carolin

Further information

• Table of contents: Introduction. The constructed corpse : methodology, stucture, and goals -- A topic between popular hype and historical lack of interest : the state of research -- The Buried Corpse. The corpse and resurrection -- The proper burial in the middle ages -- Internment in the time of crisis -- The corpse portrayed -- The Holy Corpse. Real presence and the cult of relics -- Transfer of relics and fragmenting the corpse -- The corpse as proof of sanctity -- Embalming and the Preservatioin of Corpses. Ancient embalming in the middle ages -- Change of the embalming technique in the time of the Carolingians -- Embalming in the high middle ages -- Kitchen, cooking, and the treatment of the corpse -- Dissection of the corpse and the professionalization of embalming -- Innovations in high and late m edieval embalming processes and the anthropological and archeological data -- Galen and the cold, humid corpse : drying of the corpse as a technique in embalming -- Booming of embalming : from the eighteenth century to today -- Embalming, preservation of the body, and the cult of relics -- Authority and the Corpse. Visiting a corpse-the visit by a corpse -- The ruler's corpse as a sign of victory -- The specialists of death and their ruler clientele : the location of the grave and the row of corpses as a means for legitimization -- Conversion,legitimacy, and the beloved bones of the ancestors -- The Community of the Dead and the Corpse in the "Ordo". Hierarchy of the funeral sites -- Grave donations between here and the afterlife -- Objects useful for the corpse -- The Corpse and the Law. The corpse as the interim occupant of an office -- The corpse as both subject and object of the law -- Marking borders, church authority, and the value of the corpse -- The Living Corpse. The sleeping dead and its physically continued life -- Signs of life : speaking, bleeding, and continued growth of nails and hair -- Funeral ritual to prevent the appearance of revenants -- The corpse besieged by demons -- The active corpse -- The Destruction and Desecration of Corpses. Deviation from the funerary ritual as punishment and exclusion -- Excommunicated corpses and death under the interdict -- The growing concern with the moral integrity of the dead : individuals responsible for church desecration, those who rejected confession, and those dead who had died without their guilt having been forgiven and atoned -- Corpse desecration -- Burning and physical annihilation -- The humble corpse -- The Corpse as Medicine and Miracle Cure. The corpse as royal blessing? -- The corpse as a medium to create miracles and magic -- "Mumia vera"-mummies as a medical drug -- Building sacrifice and the corpse as a weapon -- Heart, Head, and Hand-the Body Parts of Corpses From an Anthropological and Anatomical Perspective. The practice of multiple burials in the high and late middle ages.
• Rights: Bei diesem Objekt liegt nur das Inhaltsverzeichnis digital vor. Der Zugriff darauf ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 11.06.2025, 2:27 PM CEST