Body and Sacred Place in Medieval Europe, 1100-1389 (Studies in Medieval History and Culture, 18)

Body and Sacred Place in Medieval Europe investigates the medieval understanding of sacred place, arguing for the centrality of bodies and bodily metaphors to the establishment, function, use, and power of medieval churches. Questioning the traditional division of sacred and profane jurisdictions, this book identifies the need to consider non-devotional uses of churches in the Middle Ages. Dawn Marie Hayes examines idealized visions of medieval sacred places in contrast with the mundane and profane uses of these buildings. She argues that by the later Middle Ages-as loyalties were torn by emerging political, economic, and social groups-the Church suffered a loss of security that was reflected in the uses of sacred spaces, which became more restricted as identities shifted and Europeans ordered the ambiguity of the medieval world. Incorporating Conceptions Of Medieval Sacred Places -- Learned Conceptions Of Sacred Place : Building And Body As Two Facades Of Christian Worship In The Twelfth And Thirteenth Centuries -- History Incarnate : Human Bodies And Ideal Sacred Place In The Miracles Of Our Lady Of Chartres -- Mundane And Profane Uses Of Medieval Sacred Places -- Earthly Uses Of Heavenly Spaces : Non-liturgical Activities In Sacred Place -- Body As Champion Of Church Authority And Sacred Place : The Murder Of Thomas Becket -- Conclusion : Division And Decomposition -- Epilogue : Body And Sacred Place In The Wake Of September 11 -- Resurrecting Medieval Metaphors In The Modern World. Dawn Marie Hayes. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 167-187) And Index. This work investigates the medieval understanding of sacred place and argues for the centrality of bodies and bodily metaphors to the establishment, function, use and power of medieval churches