Itsemurhan rituaalisen rankaisemisen merkitykset uuden ajan alun Ruotsissa ja Suomessa

Authors

• Riikka Miettinen Tampereen yliopisto

Abstract

As in all of early modern Europe, suicide was considered a grave sin and a punishable felony in Sweden and Finland well into the late 19th century. Suspicious deaths were investigated in the local lower courts where several witnesses were questioned about the mental state and background of the deceased. According to the secular laws, corpses of sane suicides were burnt at the stake or buried in the woods while insane suicides received a silent burial outside or later inside the churchyards. In both cases, usual ceremonies and death rituals as well as the presence of clergy were denied; the executioner disposed of the corpses of sane suicides, whereas the corpses of the insane were taken care of by relatives.

The article discusses the various meanings, functions, and consequences of the punishment rituals directed to the suicides’ corpses in early modern Sweden, with an empirical focus on 17th century communities. The material comprises about 200 suicide cases sentenced in the secular courts around the large Swedish Empire. Alongside with the rich court records, secular and ecclesiastical legislation as well as contemporary literature include information on the treatment of the suicide’s corpse. The meanings of these practices are examined especially in relation to the deceased, the bereaved, and the community.

The relatively severe punishments passed by the secular courts served as retribution on the wrongdoer and as a message to the living. The declination of proper funeral and burial site signified that the sentenced was excluded from his Christian and other communities. The verdict made him a dishonorable criminal and sinner whose fate was to wander in liminal state between the communities of the dead and the living and finally end up in Hell. Denial of the usual rites of passage meant that other practices were needed to prevent the unnaturally deceased from haunting. Burning or burying the corpse in a distant location availed to keep the restless soul far from the settlements. For the bereaved, the public trials and punishments caused further grief and shame. The harsh punishments were also means of communal atonement and purification, crucial in order to avoid God’s wrath that could manifest itself in the form of a pestilence, famine, or other disasters. The corpses were usually evaded and left untouched to wait for the investigation and the punishments. Naturally, the desecration of the corpses also served as a prevention measure.