Death was a constant presence in the lives of the rich and poor alike in seventeenth-century England, being much more visible in everyday existence than it is today. It is a highly important and surprisingly captivating part of the epic story of England during the turbulent years of the 1600's.
This book guides readers through the subject using a chronological approach, as would have been experienced by those living in the country at the time, beginning with the myriad causes of death, including disease, war and capital punishment and finishing with an exploration of posthumous commemoration. Although contemporaries of the seventeenth century did not fully realise it, when it came to the confrontation of mortality they were living in wildly changing times.
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I know that we dwell a lot on the subject of death at the moment and 2020/1 is truly a time that will never be forgotten. With the UK daily death toll from covid exceeding a thousand deaths per day at the moment, the last thing that I want to do is to further depress us all by reviewing a book whose subject matter is death.
However, this is an excellent history book and I did not find it's subject matter to be bleak and depressing in any way.
As expected, the book considers reasons why people died during the 17th century, along with the funerary methods prevalent during this period in England and which we can recognise as the beginning of present day funereal rites. However, it is interestingly and engagingly written and well worth reading.
It is worth setting out the chapter headings here:
Chapter 1: The Natural Death
Chapter 2: The Soldierly Death
Chapter 3: The Criminal Death
Chapter 4: The Deathbed
Chapter 5: Of Corpses, Coffins and Carriages
Chapter 6: The Common and the Noble Funeral
Chapter 7: Royal Funerals
Chapter 8: The Unorthodox Burial
Chapter 9: Remembrance
Conclusion: The Seventeenth Century and Beyond
At the end of each of these chapters the author provides an extensive bibliography and I would really enjoy the opportunity to read some of them; all of which appear to be of great historical interest.
This book has been published at just the right time for me as I am researching the 17th century for a project that I am currently working on and has been instrumental in filling in some of the information gaps that I had.
Anyone who is interested in the history of the 17th century would gain much from reading this book and I highly recommend it.
ISBN: 978 1526755261
Publisher: Pen & Sword History
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