Resurrecting the dead the language of grief in a seventeenth century English family /

by Toland, Lisa Marie.

RESURRECTING THE DEAD: THE LANGUAGE OF GRIEF IN A SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ENGLISH FAMILY by Lisa Marie Toland This paper attempts to demonstrate the constructive nature of the language of grief through an examination of the funeral sermons and funeral monuments for the Richard Riche family of Felsted, Essex, who held the earldom of Warwick from 1618/9 until 1673. This analysis argues that this elite family and their supporting clergymen utilized the existing culture and rituals of death to rhetorically and visually protect their inheritance and hegemony within society as political, social, and spiritual examples. In other words, the dead were resurrected through language and sculpture in such a way that they demonstrated familial continuity and legitimacy, while simultaneously serving as spiritual exemplars that also suggested the Riches hegemony in spiritual affairs. Through a close reading of sources surrounding the eventual extinction of one aristocratic family, a contribution may be made towards understanding the pressures and sentiments experienced by early modern English families.