A group of men dig a tunnel under the threshold of a house, then drag a heavy, sagging object out through the tunnel and place it on a cow-hide to be dragged off and thrown into the offal-pit. Why should the corpse of a suicide--for that is what it is--have earned this unusual treatment? In The Curse of Self-Murder , the second in his three-part Suicide in the Middle Ages , Alexander Murray explores the origin of the condemnation of suicide, in a quest that leads along the most unexpected byways of medieval theology, law, mythology, and folklore. This survey of the methods used to block suicide during this difficult period in history provides a unique perspective on medieval culture and religion.