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.
Das sogenannte Feueropfer
in: Hebraeische Wortforschung. Festschrift zum 80. Geburtstag von W. Baumgartner, pp. 114-134
Leiden: Brill, 1967.
Pomp and circumstance: royal symbolism and the ʿId al-Kabir sacrifice in Morocc
in: Arab Studies Journal, v. 19 (2011), issue 1: pp.66-93.
Horse Sacrifice in Antiquity
in: Yale Classical Studies, v. 1 (1928), issue : pp.181-192.
Literature, sacrifice, and miracles: a Morisco reimagining of the Prophet Abraham
in: Comitatus: a Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies , v. 50 (2019), issue : pp.119-138.
Zarathustra und die Rinderschlachtung
in: Wort und Wirklichkeit. . Studien zur Afrikanistik und Orientalistik. E.L. Rapp zum 70. Geburtstag, pp. 17-29
Meisenhiem an Glan: Hain, 1977.
Some human sacrifices in Mongolia and their rationales
in: Human Sacrifice and Value. Revisiting the Limits of Sacred Violence from an Anthropological and Archaeological Perspective, pp. Chap. 2
London: Routledge, 2023.
The Book That Changed Europe Picart and Bernard’s Religious Ceremonies of the World
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010.
Il sacrificio dell’ʿaqīqa
in: Sangue e antropologia: riti e culto : atti della 4. Settimana, Roma ...1983, pp. 157-162
Roma: Pia unione Preziosissimo Sangue, 1984.
Fausto Sozzini, la teoria del sacrificio e il socinianesimo
in: Bruniana & Campanelliana, v. XXVII (2021), issue 1-2: pp.195-210.
Religione senza sacrificio. Grozio e Sozzini alle origini di un tema illuminista
in: Rivista Storica Italiana, v. 128 (), issue 2: pp.383-421.
Religione senza sacrificio. Grozio e Sozzini alle origini di un tema illuminista
in: Rivista Storica Italiana, v. 128 (), issue 2: pp.383-421.
I sacrifici e la storia della religione nella Scienza nuova di Vico
in: Archivio di Storia della Cultura, v. 21 (2018), issue -: pp.231–250.
Fausto Sozzini, la teoria del sacrificio e il socinianesimo
in: Bruniana & Campanelliana, v. XXVII (2021), issue 1-2: pp.195-210.
Human Sacrifice at Tenochtitlan
in: Comparative Studies in Society and History, v. 26 (1984), issue 3: pp.379-400.
Hunting, Sacrifice and the Domestication of Animals
in: The Appropriation of Nature: Essays on Human Ecology and Social Relations, pp.
Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1986.
0. General bibliography (19th-21th Century) 2. Sacrifice and religion: Comparisons, Antiquarians, Anthropology (16th-18th Century)
From the Master’s Point of View : Hunting is Sacrifice
in: ournal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, v. 21 (2015), issue 1: pp.24-27.