The Dead and the Living in Paris and London, 1500-1670

by Vanessa Harding

Overview

This innovative work of social history is about the burial of the dead, and suggests why it is such an important historical issue. Vanessa Harding focuses on the turbulent worlds of early modern London and Paris, and makes use of rich contemporary documentation to compare and contrast their experience of dealing with the dead, profoundly questioned by the impact of the Reformation. Dr. Harding shows the over-arching importance of place and location, and of an urban social setting in which consumption and display were manifest everywhere, in shaping funeral ritual.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521811262
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/20/2002
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

Vanessa Harding is Senior Lecturer in London History at Birkbeck, London and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Date of Birth:

March 6, 1977

Table of Contents

List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Note on spelling, sums of money, etc.; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction; 2. London and Paris, the setting of life and death; 3. 'Lamentable pinfoulds of the deaths of men': parish churchyards and churchyard burial; 4. Innocents and outcasts: civic and non-parochial churchyards; 5. 'Making churches charnel houses': the constraints of church burial; 6. 'A fine and private place': burial chapels, vaults and tombs; 7. 'Meet and convenient for my estate and degree': funeral conventions and choices; 8. 'The whole profit of the funeralls': commercialisation and consumption; 9. 'The last love and ceremony': funerals, community and civic identity; 10. Conclusion; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"This is undoubtedly a major scholarly contribution to the literature and research on death in the early modern period, underscored by the impressive seven pages of archival sources listed in the bibliography. Harding has provided a monograph which is both detailed and thorough, but also fascinating and highly readable." Sixteenth Century Journal

"Harding's meticulous research relies heavily on archival sources sources in the two capitals. The result is a fascinating study designed largely for specialists, the richness of which cannot be appreciated from this brief review. Highly recommended." Choice

"[Harding] offers a felicitous blend of archival empiricism and theories about identity, civic ritual, and social change...This study is rich in data, in anecdote, and in general reflections about early modern history." Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"[A] valuable addition to the literature on early modern death and dying." H-ALBION

"This book supplies a unique perspecctive on the complex issues of dying and burial." Renaissance Quarterly

"This is an excellent book. It is clearly structured, beautifully written, and thoroughly researched...this is an admirable piece of historical scholarship and an enormously valuable contribution to both urban history and the history of death." Albion

"...An excellent example of careful research clearly presented in lucid prose that is rich in anecdote." Seventeenth-Century News

"Vanessa Harding has assembled an impressive amount of primary and secondary research into this very interesting and very readable book." Comitatus

From the Publisher

Harding (London history, U. of London) compares the material reality of death and burial in the early modern urban settings of London and Paris, which experienced death rates three to four times those prevalent now. Coverage includes parish churchyards and churchyard burial; civic and non-parochial churchyards; the constraints of church burial; burial chapels, vaults, and tombs; funeral conventions and choices; the commercial aspects of funerals; and funerals as a social ritual of participation, and as a demonstration of solidarity, respect, or affection. For scholars and students interested in the history of the modern city, and social and cultural change in an urban environment. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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