Topographies of the afterlife

Reconsidering infant burials in medieval mortuary space

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2405422
AutoresBarbara Hausmair (0000-0001-7698-7620, Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstanz, Germany, autor correspondente)
Ano2017
Volume17
Fascículo2
Páginas210-236
Data de publicação2017-06-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Social Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1469-6053 • E-ISSN: 1741-2951
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1469605317704347
OpenAlexW2608256084
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas11
Referências citadas15

Across societies, deaths which take place in early infancy often trigger distinctive responses in burial practices, signifying the ambivalent social status of those who died before they really lived. This paper focuses on burial practices in medieval Central Europe pertaining to children who died before, during or shortly after birth. It discusses the relationship between medieval laity, ecclesiastic power and social space, using three medieval cemeteries in Switzerland and Austria as examples. By integrating considerations of medieval practices of infant baptism, afterlife topography and social theories of space, a methodological and interpretative framework is outlined and employed for approaching burials of early-deceased infants, the social dimension of related local burial practices, and processes of power negotiation between medieval laypeople and church authorities

Afterlife · Ambivalence · Ancient history · Art · Literature · Middle Ages · Negotiation · Power (physics · Social science · Sociology · Anthropology · Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Historical Economic and Social Studies · History · Psychology · Social Psychology