Contributors: Laboratoire d'Archéologie Médiévale et Moderne en Méditerranée (LA3M); Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Centre de Recherche en Archéologie, Archéosciences, Histoire (CReAAH); Le Mans Université (UM)-Université de Rennes (UR)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Nantes - UFR Histoire, Histoire de l'Art et Archéologie (UFR HHAA); Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Ministère de la Culture (MC); Archéozoologie, archéobotanique : sociétés, pratiques et environnements (AASPE); Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives - Centre de recherches archéologiques de Cesson-Sévigné (Inrap, Cesson-Sévigné); Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap); Division of paleopathology, History of Medicine and Bioethics; University of Pisa - Università di Pisa; Anthropologie Moléculaire et Imagerie de Synthèse (AMIS); Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3); Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Université Franco-Italienne (programme VINCI 2009-2012); Fondation des Treilles; CNRS - GDR 3644 BioArcheodat; ANR-10-BLAN-2009,EXSUDARCH,EXSUDats et goudrons végétaux ARCHéologiques : chimie, fabrication et utilisations(2010)
نبذة مختصرة : International audience ; Occasionally mentioned in written sources since the Early Middle Ages, embalming with evisceration spreads considerably and becomes quite usual practice for aristocratic elites from the late 13th century to the early 19th century. Apothecaries prepare aromatic powders including many plant organs and exudates supposed to preserve the body. Numerous encyclopaedias and treatises of medicine list these ingredients and show that the recipes are very diverse. Moreover, several studies of embalmed bodies have demonstrated the potential of archaeobotanical analyses coupling pollen and macro-remains for identifying this material. This paper aims to compile a synthesis of written and archaeological sources from France and Italy, and to assess the relevance of an interdisciplinary approach for a better understanding of this aristocratic burial practice. It demonstrates that both types of sources and approaches are strongly complementary and highlights their inherent advantages and methodological limitations. In order to understand which criteria were determinant in the composition of the embalming powders, their medicinal, odoriferous and symbolic properties are discussed. Finally, this work proposes some methodological perspectives and triggers new research avenues on the history of pharmacy in Late Medieval and modern Europe.
Processing Request
No Comments.