Feasting the Dead: Food and Drink in Anglo-Saxon Burial Rituals (Anglo-Saxon Studies) (Anglo-Saxon Studies)

Anglo-Saxons were frequently buried with material artefacts, ranging from pots to clothing to jewellery, and also with items of food, while the funeral ritual itself was frequently marked by feasting, sometimes at the graveside. The book examines the place of food and feasting in funerary rituals from the earliest period to the eleventh century, considering the changes and transformations that occurred during this time, drawing on a wide range of sources, from archaeological evidence to the existing texts. It looks in particular at representations of funerary feasting, how it functions as a tool for memory, and sheds light on the relationship between the living and the dead. CHRISTINA LEE is a lecturer in the School of English Studies at the University of Nottingham. An examination of the frequently elaborate rituals of food and feasting in Anglo-Saxon funeral rites. Anglo-Saxons were frequently buried with material artefacts, ranging from pots to clothing to jewellery, and also with items of food, while the funeral ritual itself was frequently marked by feasting, sometimes at the graveside. The book examines the place of food and feasting in funerary rituals from the earliest period to the eleventh century, considering the changes and transformations that occurred during this time, drawing on a wide range of sources,from archaeological evidence to the existing texts. It looks in particular at representations of funerary feasting, how it functions as a tool for memory, and sheds light on the relationship between the living and the dead. CHRISTINA LEE is a lecturer in the School of English Studies at the University of Nottingham. "Anglo-Saxons were not only frequently buried with material artefacts ranging from pots to clothing to jewellery, they were also often buried with items of food; the funeral ritual itself was sometimes marked by feasting, even at the graveside." "Christina Lee examines the place of food and feasting in funeral rituals from the earliest period to the eleventh century, considering the changes and transformations that occurred during this time. She draws on a wide range of sources, from archaeological evidence to the existing texts; she is concerned particularly to look at representations of funeral feasting and how it functioned as a tool for memory, shedding light on the relationship between the living and the dead." -- Prové de l'editor "Anglo-Saxons were not only frequently buried with material artefacts ranging from pots to clothing to jewellery, they were also often buried with items of food; the funeral ritual itself was sometimes marked by feasting, even at the graveside." "Christina Lee examines the place of food and feasting in funeral rituals from the earliest period to the eleventh century, considering the changes and transformations that occurred during this time. She draws on a wide range of sources, from archaeological evidence to the existing texts; she is concerned particularly to look at representations of funeral feasting and how it functioned as a tool for memory, shedding light on the relationship between the living and the dead."--Jacket CONTENTS 6 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 8 PREFACE 10 ABBREVIATIONS 14 INTRODUCTION 16 1. Eorðan wæstmas: a Feast for the Living 32 2. Bare Bones: Animals in Cemeteries 66 3. Pots, Buckets and Cauldrons: the Inventory of Feasting 87 4. Last Orders? 102 5. The Grateful Dead: Feasting and Memory 119 6. Feasting Between the Margins 141 CONCLUSION 161 BIBLIOGRAPHY 164 INDEX 186