Author: Leszek Gardeła
The main aim of this monograph is to analyse the broad spectrum of Polish early medieval ‘atypical burials’ in a comparative perspective, with the application of methods drawn from the fields of anthropology, sociology and history of religions.
For the first time, this phenomenon has been confronted using sources from other parts of Europe (especially England and Scandinavia), in acknowledgement of its wider context, meaning, and historical and ideological background. Although in the majority of Polish publications atypical burials are regarded as signs of ‘anti-vampire practices’, in the light of comparative sources it seems that they may have been associated with many other notions. The hypothesis advocated throughout this book is that these burials are not only connected with individuals who the local communities feared would become living-dead. Rather, comparative evidence from different parts of the early medieval world implies that many of them can be explained by judicial practices.
Language: English with an extensive summary in Polish
Pages: 288
Format: A4, Hardcover
ISBN: 978-83-65627-16-2
