Abstract/Details

“Undo the myth maker”: A comparison of ritual torture and religious transaction in popular religious rioting during the French Wars of Religion, and the Huron prisoner of war execution ceremony in North America during the end of the sixteenth century

Aitken, Robert Charles.   Concordia University (Canada) ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,  2006. MR14196.

Abstract (summary)

The late sixteenth and early seventeenth century played host to two separate series of events wherein large groups of commoners willfully participated in ghastly scenes of torture and execution. On the European continent, the French Wars of Religion (1562-1629) afforded groups of average French citizens the opportunity to dismember their religious rivals and neighbors. The infamous season of Saint-Bartholomew was a zenith of such violent behavior. Across the Atlantic, French explorers were just beginning to learn of well-established Iroquoian traditions concerning the execution of prisoners of war. They would learn of common members of society, including women and children, joining in the torture of captives.

My thesis is an exploration of ritual torture and religious transaction. The extant to which the violence, in both contexts, reflected a process of undoing the victim was a point of particular interest. Attention was paid, in the North American context, to actions that effectively thwarted the possibility that the victim could ascend to the role of a formidable figure in the myth and felt spiritual reality of the tribe. Similarly, I approached the French context with an eye for behavior, seemingly, resulting in the reversal of the religious authority of the victim; the obstruction of the possibility that, in death, the target could offer a powerful testimonial of his/her religious convictions; or the creation of obstacles to any subsequent change in the status of this figure to that of saint or martyr. Along the way, various findings underscored the role of memory and the communicative capacity of ritual violence.

Indexing (details)


Subject
Religion;
Religious history
Classification
0318: Religion
0320: Religious history
Identifier / keyword
Philosophy, religion and theology
Title
“Undo the myth maker”: A comparison of ritual torture and religious transaction in popular religious rioting during the French Wars of Religion, and the Huron prisoner of war execution ceremony in North America during the end of the sixteenth century
Author
Aitken, Robert Charles
Number of pages
154
Degree date
2006
School code
0228
Source
MAI 44/06M, Masters Abstracts International
Place of publication
Ann Arbor
Country of publication
United States
ISBN
978-0-494-14196-0
University/institution
Concordia University (Canada)
University location
Canada -- Quebec, CA
Degree
M.A.
Source type
Dissertation or Thesis
Language
English
Document type
Dissertation/Thesis
Dissertation/thesis number
MR14196
ProQuest document ID
304980846
Copyright
Database copyright ProQuest LLC; ProQuest does not claim copyright in the individual underlying works.
Document URL
https://www.proquest.com/docview/304980846/abstract