Vol. 4 (2022): Avisos de Viena. Viennese Cultural Studies

„Die Töchter des Kekrops findendenkleinen Erichthonios”,um 1640, Jakob Jordaens, INV. NR. Gemäldegalerie, 6488,Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, © KHM-Museumsverband.

The proximity of birth and death turned out to become the major topic of this issue. We offer studies on ex-votos, foundlings, foster mothers, on emergency baptism, death in childbed and grandmothers as godmothers, on the symbolism of death as birth and names inherited from defunct siblings. We deal with the medical virtues of the ruda (rue, ruta graveolens), the historical meaning of mal de madre, the creation of ethnic identity through baptism, and the letters Estefanía de Requesens wrote to her mother in her childbearing periods. Furthermore, we offer insights ew methods for the analysis of old texts, nunneries as a shelter for divorced women, and the surprising connections between Spanish medieval crosses, coats of arms and name-giving.

Published: 2022-08-23

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