Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

Get access

Commemoration of the dead
(797 words)

1. Secular ceremonial

Commemorating the dead is a tradition inherited from Antiquity, when rulers' deaths in particular prompted the construction of lavish buildings (e.g. Mausoleum) and the holding of ceremonies, the aim of which was not just to honor the memory of the deceased, but also to assert the legitimacy of the successor [5. 1–6]. Conversely, those declared enemies of the state suffered the damnatio memoriae (“annihilation of memory”) [9]. Medieval noble culture contin…

Cite this page
Schäfer, Daniel, “Commemoration of the dead”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_028996>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170206



▲   Back to top   ▲