Church As Sacred Space in Middle English Literature and Culture

The church as sacred space in Middle English literature and culture puts us at the heart of medieval religious life, standing inside the church with the laity in order to ask what it meant to them and why.

Exploring a range of Middle English pastoral literature - including sermons, treatises, miracle narratives and a church foundation legend, alongside liturgy, architecture and material culture - the book examines the ways in which the sanctity of the church was constructed and maintained for the edification of the laity. Drawing on a wide range of contemporary theoretical approaches, it offers a reading of the church as continually produced and negotiated by the rituals, performances and practices of its lay communities, who were constantly being asked to attend to its material form, visual decorations and significance.

The meaning of the church was a dominant question in late-medieval religious culture. This book provides an invaluable context for students and academics working on lay religious experience and canonical Middle English texts.

List of contents

Introduction: reading sacred space in late medieval England
1 The church consecration ceremony and the construction of sacred space
2 The Book of the Foundation of St Bartholomew's Church: consecration, restoration, and translation
3 Sacred and profane: pastoral care in the parish church
4 What the church betokeneth: placing the people at the heart of sacred space
5 Epilogue
Index

About the author

Laura Varnam is Lecturer in Old and Middle English Literature at University College, Oxford

Summary

This book places us at the heart of medieval religious life, standing inside the church with the medieval laity in order to ask what it meant to them and why. Drawing on a wide range of theoretical and interdisciplinary approaches, it examines the interplay of vernacular literature, ritual and material culture at the centre of parish life. -- .

Product details

• Authors: Laura Varnam
• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.12.2017
• EAN: 9781784994174
• ISBN: 978-1-78499-417-4
• No. of pages: 280
• Series: Manchester Medieval Literature and Culture; Manchester Medieval Literature; Manchester Medieval Literature and Culture; Manchester Medieval Literature
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > General, dictionaries; Cultural Studies, RELIGION / History, Social & cultural history, LITERARY CRITICISM / Medieval, RELIGION / Christian Church / History, Christianity, History of Religion, British & Irish history, Literary studies: classical, early & medieval, Christian Churches, denominations, groups, HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / General, Social and cultural history, Church history, Literary studies: ancient, classical & medieval