La mémoire des morts à la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Tournai du xie au xxie siècle

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai preserves a unique and continuous record of mortuary practices spanning from the 11th to the 21st century, offering rare insights into the evolution of commemorative traditions. The study identifies 560 burials, including two 11th-century bishops, alongside reconstructed necrologies and obituaries dating back to 1230–1233, which were publicly read until 1593. Exceptional findings include eleven mortuary roll-bearers, rare personal inscriptions, and documented practices like bell-ringing during burials. The research also sheds light on anniversary distributions managed by the refectory office and the clandestine burial of Mgr Labis in 1872. This comprehensive analysis, combining archival records with on-site observations, reveals the cathedral's enduring role as a site of collective memory and mortuary ritual.

Pycke, J. (2010). La mémoire des morts à la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Tournai du xi^e au xxi^e siècle. Revue d’Histoire de l’Eglise de France, 96(2), 289–317. https://doi.org/10.1484/j.rhef.3.39