Punitive Exhumation in the Middle Ages: A Theology Gleaned from Practice
In Christianity, the General Resurrection was believed to ensure the survival of both body and soul. This paper considers a very different kind of resurrection: the punitive exhumation of a sinner's body at the hands of medieval religious authorities, how and why it evolved, and what it ultimat...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
SCM Press
2024
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| In: |
Concilium
Year: 2024, Issue: 2, Pages: 105-114 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Exhumation
/ Punishment
/ Excommunication
/ Body
/ History
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| IxTheo Classification: | NBA Dogmatics NBE Anthropology SB Catholic Church law |
| Further subjects: | B
EXHUMATION
B FAITH (Christianity) B Resurrection |
| Summary: | In Christianity, the General Resurrection was believed to ensure the survival of both body and soul. This paper considers a very different kind of resurrection: the punitive exhumation of a sinner's body at the hands of medieval religious authorities, how and why it evolved, and what it ultimately signified. Although Christianity theoretically rejected the pagan view that the manner of death affected an individual's prospects in the afterlife, there is considerable evidence that this view was nevertheless fostered by the faith's incarnate nature. The tacit theology informing the exhumation aspired to annihilating the individual's possibility of the General Resurrection. |
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| ISSN: | 0010-5236 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Concilium
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