Michael Fischer. "Ein Sarg nur und ein Leichenkleid": Sterben und Tod im 19. Jahrhundert. Zur Kultur- und Frömmigkeitsgeschichte des Katholizismus in Südwestdeutschland. Paderborn: Ferdinand Schöningh Verlag, 2004. 437 S. EUR 49.00 (paper), ISBN 978-3-506-71767-2.

Reviewed by Marc R. Forster (Department of History, Connecticut College)
Published on H-German (July, 2006)

Death, Dying and the Challenge of the Modern World

Michael Fischer's study traces the evolution of Catholic death rituals and the theology of death and dying in the nineteenth century. By analyzing theological works, liturgical books, catechisms and hymnals (Gesangbücher), Fischer is able to identify central aspects of Catholic culture in southwest Germany. Fischer's study confirms the basic evolution of Catholic culture in the nineteenth century as understood by historians--from an enlightened attack on traditional rituals and beliefs in the decades around 1800 to ultramontane and anti-modern domination by the last decades of the century. Fischer argues, however, that an examination of hymnals and church songs (Kirchenlieder), in particular, indicates a more complex evolution of popular beliefs and practices. He finds, for example, that church songs, and other components of funerals and death rituals more generally, evolved only very slowly in the southwest; "enlightenment"-inspired songs survived in official books well into the early twentieth century.

While Fischer complicates the story of the rise of ultramontane and conservative Catholicism, he also shows that attitudes toward death and dying were part of the creation of a particular Catholic culture. Throughout the book he engages the question of modernization, demonstrating how Catholic attitudes toward death (like more bourgeois attitudes) moved toward an emotionalizing and privatizing of death and away from baroque Sinnlichkeit, or sensuality (p. 354). Fischer's presentation of this argument is somewhat less persuasive than his analysis of the chronology of changes in Catholic culture, partly because of his reliance on prescriptive sources to make this argument.

The book is organized into three parts. The first examines death and dying in the nineteenth century from a social historical, cultural and religious perspective. There is little novel here in terms of demographic history, but Fischer's discussion of the growing differentiation between religious and cultural styles of peasants and town dwellers is important. Part 2 is an examination of death and dying in official Catholic writings, especially theological works, liturgical books and catechisms. The discussion of catechisms allows Fischer to examine the interplay between theology and pastoral work. He finds an emphasis on self-discipline in theological works, but in the day-to-day there was a strong obsession with hell.

Part 3 examines church songs. Songs, like catechism books, are valuable sources, because they operate at the interface of official and popular religion. Kirchenlieder were not an official part of the liturgy, which gave their authors and the parishioners some flexibility about what songs to publish and use. Songs and singing became a more important part of church services in the nineteenth century. They were even considered somewhat subversive and were linked by some Catholic critics to bourgeois attitudes and "modern subjectivity" (pp. 233-235). Fischer analyzes the content of hymnals from the dioceses of Mainz, Constance, Rottenburg and Freiburg. He is able to show the tenacious staying power of traditional songs in these dioceses. Also, it is apparent that "Enlightenment traditions" remained strong in these parts of Catholic Germany, especially in the diocese of Freiburg. "Clericalization," "ultramontanization" and anti-modernization--the supposed hallmarks of the Catholic milieu--were far from monolithic in Germany (pp. 321-322).

These last sections of the book are somewhat disappointing in that Fischer analyzes the content of the hymnals, but has little information on the use or reception of the songs. I am not completely convinced that the sources mobilized here are quite strong enough to support the suggestive "taxonomy" developed by Fischer in the conclusion. Fischer finds that his sources support the views of the sociologist Klaus Feldman and the work of anthropologists about rites of passage. Fischer also argues that the interplay of tradition and innovation was central to the development of Catholic culture. Somewhat ironically, the Catholic Church decided, in a very self-conscious way, to take the anti-modern path. "Stated most pointedly, one could say that the desired staging of tradition was a particularly modern element [of Catholicism]" (p. 368). The development of church bureaucracy and even the regulation and publication of Gesangbücher themselves were elements of modernity. At the same time, the Church's commitment to tradition had its costs. The emphasis on a dualistic view of the world in the context of death and dying (heaven-hell, god-devil, good-evil) was especially problematic: "The price paid for inner stabilization was of course a loss of plausibility in the outer, social world" (p. 370).

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Citation: Marc R. Forster. Review of Fischer, Michael, "Ein Sarg nur und ein Leichenkleid": Sterben und Tod im 19. Jahrhundert. Zur Kultur- und Frömmigkeitsgeschichte des Katholizismus in Südwestdeutschland. H-German, H-Net Reviews. July, 2006.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=12006

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