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.
The christian sacrifice explained: in a charge delivered in part to the Middlesex clergy at St. Clement-Danes, April the 20th, 1738. To which is added an appendix
London: [William] Innys ; [Richard] Manby, 1738.
Aegyptiaca, et dekaphylon, sive de Aegyptiacorum sacrorum cum Hebraicis collatione libri tres (I, chap. 7)
Amsterdam: Borstius, 1696.
Catalogo de los obispos de las iglesias catedrales de la diocesis de Jaen y Annales Eclesiasticos de ste obispado [...] por Don Martin de Ximena [...]
Madrid : Garcia y Morras, Domingo, 1654.
Ausführliche Beschreibung der Marter, eines heiligen und unschuldigen Kinds Andreae, Von Rinn, in Tyrol, und Bistumb Brixen: welches von denen Juden aus angebohrnem Hass gegen Christum, und gesambten seiner Christenheit grausam gequälet und ermordet worden
Ausgburg: Matthias Wolff, 1724.
Beschreibung Der Religion Und Heiligen Gebräuche Der Malabarischen Hindous Nach Bemerkungen in Hindostan Gesammelt
Berlin: Königlich Preussische akademische Kunst- und Buchhandlung,, 1791.
Genealogie der malabarishen götter Aus eigenen schriften und briefen der heiden zusammengetragen und verfasst
Madras: Selbstverlag Germann, 1867.
Theophili Amilii... Erörterung der dunckelsten und schwersten Schrifft-Stellen im N. Testament
Franckfurt: Samuel Heyl, 1712.
Imago primi saeculi Societatis Iesu a Provincia Flandro-Belgica eiusdem Societatis repraesentata
Antwerp: ex Officina Plantiniana Balthasaris Moreti, 1640.
Topographia e Historia general de Argel. Repartida en cinco tratados, do[nde] se veran casos estraños [sic], muertes espantosas y tormentos exquisitos [...] dirigida al ilustrissimo señor don Diego de Haedo, arzobispo de Palermo [...] por el maestro fray Diego de Haedo, Abad de Fromesta, de la orden del Patriarca san Benito
Valladolid: Diego Fernandez de Cordoba y Oviedo, 1612.
Histoires tragiques de nostre temps. Dans lesquelles se voyent plusieurs belles maximes d'Estat, et quantité d'exemples fort memorables, de constance, de courage, de generosité, de regrets, et reprentances
Paris: Claude Collet, 1635.
The great duty of frequenting the Christian sacrifice, and the nature of the preparation required With suitable devotions. Partly collected from the antient liturgies. To which are perfixed instructions for confirmation
Cork: n. p., 1723.