Cultures of Death and Dying in Medieval and Early Modern Europe

This volume investigates certain aspects of medieval and early modern mentalities related to death in Europe, exploring some of the expressions of the European cultures of dying: customary beliefs, social practices and values related to death and dying that were shared by the people of medieval and early modern Europe. To a large extent, the Church and religion left its hallmark on this culture, defining it and giving it substance. Medieval canon law also regulated interment and who had the right to be buried in hallowed ground. However, we have chosen to talk about cultures in the plural to emphasize that there were parallel cultures and customs aside from the prevalent Catholic one in the Middle Ages. There was divergence and variation depending on status, social group, ethnicity, age, religion and so on, in addition to inevitable regional variations. After the Reformation, the new Evangelical churches started to form their own sets of beliefs and customs on the basis of the common Christian background while revising or abandoning some central tenets. This created more parallel cultures. Cultures of Death and Dying in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: An Introduction / Mia Korpiola and Anu Lahtinen 1 The Remembrance of the Deceased in the Traditional Polish Culture of the Middle Ages / Beata Wojciechowska 32 Deviant Burials: Societal Exclusion of Dead Outlaws in Medieval Norway / Anne Irene Riisøy 49 Parental Grief and Prayer in the Middle Ages: Religious Coping in Swedish Miracle Stories / Viktor Aldrin 82 Transforming the Investment in the Afterlife: Readings of the Poem "De Vita Hominis" in Pre-Reformation and Post-Reformation Denmark / Eivor Andersen Oftestad 106 Dicing towards Death: An Oracle Game for Miners at the Falun Copper Mine from the Early Seventeenth Century / Iris Ridder 129 "To Help the Deceased Guild Brother to His Grave": Guilds, Death and Funeral Arrangements in Late Medieval and Early Modern Norway, ca. 1300–1900 / Håkon Haugland 152 Post-Mortem – an Afterword / Ditlev Tamm 184 List of Contributors 191 List of Illustrations 193 cover and contents_final 1 01_introduction_final 5 02_beata_final_2 36 03_riisoy_final_2 53 04_aldrin_final_2 86 05_eivor_final_2 110 06_ridder_final_2 133 07_håkon_final_2 156 08_tamm_final 188 list of contributors_final 195 list of illustrations_final 197