Contents
List of Illustrations VII
Notes on Contributors VIII
1
Introduction: Preparing for a Good Death in Medieval and Early Modern Northern Europe 1
Anu Lahtinen and Mia Korpiola
2
Restless Dead or Peaceful Cadavers? Preparations for Death and Afterlife in Medieval Iceland 18
Kirsi Kanerva
3
William Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester (1366–1404) and His Preparations for Death 44
Cindy Wood
4
“At Death’s Door”: The Authority of Deathbed Confessions in Medieval and Early Modern Swedish Law 65
Mia Korpiola
5
The Concern for Salvation in the Cities of Lesser Poland in the Sixteenth Century 105
Dominika Burdzy
6
Death with an Agenda: Preparing for an Aristocratic Death in Reformation Sweden 124
Anu Lahtinen
7
Dying Unprepared in Early Modern Swedish Funeral Sermons 142
Otfried Czaika
8
“Lord, have mercy on me”: Spiritual Preparations for Suicide in Early Modern Sweden 160
Riikka Miettinen
9
Preparing for Death: Concluding Remarks 187
Bertil Nilsson
Select Bibliography 201
Index 205