In fact, Cornell is even more deeply involved in death than you think. May
I immodestly suggest my book, Consorting with Saints: Prayer for the Dead
in Early Medieval France (Cornell, 1994), in which I discuss the issue
Ingegerd raised in some detail? Megan
>I don't pretend to be an expert in this area but three recent books may be
>of great help to you:
>
>Frederick S. Paxton, _Christianizing Death: The Creation of a Ritual
>Process in Early Medieval Europe_ (Cornell Univ. Press, 1990).
>
>Patrick J. Geary, _Living With the Death in the Middle Ages_ (Cornell
>Univ. Press, 1994).
>
>Paul Binski, _Medieval Death: Ritual and Representation_ (Cornell Univ.
>Press, 1996).
>
>(Anybody have any ideas why Cornell seems so deeply committed to such fatal
>endeavors these days??)
>
>John Parsons
>
>
>On Thu, 31 Dec 1998, Ingegerd Holand wrote:
>
>> Dear List,
>> When I wrote my Ph.D. thesis in archaeology a couple of years ago, I read
>> some accounts of how pagan beliefs and ritual structures survived into
>> Christian times in my native Norway, especially in common rituals associated
>> with life transitions, such as births, marriages, burials etc.
>> One of these accounts also stressed the lack of early church involvement in
>> carrying out these rituals, partly because of the lack of clergy in many
>> rural parts, and partly because they would have to be paid if people wanted
>> to use them. The result, as far as I understood it, was that people were
>> largely left to organize and carry out for instance burials, just as they
>> had in pagan times, without the church getting involved for more than a
>> short blessing, if that.
>> Since reading this, I have been curious as to how actively the early church
>> was involved in the sort of rituals and ceremonies that marked ordinary
>> people's lives. Somehow, I had always thought that one of the main
>> differences between paganism and Christianity was the appropriation of
>> ritual in the Christian church, but perhaps this wasn't so?
>> If anyone out there has any thoughts on this, I would be very interested to
>> hear them.
>> Happy New Year to all,
>> Ingegerd H.
>>
>> Dr. Ingegerd Holand
>> 140 Castelnau
>> London SW13 9ET
>> e-mail: [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
Megan McLaughlin
Associate Professor of History and Women's Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
309 Gregory Hall, 810 S. Wright St.
Urbana, IL 61801 U.S.A.
Phone: 217-244-2084
Fax: 217-333-2297
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
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