The spirits of Crossbones Graveyard : time, ritual, and sexual commerce in London / Sondra L. Hausner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hausner, Sondra L., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Prostitution--England--London--History.

Prostitution.

Prostitution--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Prostitutes--England--London--Death and burial.

Prostitutes.

History.

England--London.

Physical Description:

xiii, 234 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Bloomington : Indiana University Press, [2016]

Summary:

Every month, a ragtag group of Londoners gather at 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. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 The Myth of the Winchester Goose 32

2 Medieval Bankside 60

3 Shamanism and the Ritual Oscillation of Time 90

4 The Virgin Queen and the English Nation 112

5 Southwark, Then and Now 148.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-220) and index.

ISBN:

9780253021243

0253021243

9780253021366

0253021367

OCLC:

921167356