While suicide was considered excusable under certain circumstances in antiquity, the canon law of the Middle Ages condemned it as an ungodly act that precluded burial in consecrated ground, for example. In order to prevent the dreaded migration of the souls of suicides, their bodies were sometimes burned or their hearts were pierced with stakes. In the early modern period, the church's teachings were also transferred to secular law, despite a few dissenting voices; the condemnation of suicides was now supported by both the church and the state. It was not until the 18th century that debates on the mitigation or complete abolition of suicide penalties began. But under what conditions did this change take place? What arguments were put forward for and against the criminalisation of suicide? And how did suicides justify their own actions?
These questions will be explored in the seminar, including contemporary encyclopaedias, novels, legal texts and letters.