Sacrificio: questioni, interpretazioni, comparazioni. Una introduzione

This introduction aims to explain the lines of research of a group of scholars, brought
together in a joint project on the history of sacrifice from the late Middle Ages to the
modern world. Taking into account the theoretical framework formulated by a long
tradition of studies on sacrifice, the group compared different historical contexts, focusing
on the emergence of religious sciences, biblical commentaries, self-sacrifice and
the idea of martyrdom, sanctity, the global missionary context, European approaches to
sacrificial rites in Asia, and the relationship between the idea of crusade and the doctrine
of sacrifice.