Jephthah's daughter, Sarah's son : the death of children in late antiquity /
Doerfler, Maria,author.
"Late antiquity was a perilous time for children, who were often the first victims of economic crisis, war, and disease. They had a one in three chance of dying before their first birthday, with as many as half dying before age ten. Christian writers accordingly sought to speak to the experience of bereavement and to provide cultural scripts for parents who had lost a child. These late ancient writers turned to characters like Eve and Sarah, Job and Jephthah as models for grieving, for confronting or submitting to the divine. Jephthah's Daughter, Sarah's Son traces the stories these writers crafted and the ways in which they shaped the lived experience of familial bereavement in ancient Christianity. A compelling social history that conveys the emotional lives of people in the late ancient world, Jephthah's Daughter, Sarah's Son is a powerful portrait of mourning that extends beyond antiquity, even to the present day"--Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 325-372) and index.
(Premature) Death as a good : an introduction -- Children's deaths in late antiquity in ritual and historical perspective -- East of Eden : the first bereaved parents -- Mourning Sarah's son : Genesis 22 and the death of children -- Echoes of the Akedah : Jephthah's daughter and the Maccabeans' mother -- Death, demons, and disaster : Job's children -- Children and the sword : the holy innocents and the death of children -- Conclusion : children in the quicksand.
"Late antiquity was a perilous time for children, who were often the first victims of economic crisis, war, and disease. They had a one in three chance of dying before their first birthday, with as many as half dying before age ten. Christian writers accordingly sought to speak to the experience of bereavement and to provide cultural scripts for parents who had lost a child. These late ancient writers turned to characters like Eve and Sarah, Job and Jephthah as models for grieving, for confronting or submitting to the divine. Jephthah's Daughter, Sarah's Son traces the stories these writers crafted and the ways in which they shaped the lived experience of familial bereavement in ancient Christianity. A compelling social history that conveys the emotional lives of people in the late ancient world, Jephthah's Daughter, Sarah's Son is a powerful portrait of mourning that extends beyond antiquity, even to the present day"--Provided by publisher.
Bible.
Children
Parental grief
Jephthah's daughter, Sarah's son