Death Culture History: Illustrated Interpretation of the History of Death Culture Since 1300

Author: Michelle Vovelle
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2004-06-01
Features: Death is feared, but the history of death is gripping. The study of death and the history of death must occupy an undeniable position in the new history of thought. Vovelle guides us from the perspective of death to review the development of Western death history since 1300, explore the changes in collective attitudes toward death, examine the various responses of people in different periods and regions as they face death, and even, to some extent, judge or evaluate a society through its death system. Since its publication in 1983, this book has become a classic in the field. As a comprehensive study, it integrates demography, medicine, religion, sociology, and art and literary research. With the support of abundant evidence, the author presents a complete and authoritative picture of Western death history: from the Black Death in the Middle Ages to the large-scale Baroque rituals of death, the "enlightened" death of natural philosophy, the "heroic" death of the Renaissance, the "bourgeois" death of will-making, and finally entering the modern era of death taboos. In the new edition (2000 edition) of this book, the author's newly written preface summarizes the new achievements of research in the past 20 years.