medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Megan--do you have a source for the consecration ritual for exterior
places, such as fields? I recall reading in Martene's Ritibus about
clergy making processions around the area to be consecrated, praying
and planting or burying crosses at the corners (4, I guess) and in the
center of the area. I would assume there was a common practice
(variable according to place/tradition) that would parallel the ancient
ritual for the consecration of a church (interior space).
Leah Rutchick
Quoting Megan McLaughlin <[log in to unmask]>:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
> culture
>
> Not to be immodest (again), but I have a long section on the location
> of
> Christian burials in late antiquity and the early middle ages in my
> book,
> Consorting with Saints: Prayer for the Dead in Early Medieval
> France
> (Cornell, 1994)--to make a long story short, as late as the 9th
> century,
> the dead were not always buried in consecrated ground. In fact,
> consecrated cemeteries were not always available in rural
> communities, so
> burials took place in fields, family plots, etc. Best, Megan
>
>
> At 06:22 PM 10/28/2004 -0400, you wrote:
> >medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
> culture
> >A partial answer for Meg aobout early Christian burial. A good book
> for
> >more information, not so much for consecration matters but for
> burial
> >stuff is Habenstein, Robert and Lamers, William. The History of
> American
> >Funeral Directing. Milwaukee: National Funeral Directors
> Association,
> >1985. You might check the phone book to see if there is a mortuary
> >college near you as they should have this book and more information
> as well.
> >
> >He quotes a book by O'Rieley (I can give the certs if anyone needs
> them)
> >who says:
> >For the burial of her dead, the church has always prescribed the
> settig
> >apaert and designation of places suitable for the tombs and graves.
> ...
> >the lawe of the church demands that the place set aside for their
> >interment should obtain a special religious significance. The
> >ground,.......was alwaysconsidered as sacred and was deputed so by
> suitble
> >religiousrites when such were possible. These designated locations
> wre
> >such as the customs and times preferred."
> >
> >So, yes there would have been some form of consecration.
> >
> >The earliest Christian burials from apostolic times to the
> persecution of
> >Dormition were in family vaults erected along the roads leading from
> great
> >cities. A sanitary rule from one of the laws of the Twelve Tablets
> forbad
> >cremation or burial inside the city and this held true for
> >severalcenturies \. Then you have the period of the catacombs.
> Catacombs
> >were constructed in other countries as well. At the end of the 4th
> century
> >when the great persecutrions ended, it was in vogue for outdoor
> "open air"
> >cemeteries both in Rome and, archaeologists have found, in
> >Africa. Although Roman law stilmandated utside city walls, most of
> the
> >Christian ones were inside and near churches. (so, not all next to
> churches).
> >Habenstein points out that funeral practices were greatly influenced
> by
> >the cultures locally.
> >
> >The bibliography of this book is very extensive and there are
> several
> >books on early Christian burial listed. Also, Philip Aires book on
> death
> >would be a good resource.
> >
> >Hope this helps a little
> >ann
>
>**********************************************************************
> To
> >join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
> to:
> >[log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it
> to:
> >[log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the
> message:
> >leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to
> report
> >problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
> >[log in to unmask] For further information,
> visit
> >our web site:
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
>
> Megan McLaughlin
> Associate Professor of History and Women's Studies
> University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
> Department of History, 309 Gregory Hall
> 810 South Wright Street
> Urbana, Illinois 61801 U.S.A.
> Phone: 217-244-2084
> Fax: 217-333-2297
> E-mail: [log in to unmask]
>
> **********************************************************************
> To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
> to: [log in to unmask]
> To send a message to the list, address it to:
> [log in to unmask]
> To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
> to: [log in to unmask]
> In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write
> to:
> [log in to unmask]
> For further information, visit our web site:
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
>
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|