From an acclaimed historian, a mesmerizing account of how medieval
European Christians envisioned the paradoxical nature of holy
objects Between the twelfth and the sixteenth centuries, European
Christians used in worship a plethora of objects, not only prayer
books, statues, and paintings but also pieces of natural materials,
such as stones and earth, considered to carry holiness, dolls
representing Jesus and Mary, and even bits of consecrated bread and
wine thought to be miraculously preserved flesh and blood.
Theologians and ordinary worshippers alike explained, utilized,
justified, and warned against some of these objects, which could
carry with them both anti-Semitic charges and the glorious promise
of heaven. Their proliferation and the reaction against them form a
crucial background to the European-wide movements we know today as
"reformations" (both Protestant and Catholic). In a set of
independent but inter-related essays, Caroline Bynum considers some
examples of such holy things, among them beds for the baby Jesus,
the headdresses of medieval nuns, and the footprints of Christ
carried home from the Holy Land by pilgrims in patterns cut to
their shape or their measurement in lengths of string. Building on
and going beyond her well-received work on the history of
materiality, Bynum makes two arguments, one substantive, the other
methodological. First, she demonstrates that the objects themselves
communicate a paradox of dissimilar similitude-that is, that in
their very details they both image the glory of heaven and make
clear that that heaven is beyond any representation in earthly
things. Second, she uses the theme of likeness and unlikeness to
interrogate current practices of comparative history. Suggesting
that contemporary students of religion, art, and culture should
avoid comparing things that merely "look alike," she proposes that
humanists turn instead to comparing across cultures the disparate
and perhaps visually dissimilar objects in which worshippers as
well as theorists locate the "other" that gives their religion
enduring power.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
