Mourning for children in northern Finland – Funerary attire in the 17th–18th century contexts

Summary

This paper examines commemorating children in premodern northern Finland. The hypothesis is that high child mortality (forty percent died before the age of four) affected the ways in which children were commemorated and how childhood was perceived. The primary question is, how mourning is visible in the coffin textiles and accessories? These materials have been unearthed both in town and rural cemeteries, while some of the clothes are dressed on mummified deceased below church floors. The contrast between burials of children and adults provides an avenue for exploring the mourning rituals related to children. Research indicates that children received more elaborate textiles and accessories than adults. This is probably due to a local habit, in which the making of funerary adornments for children was a social event arranged by a virgin godmother. Mourning rituals offer a possibility to examine the status of children, and how relatives managed the child deaths.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• "Spirits of the Dead": The Historical Archaeology of Cemeteries and Commemoration   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

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PaperId(s): 245