The Organization of Post-Medieval Churchyards, Cemeteries and Grave Plots: Variation and Religious Identity as Seen in Protestant Burial Provision.

Abstract

Since the Middle Ages the Church has had dominion over the dead, and so it would be fair to assume that religious identities were a strong contributor to post-medieval mortuary behaviour. However, religion is just one part of a selection of different conflicting identities expressed in the act of burial. From the placement of a body within an expensive lead coffin under a church to the rejection of Anglican burial practice in favour of a public or family burial plot, other parts of a person's identity can be visible in the decisions that people made when disposing of their dead. This chapter will outline the history and development of post-medieval burial space in an attempt to define its impact on funerary tradition and begin to understand the differentiation present in the types of site available for burial. Indeed, the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries saw a considerable amount of variation in burial practice and in context this can be used to understand broader and more subtle social questions.