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Papers by Catherine Lawless
Encyclopedia of the Bible Online, 2017
Medical Humanities, 2016
This paper focuses on intersections of holy and sick bodies in the Tuscan Middle Ages to examine ... more This paper focuses on intersections of holy and sick bodies in the Tuscan Middle Ages to examine how the faithful accessed miraculous cures from contact with, or belief in, the relics of the saints. Rather than examine the relationship between the long dead martyrs (whose relics were abundant), however, it will look at the relationship between relatively recent saints and their devotees. The miracles discussed are traditional-that is, they are found in the lives of many saints and are not exceptional. It is hoped, however, that by concentrating on Tuscany, some insights can be secured on the relationship between Tuscan individuals of the late middle ages and those of their community who were recognised, either officially or through vox populi, as saints.
Renaissance Studies, 2012
Routledge India eBooks, Aug 7, 2022
Open Arts Journal, 2015
The Florentine Dominican preacher Fra Giovanni Dominici (1355-1419) warned his female reader of t... more The Florentine Dominican preacher Fra Giovanni Dominici (1355-1419) warned his female reader of the dangers to which the senses, and sight in particular, exposed the soul, reminding her of how Eve was led to sin by looking at the apple, Samson by looking at Delilah, and David in looking at Bathsheba. The Franciscan preacher Fra Bernardino da Siena (1380-1444) warned against what was evidently a common practice, that of running to kiss the altar, or the sacred stone, chalice or paten, and reminded his listeners that they were to consider themselves unworthy of such privileges. The sense of touch was often instrumental in obtaining cures, as well as fulfilling ritual requirements. Yet, as the preachers show, the senses, whose site is the body, can be agents of temptation. This essay explores a range of ways in which holy images were 'sensed' by women in renaissance Tuscany. My concern, in particular, is with the relationship between the sense of touch and images, especially small panel paintings.
Widowhood and Visual Culture in Early Modern Europe, 2017
Journal of Medieval History, 2010
This article will examine an unusual legend contained in Florentine fifteenth-century manuscripts... more This article will examine an unusual legend contained in Florentine fifteenth-century manuscripts concerning St Ismeria, the 'grandmother' of the Virgin. Unlike more well-known versions of the Holy Kinship of Christ, where Ismeria is described as the sister of St Anne and grandmother of St John the Baptist, in this legend she is instead firmly described as St Anne's mother and thus the grandmother of the Virgin and the great-grandmother of Christ. Most of the legend is concerned with Ismeria's life of penitential piety as a wife and widow and has little in common with standard legends of the Virgin or of St Anne, but has strong resonances within the world of late medieval Florentine piety and the type of 'new' sanctity defined by Vauchez, where sanctity is earned by a life of penitence rather than with blood martyrdom. The contents of the codices which house the legends are typical of medieval vernacular writings and contain more traditional lives of the Virgin and accounts of the Holy Kinship. The way in which these legends lay side by side with such contradictory material suggests a fluidity in the way holy narratives were accepted.
Cultural and Social History, 2005
... Susan McKillop, David Herlihy and Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, among others.2 The tissue connec... more ... Susan McKillop, David Herlihy and Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, among others.2 The tissue connecting names, saints, patronage and intercession is neatly demonstrated by a letter from Fra Romolo de' Medici asking for Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici's help in repairing the church of ...
Religions
This article will discuss domestic devotions by framing them in terms of devotions carried out in... more This article will discuss domestic devotions by framing them in terms of devotions carried out in the home, defined by its opposition to ecclesiastical, consecrated space. It will examine how women, considered the laity par excellence through their inability to ever attain sacerdotal authority, were advised spiritually by mendicant friars on how to lead a Christian life according to their status as wives, widows or virgins. It will look at the devotional literature that was widespread in mercantile homes and the devotional images designed to move the soul. This discussion will attempt to show the tensions between ecclesiastical and domestic spaces; between the clergy and the laity, and between the corporeal and spiritual worlds of late medieval devotion. It will argue that, despite clerical unease with the female and domestic space, the importance accorded to female piety by the mendicant orders at the close of the Middle Ages was such that women were entrusted with key educational ...
Encyclopedia of the Bible Online, 2017
Medical Humanities, 2016
This paper focuses on intersections of holy and sick bodies in the Tuscan Middle Ages to examine ... more This paper focuses on intersections of holy and sick bodies in the Tuscan Middle Ages to examine how the faithful accessed miraculous cures from contact with, or belief in, the relics of the saints. Rather than examine the relationship between the long dead martyrs (whose relics were abundant), however, it will look at the relationship between relatively recent saints and their devotees. The miracles discussed are traditional-that is, they are found in the lives of many saints and are not exceptional. It is hoped, however, that by concentrating on Tuscany, some insights can be secured on the relationship between Tuscan individuals of the late middle ages and those of their community who were recognised, either officially or through vox populi, as saints.
Renaissance Studies, 2012
Routledge India eBooks, Aug 7, 2022
Open Arts Journal, 2015
The Florentine Dominican preacher Fra Giovanni Dominici (1355-1419) warned his female reader of t... more The Florentine Dominican preacher Fra Giovanni Dominici (1355-1419) warned his female reader of the dangers to which the senses, and sight in particular, exposed the soul, reminding her of how Eve was led to sin by looking at the apple, Samson by looking at Delilah, and David in looking at Bathsheba. The Franciscan preacher Fra Bernardino da Siena (1380-1444) warned against what was evidently a common practice, that of running to kiss the altar, or the sacred stone, chalice or paten, and reminded his listeners that they were to consider themselves unworthy of such privileges. The sense of touch was often instrumental in obtaining cures, as well as fulfilling ritual requirements. Yet, as the preachers show, the senses, whose site is the body, can be agents of temptation. This essay explores a range of ways in which holy images were 'sensed' by women in renaissance Tuscany. My concern, in particular, is with the relationship between the sense of touch and images, especially small panel paintings.
Widowhood and Visual Culture in Early Modern Europe, 2017
Journal of Medieval History, 2010
This article will examine an unusual legend contained in Florentine fifteenth-century manuscripts... more This article will examine an unusual legend contained in Florentine fifteenth-century manuscripts concerning St Ismeria, the 'grandmother' of the Virgin. Unlike more well-known versions of the Holy Kinship of Christ, where Ismeria is described as the sister of St Anne and grandmother of St John the Baptist, in this legend she is instead firmly described as St Anne's mother and thus the grandmother of the Virgin and the great-grandmother of Christ. Most of the legend is concerned with Ismeria's life of penitential piety as a wife and widow and has little in common with standard legends of the Virgin or of St Anne, but has strong resonances within the world of late medieval Florentine piety and the type of 'new' sanctity defined by Vauchez, where sanctity is earned by a life of penitence rather than with blood martyrdom. The contents of the codices which house the legends are typical of medieval vernacular writings and contain more traditional lives of the Virgin and accounts of the Holy Kinship. The way in which these legends lay side by side with such contradictory material suggests a fluidity in the way holy narratives were accepted.
Cultural and Social History, 2005
... Susan McKillop, David Herlihy and Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, among others.2 The tissue connec... more ... Susan McKillop, David Herlihy and Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, among others.2 The tissue connecting names, saints, patronage and intercession is neatly demonstrated by a letter from Fra Romolo de' Medici asking for Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici's help in repairing the church of ...
Religions
This article will discuss domestic devotions by framing them in terms of devotions carried out in... more This article will discuss domestic devotions by framing them in terms of devotions carried out in the home, defined by its opposition to ecclesiastical, consecrated space. It will examine how women, considered the laity par excellence through their inability to ever attain sacerdotal authority, were advised spiritually by mendicant friars on how to lead a Christian life according to their status as wives, widows or virgins. It will look at the devotional literature that was widespread in mercantile homes and the devotional images designed to move the soul. This discussion will attempt to show the tensions between ecclesiastical and domestic spaces; between the clergy and the laity, and between the corporeal and spiritual worlds of late medieval devotion. It will argue that, despite clerical unease with the female and domestic space, the importance accorded to female piety by the mendicant orders at the close of the Middle Ages was such that women were entrusted with key educational ...