Free shipping on orders over $99
The Spirits of Crossbones Graveyard

The Spirits of Crossbones Graveyard

Time, Ritual, and Sexual Commerce in London

by Sondra L. Hausner
Paperback
Age range: + years old Publication Date: 29/08/2016

Share This Book:

 
$22.00

Every month, a ragtag group of Londoners gather in the site known as Crossbones Graveyard to commemorate the souls of medieval prostitutes believed to be buried there--the "Winchester Geese," women who were under the protection of the Church but denied Christian burial. In the Borough of Southwark, not far from Shakespeare's Globe, is a pilgrimage site for self-identified misfits, nonconformists, and contemporary sex workers who leave memorials to the outcast dead. Ceremonies combining raucous humor and eclectic spirituality are led by a local playwright, John Constable, also known as John Crow. His interpretation of the history of the site has struck a chord with many who feel alienated in present-day London. Sondra L. Hausner offers a nuanced ethnography of Crossbones that tacks between past and present to look at the historical practices of sex work, the relation of the Church to these professions, and their representation in the present. She draws on anthropological approaches to ritual and time to understand the forms of spiritual healing conveyed by the Crossbones rites. She shows that ritual is a way of creating the present by mobilizing the stories of the past for contemporary purposes.

ISBN:
9780253021366
9780253021366
Category:
British & Irish history
Age range:
+ years old
Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
29-08-2016
Language:
English
Publisher:
Indiana University Press
Country of origin:
United States
Dimensions (mm):
228.6x152.4mm
Weight:
0.32kg

Click 'Notify Me' to get an email alert when this item becomes available

Reviews

Be the first to review The Spirits of Crossbones Graveyard.