Requiem - Roberta Gilchrist

This volume challenges previous assumptions about medieval
burial through comprehensive study of excavated monastic
cemeteries. Some 8000 graves are analysed from more than 70
cemeteries in England, Wales and Scotland, focusing principally
on medieval religious houses (c.1050-c.1600) with comparative
evidence from cathedrals, parish churches and Jewish cemeteries.
The book is complemented by a fully accessible, web-mounted
database archived with the Archaeology Data Service. The study
offers an innovative reassessment based on a multidisciplinary
framework: medieval visual and written sources are used to
identify the distinct temporal and spatial contexts of medieval
death. This approach emphasises the sequential nature of medieval
death; from the preparation of the body, through to the
construction of the grave, and the performance of commemorative
rites after the burial. By highlighting the sequence of events,
this volume places new emphasis on the significance of social
identity, the agency of mourners, and the role of the family and
community in medieval burial rituals. This close empirical study
prompts greater attention to the recording and analysis of coffin
and grave fills, and stimulates consideration of burial as a form
of popular religious practice. For the first time it has been
possible to explore medieval burial as a demonstration of private
and communal belief that was expressed both diversely and
intimately.