CFP. International Conference "In the paradise of the altars. Trajectory, Privilege, and Idiosyncrasy of the ecclesiastical elites in the Early Modern World, 16-18th centuries" (original) (raw)
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Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 2007
Woolgar, as in his previous book on The great household, is excellent. One might look for more discussion of the eucharist in the chapters on taste, otherwise mentioned only briefly in this regard ( p. 23), but the discussion of the ' odour of sanctity' and the ' stink of sin ' ( pp. 118-26, 129-32) is full and fascinating. At the end come chapters on three 'sensory environments ' : the households of bishops, of queens and of the nobility. These three chapters are all based on a few case studies, and so of necessity a little narrower than the surveys which precede them, but the variation of focus is refreshing and allows more archival research. The account of the mortification of the senses of Thomas Cantilupe, bishop of Hereford (1275-82), is especially thorough. And particularly striking is the contrast between Cantilupe's private asceticism and his outward maintenance of a typically luxurious episcopal household ( pp. 193-205). As Woolgar remarks in conclusion, we cannot generalise lazily about medieval attitudes to the senses ( p. 266) : concurrent were stern religious ideas about starving the senses but also, in the worldly sources which Woolgar uses so well, rich indulgences of the senses, here richly described.
Review by Alexandra Vukovich in The Journal of Ecclesiastical History 72: 4 (2021)
A number of aspects of the presentation in this book present obstacles for the reader. The first is the repetitive and wordy style. Of Hraban Maur's set of acrostic poems already mentioned, for example, Kitzinger writes that 'Hrabanus's work greatly helps to clarify the category of cross images whose explicit invocation of materiality is coupled with indices of utility.' I take this to mean that the pictures of a cross and the text of Hraban's poem and commentary remind viewers and readers of the original wooden cross on which Christ was crucified. All the notes, moreover, are printed at the end of the book (pp. -), in a two-column format in small print. The notes themselves, more or less without exception, are lengthy and discursive, containing essential explanatory as well as tangential material in addition to the references. It is difficult to read these notes in conjunction with the main text; it becomes even more cumbersome in the e-version of the book. The bibliographical references in the notes, however, are not included in the bibliography; the latter lists 'additional key sources for the study' not cited in the notes. Another problem is the illustration. It is wonderful to have so many figures in colour, the actual quality and resolution is mostly very good, and the author is meticulous about providing the dimensions of her artworks the first time they are illustrated. Nevertheless, the relative scale of the examples needs to be registered when a book like the Lorsch Gospels ( x . cm) is reproduced in little more than postage-stamp format. And the ambo from Romainmoutier (. x cm) is reproduced in exactly the same size of figure as the page opposite from the Rule of Benedict in Clm ( × cm). This is certainly an exposition full of astute and subtle nuances of observation, with detailed commentary on the remarkable variety of representations of the cross in an interesting selection of Carolingian books. The discussions of the imagery in the Gellone Sacramentary (BnF, Paris, MS lat. ) from Meaux and the late Carolingian 'Angers Gospels' (Bibliothèque Municipale, Angers, MS ) from Brittany are particularly enlightening. Kitzinger's overall claim is that such images of the physical object and all it stood for were formative in shaping the understanding of art and its function and status beyond the merely decorative, or in her words 'used as a sign of the immanence, utility and materiality of other works of art', but this aspect of her argument remains a possibility rather than being established. ROSAMOND MCKITTERICK SIDNEY SUSSEX COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE The liturgical past in Byzantium and early Rus. By Sean Griffin. (Studies in Medieval Life and Thought Fourth Series.) Pp. x + . Cambridge-New York: Cambridge University Press, . £. JEH () ; doi:./S The Povest' vremennykh let or the Rus Primary Chronicle, as Griffin refers to it in his book, has probably received more attention than any other text attributed to early Rus, certainly more so than any other chronicle of Rus. Its initial sections, in particular, continue to capture the imagination of medievalists because of their varied narrative elements. Folk tales, administrative documents, hagiographies, Byzantine chronicle excerpts and annals combine to recount the emergence of Rus via a multi-layered narrative, one that elevates the ascendant ruling group (the so-called