Black Death essay one page

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The Culture of Cadaver Tombs
Characteristics of Cadaver Tombs
When one takes a look at cadaver tombs, in a moment you could think that you found somebody whom they forgot to burry. A cadaver tomb is also referred to as a transi tomb; which gives the liminal qualitative aspect of the tomb. In this culture, the effigy of a corpse possessed the liminal qualities as means of portraying the time lapse between death and decomposition. In most cases, the deceased represented their loved ones as an emaciated corpse or a skeleton with blank eye sockets (King, 984). The cadaver tomb depicted that the corpse was not immediately dead but one in the early blotted phase; hence, the soft muscles were pretty still not yet consumed to the bone. The representation of the corpse had a hyperextended neck with muscles eaten up to the bone. To create an emphasis on decomposition, they could add worms and toads or other decomposition microorganisms (King, 876). Although in this age there was little knowledge of anatomical processes, the old folks used a winding sheet that was knotted above the head to represent the decomposition process.
Reasons for the Culture
Many scholars suggest that the horrors of the Black Death might have influenced the people to develop a morbid attitude. The cadaver tom culture emerged in the 15th Century; a period when the culture of the three living and the three dead was embraced(Doric, 15). The proposers of this culture believed in the motto ‘As you are, I once was, as I am, that you will be.

‘ In this line, the cadaver tombs were used for very important persons in the society; hence, it carried a social statement that fostered egalitarianism in the 15th century. As such, it was believed that even the rich and mighty are brought down by death. Also, this culture was a mark of Christian humility, to remind the people to pray since death takes place over time hence it requires effort. Generally, the cadaver tombs, like many other tombs, represent a transition phase hence placing the persons represented somewhere between life and death (Doric, 13).
Work Cited
Doric, Jakov. “Made in the skull’s likeness: of transi tombs, identity, and memento mori.” Journal of Art Historiography 17 (2017): 1-19.
King, Pamela Margaret. Contexts of the cadaver tomb in fifteenth-century England. Diss. University of York, 1987: 875-1256.