The Roman Mourner: Funeral Rites, Gender and the Body (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781350320796)

To date, mourning has not featured prominently in studies of ancient Roman society, and this book redresses this by presenting a comprehensive analysis of who mourners were and what mourners did, as well as investigating the social, cultural and ritual significance of mourning. It brings together varied evidence, ranging from literature and art to epigraphy, which helps to illustrate the rituals of mourning. Valerie M. Hope addresses fundamental questions about how mourning was expressed, displayed, performed and experienced via the body, and in turn what mourning can reveal about Roman society.

In previous literature on the topic, roles played by mourners in funeral rituals and commemorative acts may be acknowledged, but there has been little engagement with the varied emotional and physical behaviours of mourners. When mourning has been considered, the emphasis has predominantly fallen on gender and specific literary genres. There have hitherto been few attempts to unite the diverse evidence for Roman mourning to consider different literary genres simultaneously or to evaluate how mourning was presented through material culture. The evaluation of social expectations, legal regulations and idealised roles, across a diverse evidence base and time frame, make this volume the first full and systematic study of mourning in the Roman world.

Author: Valerie M. Hope
ISBN-10: 135032079X
ISBN-13: 9781350320796
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Language: English
Published: 07/10/2025
Pages: 304
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.34lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.75d