Bewailing the Dead. Social Tension and Mourning Practices in Late Medieval Sicily

Résumé

This study aims to shed light on the mourning rites, with a special focus on the role of the professional mourners (reputantes) of late medieval Sicily. It will show that they were highly controversial; were not the only group that was involved in public mourning; had political as well as emotional significance. Further goals are to shed light on the emotionally liberating value of particular manifestations of grief; and to highlight the interactions and circularity of practices in mourning promoted by the reputantes. The analysis of funeral rituals demonstrates how the professionals’ participation created a convergence of individuals from diverse and distant social strata; just as it confirms a vision of medieval culture that is multi-polar and interactional. The primary sources used have permitted observations from various perspectives. Among these sources are both normative materials produced by temporal and religious authorities and petitions produced by metropolitan and other communities