The Spirits of Crossbones Graveyard: Time, Ritual, and Sexual Commerce in London - Couverture souple

Hausner, Sondra L.

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0253021367 ISBN 13 : 9780253021366

Editeur : Indiana University Press, 2016

Synopsis

Every month, a ragtag group of Londoners gather in the site known as Crossbones Graveyard to commemorate the souls of medieval prostitutes believed to be buried there--the "Winchester Geese," women who were under the protection of the Church but denied Christian burial. In the Borough of Southwark, not far from Shakespeare's Globe, is a pilgrimage site for self-identified misfits, nonconformists, and contemporary sex workers who leave memorials to the outcast dead. Ceremonies combining raucous humor and eclectic spirituality are led by a local playwright, John Constable, also known as John Crow. His interpretation of the history of the site has struck a chord with many who feel alienated in present-day London. Sondra L. Hausner offers a nuanced ethnography of Crossbones that tacks between past and present to look at the historical practices of sex work, the relation of the Church to these professions, and their representation in the present. She draws on anthropological approaches to ritual and time to understand the forms of spiritual healing conveyed by the Crossbones rites. She shows that ritual is a way of creating the present by mobilizing the stories of the past for contemporary purposes.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Sondra L. Hausner is Associate Professor in the Study of Religion, St. Peter's College, at the University of Oxford.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Indiana University Press
• Date d'édition: 2016
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0253021367
• ISBN 13: 9780253021366
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 238
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible