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Sacred and Secular Martyrdom in Britain and Ireland since 1914 / John Wolffe.

By: Wolffe, John
Publisher: London : Bloomsbury Academic, 2019.Description: viii, 197 p. ; 24 cm Subject(s): Persecution -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century | Martyrdom -- History -- 20th century | Martyrs -- Great Britain -- History | Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 20th centuryGeneral note: Contains printed references to various items from LPL collections: BM 18 ; Davidson 14, 377, 540 ; Lang 83, 84 ; William Temple 55, 56 ; Fisher 17, 252 ; Ramsey 11, 104, 107, 119, 142, 168, 188 ; Coggan 14, 40, 87 ; Runcie MAIN/1982/83.Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
Preface -- 1. Varieties of martyrdom -- 2. The cross of sacrifice: commemorating the dead of the First World War -- 3. Faiths of their fathers and their children: varieties of Martyrdom in inter-war Britain -- 4. From Easter to Good Friday: martyrs for Ireland -- 5. Christian martyrdom and war remembrance: from the Second World War to the Falklands -- 6. Rejecting and reinventing martyrdom: the sacred and the secular since the 1980s -- 7. Conclusion: the legacies of History -- Appendix: interviewee key characteristics and dates -- Bibliography -- Index.
Summary: During and immediately after the First World War, there was a merging of Christian and nationalist traditions of martyrdom, expressed in the design of war cemeteries and war memorials, and the state funeral of the Unknown Warrior in 1920. John Wolffe explores the subsequent development of these traditions of 'sacred' and 'secular' martyrdom, analysing the ways in which they operated - sometimes in parallel, sometimes merged together and sometimes in conflict with each other. Particular topics explored include the Protestant commemoration of Marian and missionary martyrs, and the Roman Catholic campaign for the canonization of the 'saints and martyrs of England'. Secular martyrdom is discussed in relation to military conflicts especially the Second World War and the Falklands. In Ireland there was a particularly persistent merging of sacred and secular martyrdom in the wake of the Easter Rising of 1916 although by the time of the Northern Ireland 'Troubles' in the later twentieth-century these traditions diverged. In covering these themes, the book also offers historical and comparative context for understanding present-day acts of martyrdom in the form of suicide attacks. -- Publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Shelving location Class number Status Date due Barcode Item reservations
Printed Books Lambeth Palace Library Main Collection D1607.W65 Available LPL22110092
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