The afterlife of Laurence Sterne (1713-1768): Body snatching, dissection and the role of Cambridge anatomist Charles Collignon

Jenna M Dittmar; Piers D Mitchell

doi:10.1177/0967772015601584

The afterlife of Laurence Sterne (1713-1768): Body snatching, dissection and the role of Cambridge anatomist Charles Collignon

Jenna M Dittmar, Piers D Mitchell

Archaeology

University of Cambridge

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper aims to highlight the practice of body snatching from graves in the 1700s for the purpose of providing corpses for anatomical dissection, and for stocking anatomy museums. To do this, we examine the exhumation and dissection of the famous eighteenth-century novelist Laurence Sterne and explore the involvement of Charles Collignon, Professor of Anatomy at the University of Cambridge. We also show that osteological and cut-mark analysis of a skull purported to be that of Sterne, currently housed in the Duckworth Collection at Cambridge, provides the key to solving the mystery surrounding why Sterne was resurrected.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	559-565
Number of pages	7
Journal	Journal of Medical Biography
Volume	24
Issue number	4
Early online date	25 Aug 2015
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/0967772015601584
Publication status	Published - Nov 2016

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Maggie Bellatti for all of her help sourcing material in the Duckworth Collection and the archives.

Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

© The Author(s) 2015.

Keywords

Anatomists/history
Dissection/history
England
Exhumation/history
Famous Persons
History, 18th Century
Humans
Literature, Modern/history

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10.1177/0967772015601584

Cite this

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abstract = "This paper aims to highlight the practice of body snatching from graves in the 1700s for the purpose of providing corpses for anatomical dissection, and for stocking anatomy museums. To do this, we examine the exhumation and dissection of the famous eighteenth-century novelist Laurence Sterne and explore the involvement of Charles Collignon, Professor of Anatomy at the University of Cambridge. We also show that osteological and cut-mark analysis of a skull purported to be that of Sterne, currently housed in the Duckworth Collection at Cambridge, provides the key to solving the mystery surrounding why Sterne was resurrected.",

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The afterlife of Laurence Sterne (1713-1768): Body snatching, dissection and the role of Cambridge anatomist Charles Collignon

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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