Research Catalog

Title

Living and cursing in the Roman West : curse tablets and society / Stuart McKie.

Author

McKie, Stuart (Historian)

Publication

• London ; New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2022.
• ©2022

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

285 pages : illustrations, maps; 24 cm.

Summary

"Focusing on the Roman west, this book examines the rituals of cursing, their cultural contexts, and their impact on the lives of those who practised them. A huge number of Roman curse tablets have been discovered, showing their importance for helping ancient people to cope with various aspects of life. Curse tablets have been relatively neglected by archaeologists and historians. This study not only encourages greater understanding of the individual practice of curse rituals but also reveals how these objects can inform ongoing debates surrounding power, agency and social relationships in the Roman provinces. McKie uses new theoretical models to examine the curse tablets and focuses particularly on the concept of 'lived religion'. This framework reconfigures our understanding of religious and magical practices, allowing much greater appreciation of them as creative processes. Our awareness of the lived experiences of individuals is also encouraged by the application of theoretical approaches from sensory and material turns and through the consideration of comparable ritual practices in modern social contexts. These stimulate new questions of the ancient evidence, especially regarding the motives and motivations behind the curses"--

Series Statement

Bloomsbury classical studies monographs

Uniform Title

Bloomsbury classical studies monographs.

Subject

• Blessing and cursing > Rome
• Rites and ceremonies > Rome
• Tablets (Paleography)
• Roman provinces > Religion
• Roman provinces > Religious life and customs
• Blessing and cursing
• Inscriptions, Latin
• Magic, Roman
• Roman provinces > Antiquities
• Europe, Western > Antiquities, Roman

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages [263]-282) and index.

Contents

Cursing and religion in the Roman West -- Rituals, gestures, and movements -- Motives and social frameworks -- Agency, power, and relationships.

Call Number

JFE 22-3413

ISBN

• 9781350102996
• 1350102997
• 9781350289352
• 1350289353

LCCN

2021052186

OCLC

1285915802

Author

McKie, Stuart (Historian), author.

Title

Living and cursing in the Roman West : curse tablets and society / Stuart McKie.

Publisher

London ; New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2022.

Copyright Date

©2022

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

Bloomsbury classical studies monographs

Bloomsbury classical studies monographs.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages [263]-282) and index.

Other Form:

ebook version : 9781350103016

Research Call Number

JFE 22-3413