The Impact of Epidemics on Funerary Practices in Modern France (16th – 18th Centuries)

International audiencehroughout the course of the modern period, the populations of the kingdom of France were confronted with recurrent epidemics. Today, the reaction of these populations to events of excess mortality is better known through the study of texts, but also through field excavations and laboratory research of funerary complexes recording these crisis episodes. Considering twelve archaeological examples of cemeteries in France, this chapter analyses the different reactions of populations facing an epidemic and explores the potential of funerary practices between the 16thand 18th centuries