The Yule log conceals a forgotten tradition, once widely practiced over centuries, which involved burning a log during midnight mass. It is through an investigation into this custom, the meaning of which remains enigmatic, that historian and anthropologist Anton Serdeczny, currently a researcher at the Medici Archive Project in Florence, Italy, seeks to reconsider the concept of magic in La Bûche et le gras. Une anthropologie historique de la magie de Noël ("The Log and the Fat: A Historical Anthropology of Christmas Magic," untranslated).
Why is the Yule log considered an anthropological object?
This research builds on my ongoing work on oral traditions, which are often very different from those of the educated elite. My previous book on the history of reviving the dead [Du tabac pour le mort. Une histoire de la réanimation ["Tobacco for the Dead: A History of Revival," untranslated, 2018] explored how Enlightenment-era medicine, without realizing it, drew inspiration from carnival and oral culture to develop its protocols. La Bûche et le gras continues this exploration by focusing on the ritual of the Yule log, the deeper meaning of which remains a mystery. This Christmas tradition was central to the majority of the population until recently. It is documented from the 12th to the 20th century in most French regions, as well as throughout Italy – the countries on which I focus my research – and elsewhere in Europe.
