The Puritan Way of Death A Study in Religion, Culture, and Social Change

by Stannard, David E.

• ISBN13: 9780195025217
• ISBN10: 0195025210
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1979-02-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This is more than a book about Puritans or about death. It is also about family, community, and identity in the modern world. The book is an intelligent and highly original study of 17th-century attitudes toward death, which were profoundly different from those in our own time. Prof. Stannard's object is not merely to understand that period but to provide a perspective on the present. He skillfully combines historical research with important hypotheses concerning social change. The book rests upon a strong command of social science literature and is written with grace and style. Illustrations. "A richly diverse and highly readable book that skillfully combines historical research with important hypothesis concerning social change."

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Death in the Western Tradition	p. 3
The Puritan Way of Death	p. 29
The World of the Puritan	p. 31
Death and Childhood	p. 44
Death and Dying	p. 72
Death and Burial	p. 96
Death and Decline	p. 135
Epilogue	p. 165
Toward an American Way of Death	p. 167
Notes	p. 197
Index	p. 233
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.