Myths about Death. From the Islands of the Blessed and Harbingers to Devilish Knights and the Gift of Immortality
How do we "know" what awaits us "on the other side"? Paradoxically, often — from the accounts of those who have supposedly seen and felt these places: in dreams, in illness, on the brink of death. Or — from fictional...
stories about these accounts: for one of the main themes of mythology, religion, and literature has always been the inevitability of death — and the unknown of what comes after it...
It is about such "visions" of the afterlife and the otherworld — or "journeys" to these worlds? — that the philologist and medievalist, Professor Claude Lecouteux from the Sorbonne, writes in his book. It is based on a solid corpus of both well-known and rare sources: ancient traditions, theological treatises of the Middle Ages, chivalric romances, Icelandic sagas, folk tales, and testimonies of those who have experienced clinical death. Their "data" is very different — and very similar. As is the very attitude of people from different times and countries towards their own inevitable fate.
Which of the known stories of descending into hell is the oldest? Why can souls be painted in different colors? What does hell and paradise smell like? How are the "journeys" of Christian visionaries fundamentally different from shamanic ones? How did the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice refract in medieval poems? And how are the stories of medieval mystics similar to narratives about near-death experiences?
"Myths about Death" is an impressive excursion into the world of afterlife visions, where myths, creativity, and data from modern science collide.
How do we "know" what awaits us "on the other side"? Paradoxically, often — from the accounts of those who have supposedly seen and felt these places: in dreams, in illness, on the brink of death. Or — from fictional stories about these accounts: for one of the main themes of mythology, religion, and literature has always been the inevitability of death — and the unknown of what comes after it...
It is about such "visions" of the afterlife and the otherworld — or "journeys" to these worlds? — that the philologist and medievalist, Professor Claude Lecouteux from the Sorbonne, writes in his book. It is based on a solid corpus of both well-known and rare sources: ancient traditions, theological treatises of the Middle Ages, chivalric romances, Icelandic sagas, folk tales, and testimonies of those who have experienced clinical death. Their "data" is very different — and very similar. As is the very attitude of people from different times and countries towards their own inevitable fate.
Which of the known stories of descending into hell is the oldest? Why can souls be painted in different colors? What does hell and paradise smell like? How are the "journeys" of Christian visionaries fundamentally different from shamanic ones? How did the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice refract in medieval poems? And how are the stories of medieval mystics similar to narratives about near-death experiences?
"Myths about Death" is an impressive excursion into the world of afterlife visions, where myths, creativity, and data from modern science collide.
In stock
€ 17.29
Will be delivered to United States on 16 March (Mo):
By courier
from
€ 38.94
In stock
€ 17.29
Will be delivered to United States on 16 March (Mo):
Be the first to know about our current discounts, offers and new products!
Check icon
You have added to your basket
Check icon
You have added to favourites
Sold out
The item is currently out of stock.
In stock
Available in warehouse. You will receive the exact delivery date from the operator after the order confirmation.
To order
The product is delivered directly from the publisher. The order processing time is up to 14 days, you will receive the exact delivery date from the operator after the order confirmation.