Overview

The King's Body investigates the role of royal bodies, funerals, and graves in English succession debates from the death of Alfred the Great in 899 through the Norman Conquest in 1066. Using contemporary texts and archaeological evidence, Nicole Marafioti reconstructs the political activity that accompanied kings' burials, to demonstrate that royal bodies were potent political objects which could be used to provide legitimacy to the next generation. In most cases, new rulers celebrated their predecessor's memory and honored his corpse to emphasize continuity and strengthen their claims to the throne. Those who rose by conquest or regicide, in contrast, often desecrated the bodies of deposed royalty or relegated them to anonymous graves in attempts to brand their predecessors as tyrants unworthy of ruling a Christian nation. By delegitimizing the previous ruler, they justified their own accession. At a time when hereditary succession was not guaranteed and few accessions went unchallenged, the king's body was a commodity that royal candidates fought to control.

Full Product Details

Author:   Nicole Marafioti
Publisher:   University of Toronto Press
Imprint:   University of Toronto Press
Dimensions:   Width: 16.30cm , Height: 2.70cm , Length: 23.60cm
Weight:   0.620kg
ISBN:  

9781442647589

ISBN 10:   1442647582
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   04 April 2014
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
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Reviews

'Well-researched, written, cited, and indexed, this book provokes discussion and is a fine addition to scholarly libraries... Highly recommended.' -- D.J. Shepherd Choice Magazine vol 52:04:2014

Author Information

Nicole Marafioti is an assistant professor of history at Trinity University.

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