European University Institute Library

Holy matter, changing perceptions of the material world in late medieval Christianity, Sara Ritchey

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 205-225) and index

mapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

Holy matter

bibliography

863196067

Sara Ritchey

changing perceptions of the material world in late medieval Christianity

"A magnificent proliferation of new Christ-centered devotional practices--including affective meditation, imitative suffering, crusade, Eucharistic cults and miracles, passion drama, and liturgical performance--reveals profound changes in the Western Christian temperament of the twelfth century and beyond. This change has often been attributed by scholars to an increasing emphasis on God's embodiment in the incarnation and crucifixion of Christ. In Holy Matter, Sara Ritchey offers a fresh narrative explaining theological and devotional change by journeying beyond the human body to ask how religious men and women understood the effects of God's incarnation on the natural, material world. She finds a remarkable willingness on the part of medieval Christians to embrace the material world--its trees, flowers, vines, its worms and wolves--as a locus for divine encounter"--, Provided by Publisher

The mirror of holy virginity -- Virginitas and viriditas -- Clare of Assisi and the tree of crucifixion -- The Franciscan bough -- An estranged wilderness