Topic: 2. Sacrifice and religion: Comparisons, Antiquarians, Anthropology (16th-18th Century)

Religious sacrifices across various cultures and contexts sparked widespread interest in Early Modern Europe. As Christianity expanded into regions inhabited by "infidels" and "pagans", Europeans encountered a diverse array of sacrificial customs, ranging from the Sati rituals in India to the Aztec sacrifices in the Americas. This cross-cultural exposure captivated a wide audience, including theologians, philosophers, political thinkers, antiquarians, orientalists, missionaries, poets, artists, and even the general public. These encounters broadened the European understanding of sacrifice and led to a critical reassessment of classical and biblical sacrificial rites. This section includes:

  • Sources: A selection of early modern printed materials, which include descriptions of the Americas, Asia, and Africa, alongside antiquarian and philological studies on religious sacrifice in classical antiquity and beyond. It also presents early modern works of ethnological observations and the first attempts to compare different sacrificial practices in various traditions and contexts, laying the groundwork for disciplines like the history of religions and anthropology.
  • Iconographic Representations: A rich collection of images from the 16th to 18th centuries, illustrating a range of sacrificial rituals and practices as seen in different cultural and geographical contexts.
  • Related Bibliography: An extensive bibliography spanning scholarly works from the 19th to 21st centuries, providing contemporary analyses and interpretations of these early studies and observations.

Displaying results from 341 to 360 of 1985


Batchelor, J.; Eliade, Mircea (Ed.)

The Ainu bear sacrifice

in: From primitives to Zen: a thematic sourcebook on the history of religions, pp. 206-211

London: Collins, 1967 [1909].

Bechelaghem, S.

La part du sacré dans le signe magrébin: cas de la réécriture des récits de Youcef et du Sacrifice d’Abraham par la tradition orale

in: Revue Algérienne d’Anthropologie et de Sciences Sociales / Insānīyāt, v. (2009), issue 43: pp.55-68;119;122-123;127.

Beek, W. E. A.; Duyndam, J.- Korte A.-M. - Poorthuis, M. (Eds.)

The Kapsiki Home Sacrifice

in: Sacrifice in Modernity : Community, Ritual, Identity : from Nationalism and Nonviolence to Health Care and Harry Potter, pp. 17-32

Leiden: Brill, 2017.

Bel, A.

La Fête des Sacrifices en Berbérie

in: Cinquantenaire de la Faculté des Lettres d’Alger (1881-1931), pp. 87-125

Alger: Société Historique Algérienne, 1, 1932.

Keywords: IslamMaghreb

Belfiore, V.; Ancillotti, A. - Calderini, A. - Massarelli, R. (Eds.)

Sacrifici cruenti e incruenti nei testi paralleli del Liber Linteus

in: Forme e strutture della religione nell'Italia mediana antica : 3. Convegno internazionale dell'Istituto di ricerche e documentazione sugli antichi Umbri, 21-25 settembre 2011, pp. 35-46

Roma: L'Erma di Bretschneider, 2016.

Bell, B.; Bonte, P. - Brisebarre A. M. - Gokalp A (Eds.)

«Ouvrir toutes les portes». Le sang sacrificiel chez les Gnawa du Maroc

in: Sacrifices en Islam: Espaces et temps d'un rituel, pp.

Paris: CNRS, 1999.


Displaying results from 341 to 360 of 1985