I would link these changes in the consumption of art to other cultural changes which occurred after the events of 1348. We can see that these performances were curated in both public and private texts.įigure 2: Canon Page, The Hague, KB 78 D 11, 133v (1450), reproduced by kind permission. Figure 1 is a private prayer book dated to 1475 and Figure 2 is a canonical text dated 1450, which would have been publically used by a priest in the church service for the congregation. I will explore this phenomenon through two case studies. We therefore begin to see the performativity and materiality of art objects such as manuscripts being explored and manipulated.įigure 1: Annunciation, © The British Library Board, Harley 2966 f14v(1475), reproduced by kind permission. He highlights a key transformation in the use of images, enabling proximity to the divine through the creation of an experience (Hamburger, 1998: 111).I would argue that a cultural shift towards first-hand experience occurs, treasuring epiphany and self-realisation over doctrine and teaching. Jeffery Hamburger highlights a noticeable shift in attitudes towards art in the late Middle Ages for Christians in Europe. ![]() Introductionĭuring the late middle ages attitudes towards images underwent profound transformation art conventionally perceived as a barrier rather than a stepping stone to the highest levels of contemplative experience. Keywords: Medieval art, late-medieval manuscripts, manuscript illumination, materiality, the Black Death, humoral theory. Through exploring the material composition of the manuscript and the vellum from which it was made we can understand this sensual consumption of medieval materiality. ![]() It was believed that through the senses one's internal bodily composition and spiritual wellbeing could be altered. These haptic ideas were also deeply ingrained in the medieval medical belief of humoural theory. Sensory engagements such as this created a performance of the manuscript that heightened devotional experience and empowered individuals to curate their own rituals and religious experiences. Medieval manuscripts were explored through the senses of their contemporary readers, who saw, touched, smelt and tasted their books while reading their content aloud. Emma Katherine Hardiman, Department of Art History, University of Nottingham Abstract
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