Civic Ceremony and Religion in Medieval Bruges C.1300-1520

"Public religious practice lay at the heart of civic society in late medieval Europe. In this illuminating study, Andrew Brown draws on the rich and previously little-researched archives of Bruges, one of medieval Europe's wealthiest and most important towns, to explore the role of religion and ceremony in urban society. The author situates the religious practices of citizens - their investment in the liturgy, commemorative services, guilds and charity - within the contexts of Bruges' highly diversified society and of the changes and crises the town experienced. Focusing on the religious processions and festivities sponsored by the municipal government, the author challenges much current thinking on, for example, the nature of 'civic religion'. Re-evaluating the ceremonial links between Bruges and its rulers, he questions whether rulers could dominate the urban landscape by religious or ceremonial means, and offers new insight into the interplay between ritual and power of relevance throughout medieval Europe"--

List of contents

Introduction; 1. The Holy Blood Procession; 2. General processions; 3. Feast days and liturgical commemoration; 4. Guilds: feast, festivity and public worship; 5. Guilds and civic government; 6. Civic charity; 7. Civic ceremony, religion and the counts of Flanders; Conclusion and epilogue: civic morality c.1500.

About the author

Andrew Brown is Lecturer in the School of History, Classics and Philosophy at the University of Massey. His previous publications include Church and Society in England, 1000–1500 (2003) and Court and Civic Society in the Burgundian Low Countries c.1420–1530 (co-edited with Graeme Small, 2007).

Product details

• Authors: Andrew Brown, Andrew (Massey University Brown
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 23.01.2014
• EAN: 9781107692039
• ISBN: 978-1-107-69203-9
• No. of pages: 384
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; European History, Belgium, HISTORY / Europe / General, RELIGION / Christianity / History, Christianity, History of Religion, Medieval History, c 1000 CE to c 1500, Social and cultural history, Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500, Church history, c 500 to c 1000 CE, Religion and beliefs, European history: medieval period, middle ages