Einleitung

Übergänge. Geburt und Tod als liminale Zustände im Mittelalter

Abstract

Birth and death have always profoundly shaped individual and communal life. Like other eras, the Middle Ages developed a variety of interpretations and practices to understand and integrate birth and death into its people’s worldviews and ways of life. This special issue explores how these phenomena were conceptualised and enacted, offering insights into medieval sociocul­tural structures. While medieval studies have long paid attention to both phenomena, this issue emphasises their close link, especially in the Middle Ages, drawing on the terminology and concepts of transition rites and liminal states by scholars such as Robert Hertz, Arnold van Gennep, and Victor Turner. These frameworks are particularly suitable for interdisciplinary examination of birth and death in the Middle Ages. The articles gathered here explore the symmetry between birth and death in medieval experiences, ideas, and practices. Topics include medical, spiritual, and personal strategies for dealing with high maternal and infant mortality rates, the analysis of specific burial practices and grave goods, and the study on the limited impact of Buddhist reincarnation beliefs on European concepts of the soul. Additionally, the use of birth and death as narrative figures in medieval literature is examined. These studies affirm the interconnectedness of birth and death, offering new perspectives on medieval societal dynamics and symbolic actions.