Abstract/Summary

John Le Neve's Monumenta Anglicana (5 vols, 1717-19) is an overlooked but fascinating text. This article gives the first scholarly account of its pioneering characteristics -- in particular, its self-conscious use of print as a medium for memorialising the recently dead. The article argues that, rather than regarding print as a poor substitute for stone memorials as did many of his contemporaries, Le Neve explores the relationship between stone, manuscript and print as media for epitaphs, and exploits the peculiar capacity of print to record deaths in and through time.