Dying Prepared in Medieval and Early Modern Northern Europe

Anu Lahtinen, Ph.D. (2007), is Professor of Finnish and Nordic History at the University of Helsinki. She has published monographs and articles on medieval and early modern social and cultural history, focusing on the history of Northern Europe.Mia Korpiola, LL.D. (2004), is Professor of Legal History at the University of Turku. An expert in long-term legal history, her publications include (ed.) Regional Variations in Matrimonial Law and Custom in Europe, 1150-1600 (2011).

''[...] a collection of rich, detailed, and often impressive essays. [...]an excellent contribution not olnly to the history of ars moriendi , but also to our understanding of the everyday concerns and anxieties of medieval and early modern Europeans''. Jaska Kainulainen, in Journal of Jesuit Studies , 6 (2019). '' The book shows how the people of the Middle Ages and the early modern period tried to prepare for death throughout their lives. [...] This anthology is a valuable addition to the study of its subject. As both editors notes in their introduction, and as Bertil Nilsson states in his concluding remarks, the findings also open up opportunities for further research''. Petri Karonen in Renaissance Quarterly 72 (3), 1095-1097. DOI: 10.1017/rqx.2019.321.

• List of IllustrationsNotes on Contributors1 Introduction: Preparing for a Good Death in Medieval and Early Modern Northern EuropeAnu Lahtinen and Mia Korpiola2 Restless Dead or Peaceful Cadavers? Preparations for Death and Afterlife in Medieval IcelandKirsi Kanerva3 William Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester (1366–1404) and His Preparations for DeathCindy Wood4 “At Death’s Door”: The Authority of Deathbed Confessions in Medieval and Early Modern Swedish LawMia Korpiola5 The Concern for Salvation in the Cities of Lesser Poland in the Sixteenth CenturyDominika Burdzy6 Death with an Agenda: Preparing for an Aristocratic Death in Reformation SwedenAnu Lahtinen7 Dying Unprepared in Early Modern Swedish Funeral SermonsOtfried Czaika8 “Lord, have mercy on me”: Spiritual Preparations for Suicide in Early Modern SwedenRiikka Miettinen9 Preparing for Death: Concluding RemarksBertil NilssonSelect Bibliography