Church Monuments in Norfolk Before 1850 - An Archaeology of Commemoration (Paperback)

A large synthesis of commemorative monuments with discussion of earlier studies and ideas on monuments in the county of Norfolk. Jonathan Finch divides the study chronologically: monuments before 1400, 1400-1549, post-Reformation monuments, 1700-1849. The large volume of data is firmly placed within its temporal, spatial and social context which places it apart from other syntheses of these monuments. In this study Finch is able to identify broad and often very subtle patterns of change in the act of commemoration and the role of monuments, highlighting in particular the gradual shift from Christian iconography of the cross slab to more personal inscriptions, reflecting a change from the visual to textual and a growing concern with the fate of the individual rather than the fate of the dead in general.