Death inspectors or the ‘professionals’ of death during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Transylvania
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15082383 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marius Rotar (0000-0002-7021-4034, 1 Decembrie 1918 University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 240-255 |
| Publication date | 2012-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Mortality (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1357-6275 • E-ISSN: 1469-9885 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13576275.2012.651835 |
| OpenAlex | W2025806288 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 7 |
This paper profiles the role of death inspectors in society and the Transylvanian death system in a historical moment, when the State's interest in medical problems increasingly became public policy. The paper highlights some aspects of death and its registration in the second half of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century in Transylvania. The main question is: who were the funerary professionals at this time? While it is possible to identify various categories that could be considered ‘professional’, this paper focuses mainly upon death inspectors. With statutory status under the Sanitary Law of 1876, the death inspectors outnumbered doctors, and the main feature of their job was to certify death. According to the law, burial was not possible without their consent. The death inspectors provided a connection between the fact of death and its registration. They periodically conveyed information to the local authorities about the death rate and evolution of different epidemics. Their professional techniques were based on the everyday practice of identifying the signs of death rather than on scientific knowledge. Their existence was a response to the lack of medical personnel in Transylvania at the time, and they tried to meet the needs of a rural society from multiple perspectives
Political science · State (computer science · Statutory law · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · History · Law
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.4 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2024 (4) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |