Medieval Vampire Burials: England vs Eastern Europe | Morella Reborn
Ever wondered if there's a difference between English vampires and vampires in Bulgaria, Poland, or the Czech Republic? I was curious, so I wrote a report about it for my Archaeology of Death class! In this video, I sum up what I found for you ^^ Not only are there interesting differences and similarities between the behaviors of each culture toward the undead, but there's striking historical context to explain them. I hope you guys enjoy learning about vampire burial behavior! Don't forget to like this video if you do. ;)
Till Death,
Morella
Archaeological Sites:
Data from the deviant burials from the following sites in Medieval England was collected: Carmelite Friary Aberdeen, St. Giles, St. John Lutterworth, St. Mary Elstow, St. Guthlae, Augustinian Friary, St. Nicholas Lewes, Carmelite Friary Linlithgow, Franciscan Friary Lewes, Dominican Friary London, Dominican Friary Perth, St. Ninian Whithorn, St. Mary Worcester; Southwell, Nottinghamshire; Wharram Percy; York Minster; Old and New Minsters, Winchester; Saxon Minster, Exeter; Sutton Hoo, Suffolk; and St. Oswald, Gloucester. Likewise, the following sites are those in Medieval Eastern Europe from which deviant burial data was collected: Sozopol, Peperikon, Plovdiv, and Thracian, Bulgaria; Kaldus, Wolin, Debczyno, Gwiazdowo, Poznan-Srodka, Storyzamek, Lubien Radom, Zlota Pinczowska, Cedynia, Jabloncz Wielki, and Kamiem Pomorski, Poland; Celokavice, Czech Republic.
Sources:
Barrowclough, David. “Time to Slay Vampire Burials? The Archaeological and Historical Evidence for Vampires in Europe”. Cambridge: Red Dagger Press, 2014.
Beresford, Matthew. “The Dangerous Dead: The Early Medieval deviant burial at Southwell, Nottinghamshire in a wider context.” MBArchaeology Local Heritage Series, no. 3, 2012.
Buckberry, Jo. “9. Off With Their Heads: The Anglo-Saxon Execution Cemetery at Walkington Wold, East Yorkshire”. Deviant Burial in the Archaeological Record, edited by Eileen Murphy, Oxbow Books, 2008, pp. 228-255.
Cherryson, Annia Kristina. “7. Normal, Deviant, and Atypical: Burial Variation in Late Saxon Wessex, c. AD 700-1100”. Deviant Burial in the Archaeological Record, edited by Eileen Murphy, Oxbow Books, 2008, pp. 178-189.
Gardela, Leszek. “Face Down: The Phenomenon of Prone Burial in Early Medieval Poland”. Analecta Archaeologica Ressoviensia, vol. 10, 2015, pp. 99-109.
Gilchrist, Roberta and Barney Sloane (2005) Medieval Monastic Cemeteries of Britain (1050-1600): a digital resource and database of excavated samples. York: Archaeology Data Service.
Halecki, Oscar. “The Significance of the Christianization of Poland in European History”. The Polish Review, vol. 6, no. ½, 1961, pp. 4.
Holloway, James. “8. Charcoal Burial: A Minority Burial Rite in Early Medieval Europe”. Deviant Burial in the Archaeological Record, edited by Eileen Murphy, Oxbow Books, 2008, pp. 202-210.
Kajkowsi, Kamil and Leszek Gardela. “Vampires, criminals, or slaves? Reinterpreting ‘deviant burials’ in early medieval Poland”. World Archaeology, vol. 5, no. 5, 2013, pp. 780-788.
Marshal, Peter, S. Mays, R. Fryer, A.W.G. Pike, and M.J. Cooper. “A multidisciplinary study of a burnt and mutilated assemblage of human remains from a deserted Mediaeval village in England”. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, vol. 16, 2017, pp. 441-455.
Sofield, Clifford. “Living with the Dead: Human Burials in Anglo-Saxon Settlement Contexts”. The Archaeological Journal, vol. 172, no.2, 2015, pp. 351-388.
Taylor, Alison. “6. Aspects of Deviant Burial in Roman Britain.” Deviant Burial in the Archaeological Record, edited by Eileen Murphy, Oxbow Books, 2008, pp. 140-165.
Tsaliki, Anastasia. “Unusual Burials and Necrophobia: An Insight into the Burial Archaeology of Fear”. Deviant Burial in the Archaeological Record, edited by Eileen Murphy, Oxbow Books, 2008, pp. 1-7.
Whyte, Nicola. “The Deviant Dead in the Norfolk Landscape”. Landscapes, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 24-39.
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Intro Music: Calm Before the Storm by Gavin Luke
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