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The Ever-Present Death Behind the Church Door: On the Funeral Bier and Its Emblematic Qualities

Abstract This article takes its point of departure in the precautions taken by the early modern Lutheran Church in order to insure that, at least in principle, all parishioners had a chance to face death, once the end was approaching, prepared. More explicitly, the article addresses how the early modern parishioner faced death each time he or she entered the local church. A specific item – the funeral bier – is to be the focal point and the lens through which the manner of the Church’s preparation of parishioners for death is discussed.