Cuidando a los muertos: las mujeres medievales en las pampa fúnebres familiares (Taking care to the Dead: the medieval women in the family funeral Pompas )

Gilchrist, R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1967-2558 (2005) Cuidando a los muertos: las mujeres medievales en las pampa fúnebres familiares (Taking care to the Dead: the medieval women in the family funeral Pompas ). Treballs d'Arqueologie, 11. pp. 51-72. ISSN 1134-9263

Abstract/Summary

Previous studies of burial practice in the later medieval period have concluded that mortuary custom was regulated strictly by male religious authorities, resulting in a uniformity of practice that held little potential for the expression of personal identity or family relationships. This paper challenges previous approaches through a close study of the material culture of the medieval grave. Archaeological and pictorial sources combine to suggest that women were responsible for the preparation of the body for burial. This reassessment of medieval burial yields new evidence for female undertaking as an extension of the social role of mothering.