Transnational soldiering, burial and commemoration across borders. The case of Luxembourgers in the French Foreign Legion

in Francia: Forschungen zur Westeuropäischen Geschichte. 3, 19./20. Jahrhundert (2022), 49

To whom do the dead belong? The French Foreign Legion exemplifies a modern military conundrum: how to reconcile loyal and patriotic duty with mercenary service or, in neutral terms, military labour. This ... [more ▼]

To whom do the dead belong? The French Foreign Legion exemplifies a modern military conundrum: how to reconcile loyal and patriotic duty with mercenary service or, in neutral terms, military labour. This article investigates soldierly funeral culture in the long nineteenth century, with a focus on the entangled histories of Luxembourg and France. The Foreign Legion’s transnational recruitment makes this armed force a unique case study to explore military commemoration across state borders, honouring the dead and the living alike. Since its establishment to fight outside mainland France, rooted in the conquest of Algeria (1830–1857), the Legion has been the only branch of the French military whose members swear allegiance not to France, but to the corps itself: its motto is Legio Patria Nostra (»The Legion is our Homeland«). As a military parallel society and temporary »ersatz nation«, the Legion has elaborated a specific death cult, which has both a corporeal (body-centred, individual) and a sur-real (transcendent, communal) dimension. The two dimensions cannot be rigidly delimited: they clearly overlap and can be shared with other nations, as the case of Luxembourg demonstrates. [less ▲]

Entre 'dette du sang' et 'military labour migration': les Luxembourgeois engagés dans la Légion étrangère (1831-1914)

in Revue Historique des Armées (2021), 302

„Dann eben in die Natur damit“ – Der neue Trend der Waldbestattung in Luxemburg: Geschichte, Beweggründe und ökologische Auswirkungen

in Thiltges, Sébastian; Solte-Gresser, Christiane (Eds.) Kulturökologie und ökologische Kulturen in der Großregion / Écologie culturelle et cultures écologiques dans la Grande Région (2020)

For the environment, humans and their way of life have become one of the most decisive factors of influence: their impact defines the geochronological era of the Anthropocene. These manmade changes ... [more ▼]

For the environment, humans and their way of life have become one of the most decisive factors of influence: their impact defines the geochronological era of the Anthropocene. These manmade changes include one specific type of sediments, namely that of human remains. In industrialized regions, the biologically degradable, organic matter of the human body is often altered by medical implants and pharmaceutical residues. Sepulchral practices may add other toxic substances. This article examines how the recent trend towards woodland burials of cremated remains in Luxembourg is embedded in ecological discourse and imagination, and asks whether it does provide an environment-friendly alternative to traditional full-body inhumations. [less ▲]

Co-Creating Ritual Spaces and Communities: An Analysis of Municipial Cemetery Tongerseweg, Maastricht, 1812-2020

in Religions (2020), 11(9), 435

Cemeteries have been viewed in opposed ways as ritual spaces that either mirror society or present an idealized model of society. In this article, we propose an analysis of cemeteries as ritual spaces ... [more ▼]

Cemeteries have been viewed in opposed ways as ritual spaces that either mirror society or present an idealized model of society. In this article, we propose an analysis of cemeteries as ritual spaces, focused on the case study of municipal cemetery Tongerseweg in Maastricht, among the most important monumental cemeteries still in active use in The Netherlands today. Drawing on historical as well as interview material, spatial and ritual studies, the authors argue for a new “Arena Model” to understand cemeteries as dynamic ritual spaces. Cemeteries do not only form an ensemble of ritual spaces that are reliant on pre-existing communities, they also evoke, produce and maintain communities. Codeterminants are the physical layout and a wide range of ritual markers that variously underscore, mitigate or even contradict the communities created by the spatial layout. Important actors pertain to municipal politics and administration as well as the users, their respective allies and service providers. The article further analyses the wide range of competing values that help to shape a cycle of cocreating plural ritual spaces as well as communities [less ▲]

Neue Ansätze und Perspektiven in der Seuchengeschichte. Eine thematische Einleitung

in Mein, Georg; Pause, Johannes (Eds.) Self and Society in the Corona Crisis. Perspectives from the Humanities and Social Sciences (2020)

Bacteria and parasites are constant companions of humankind. Usually, they are harmless. When they turn against their hosts, however, they become harbinger of diseases. It seems to be a paradox of history ... [more ▼]

Bacteria and parasites are constant companions of humankind. Usually, they are harmless. When they turn against their hosts, however, they become harbinger of diseases. It seems to be a paradox of history that diseases and their global spread may be seen as indicators for the process of civilisation. We investigate this phenomenon from two angles: the so-called Black Death and leprosy. [less ▲]

Friedhof, Heldenhain oder Totenburg? Der Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge und die Soldatenfriedhöfe Sandweiler und Clausen im Großherzogtum Luxemburg.

in Philippart, Robert L.; Reuter, Antoinette; Kmec, Sonja (Eds.) Ewige Ruhe? Concession à perpétuité? - Grabkulturen in Luxemburg und den Nachbarregionen - Cultures funéraires au Luxembourg et dans les régions voisines (2019)

Ein Ossarium für Steinsel. Über die architektonische Herausforderung einer ungewöhnlichen Bauaufgabe

in Kmec, Sonja; Philippart, Robert L.; Reuter, Antoinette (Eds.) Ewige Ruhe? Concession à perpétuité? - Grabkulturen in Luxemburg und den Nachbarregionen - Cultures funéraires au Luxembourg et dans les régions voisines (2019)

Cemeteries and urban form: a historico-geographcial approach

in Urban Morphology (2018), 22(2), 119-139

Research in urban morphology rarely takes account of the specific forms of burial grounds. This paper offers a synthesis of how Christian cities of the dead mirror the cities of the living, and provides ... [more ▼]

Research in urban morphology rarely takes account of the specific forms of burial grounds. This paper offers a synthesis of how Christian cities of the dead mirror the cities of the living, and provides an overview of different Western European 'funeral epochs'. The shifting location of burial grounds realtes to major changes in town planning and building. Adopting a historico-geographical approach, micro-morphological transformatins of grave-plot forms and their cardinal orientations and accessibility are explored in the context of changing religious beliefs, rules of hygiene, and practical and aesthetic consideration. The role of cemeteries in fringe-belt development is presented, using Vienna as a historical case study. [less ▲]

Zwischen Mensch und Ding

in Hahn, Hans Peter; Neumann, Friedemann (Eds.) Dinge als Herausforderung: Kontexte, Umgangsweisen und Umwertungen von Objekten (2018)

Eine andere Migrationsgeschichte - tote Soldaten der Grande Guerre im Luxemburger Erzbecken

in Mutations. Mémoires et Perspectives du Bassin Minier (2018), 10

Dieser Kurzartikel behandelt die ephemeren Grabstätten deutscher und französischer Kriegsgefallener während des Ersten Weltkrieges und deren Umbettung in den 1920er-Jahren