Synopsis
Recent research into old age and dying in the premodern world has examined not only the demographic aspects of ageing populations but also the social role of aged people. Nonetheless, there has usually been a neglect of the end of life and attitudes towards death and memory. These topics have seldom been discussed in the same volume. The end of life evokes questions. What does it mean to grow old? What happens when one dies? How does one cope with old age and death? These questions were as relevant for individuals and societies in earlier periods as they are in the present. The aim of this collection of articles is to cross the boundaries that have traditionally isolated different time periods and scholarly disciplines from each other. The volume focuses on aging, old age, and death from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages. The purpose of this book is to approach these themes from an interdisciplinary point of view in the longue duree. Instead of concentrating solely on demographic issues it takes a much broader view, considering attitudes towards ageing, dying, death, and memory. The volume, with its diverse topics, cuts across traditional scholarly barriers and will provide valuable analytical tools for further studies on the subject.
Review
"The essay collection On Old Age: Approaching Death in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, will be of great interest to scholars working on topics related to the history of old age and the history of death in both the ancient and medieval worlds...The strengths of the book are many. Each of the chapters, by combining existing research with new evidence, contributes to a more nuanced historical understanding of old age and death. Many of the chapters examine social groups that are typically less studied,...the text includes regions often overlooked in mainstream historical studies,... [and] each chapter ends with a helpful concluding section." --Erin J. Campbell, University of Victoria, Bryn Mawr Classical Review (2012.11.07)
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