Book Review: Learning to die in London, 1380-1540; Cultures of death and dying in medieval and early modern Europe; Preparing for death, remembering the dead

Learning to die in London, 1380-1540 . By Amy Appleford . (The Middle Ages series.) Pp. vii + 320. Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press , 2015. £42.50. 978 0 8122 4669 8

Cultures of death and dying in medieval and early modern Europe . Edited by Mia Korpiola and Anu Lahtinen . Pp. 197. Helsinki : Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies , 2015. 978 951 51 1221 7

Preparing for death, remembering the dead . Edited by Tarald Rasmussen and Jon Øygarden FlÓ[bullet]ten . (Refo 500 Academic Studies, 22.) Pp. 377 incl. 78 figs. Göttingen : Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht , 2015. [euro]84.99. 978 3 525 55982 3

Reviews

Amy Appleford's Learning to die in London is a fascinating and comprehensive study of the changes occurring within death practice in late medieval and early modern London, and how these practices were understood by laity and clergy alike, with a particular focus upon the ars moriendi texts of the time. The book bridges religious and secular, public and private sources, and is particularly noteworthy in this field for breaking down the normal period divisions between late medieval and early Reformation, examining...