As the nights get longer and spookier, there's one thing that's guaranteed to make our hair stand on end: corpses that just won't stay dead. Especially the ones interested in eating us. This week, Danièle speaks with John Blair about who refused to rest in peace in the Middle Ages, how medieval people attempted to keep the dead buried, and why some hauntings reached epidemic proportions.
One of the difficult truths of life in the Middle Ages is that death was never far away. While the vast majority of medieval people owned far fewer possessions than we do today, they were just as concerned with making sure everything was taken care of according to their wishes before they passed. This week, Danièle speaks with Robert A. Wood about medieval wills, funerals, and some memorable bequests.
An Etruscan cinerary urn carved with a high-relief face of Medusa has been revealed to contain no ashes or bones as expected, but rather three terracotta vessels. The vessels, two handled jugs and one cup, are simple and undecorated. The urn is part of the collection of the Palazzone Necropolis, and while it was discovered in the 19th century, it is only now being thoroughly studied.