Human bone, memento mori, and materiality in Catholic tradition : an exploration with an example from Kutná Hora, Czechia

Abstract

Ossuaries and bone chapels are a fascinating remnant of medieval European Catholicism. These extensive collections of human bones, often organised into macabre and artistic displays, represent an element of medieval culture that can be enigmatic in the modern day. Using existing literature, autoethnography, and digital ethnography, this study discusses the origins of ossuaries as a cultural and religious practice and their intrinsic connection to the concept of memento mori, in both art and philosophy, as well as how modern visitors to sites like Sedlec Ossuary in Czechia experience the ossuary from a sociocultural disconnect from death in the everyday.