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 1541 to 1560 of 1985


Signer, M.; Heinz, H. (Ed.)

Fleisch und Geist: Opfer und Versöhnung in den exegetischen Traditionen von Judentum und Christentum

in: Versöhnung in der jüdischen und christlichen Liturgie (QD 124), pp. 197-219

Freiburg im Breisgau : Herder, 1990.

Siker, J. S.; Enerhart, C. A. (Ed.)

Yom Kippuring Passover: Recombinant Sacrifice in Early Christianity

in: Ritual and Metaphor: Sacrifice in the Bible, pp. 65-83

Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2011.

Silber, I. F.; Baumgartner, A. I. (Ed.)

Echoes of Sacrifice? Repertoires of Giving in the Great Religions

in: Sacrifice in Religious Experience, pp. 291-312

Leiden - Boston: Brill, 2002.

Sini, F.; Sini, F. - Onida, P. P. (Eds.)

Aspetti giuridici e rituali della religione romana : sacrifici, vittime e interpretazioni dei scerdoti

in: Poteri religiosi e istituzioni : il culto di san Costantino imperatore tra Oriente e Occidente, pp. 3-71

Torino: G. Giappichelli, 2003.

Smith, F. M.

The Vedic Sacrifice in Transition

Pune: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1987.

Keywords: India

Displaying results from 1541 to 1560 of 1985