The church as sacred space in Middle English literature and culture

By: Laura Varnam, David Matthews (Editor), Anke Bernau (Editor)

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Paperback | 24 September 2019

At a Glance

Paperback
280 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.6 x 13.8 x 1.4

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This book presents an exciting new approach to the medieval church by examining the role of literary texts, visual decorations, ritual performance and lived experience in the production of sanctity. The meaning of the church was intensely debated in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The book explores what was at stake not only for the church's sanctity but for the identity of the parish community as a result. Focusing on pastoral material used to teach the laity, it shows how the church's status as a sacred space at the heart of the congregation was dangerously - but profitably - dependent on lay practice. The sacred and profane were inextricably linked and, paradoxically, the church is shown to thrive on the sacrilegious challenge of lay misbehaviour and sin. -- .

Industry Reviews

'The Church as Sacred Space is a tour de force. Its overall shape is cleverly conceived and Laura Varnam is to be warmly thanked for not only bringing together a rich plethora of Middle English sermons, miracle stories, treatises, and the record of a church foundation, but also sourcing insights from contemporary architecture, material culture, and liturgy... its an invaluable and thoroughly engaging introduction and points the reader to further study by offering a painstakingly prepared bibliography of primary and secondary texts, and online resources.'
A Journal of Christian Spirituality

'An excellent example of the insightful scholarship that emerges from interdisciplinary approaches
to medieval studies... Its engaging prose and compelling insights make it difficult to put down. The book contains extensive chapter endnotes and a comprehensive bibliography. Varnam's arguments are well worth
consideration, and its interdisciplinary approach to sacred space makes it a study with a broad academic appeal.'
Journal of English and Germanic Philology

'In this exciting new book, Laura Varnam explores one of the most complex, dynamic, and central spaces of medieval culture: the church. Throughout this rich interdisciplinary study, Varnam urges readers to understand the sacred space of the church as generative and productive, even exuberant.'
Speculum

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