christian materiality an essay on religion in late medieval europe

Christian Materiality

• Caroline Walker Bynum

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Christian Materiality: An Essay on Religion in Late Medieval Europe

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In the period between 1150 and 1550, an increasing number of Christians in western Europe made pilgrimage to places where material objects — among them paintings, statues, relics, pieces of wood, earth, stones, and Eucharistic wafers — allegedly erupted into life. These objects appeared animated — they wept, bled, and even walked. Such phenomena posed a challenge to Christians. On the one hand, they sought ever more frequent encounters with miraculous matter and, on the other hand, they turned toward an inward piety that rejected material objects of devotion. By the fifteenth century, these aspirations, accompanied by new anxieties and concerns, were at the heart of religious practice and polemic. In Christian Materiality , Caroline Walker Bynum describes the miracles themselves, discusses the problems they posed to both church authorities and to the ordinary faithful, and probes the basic scientific and religious assumptions about matter that lay behind them. Bynum also provides a deep analysis of the proliferation of religious art in the later Middle Ages. Her argument is without precedent: religious art, in this context and time period, called attention to its own materiality in sophisticated ways that explain both the animation of images and the hostility toward them on the part of iconoclasts. Understanding the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries’ Christian culture as a paradoxical affirmation of the glory and the threat of the natural world, Bynum’s study suggests a new understanding of the background to sixteenth-century reformations, both Protestant and Catholic. Moving beyond a cultural study of “the body” — a field she was crucial in establishing — Bynum exposes how Western attitudes toward the body and person must be placed in the context of changing conceptions of matter itself. Christian Materiality is a major contribution to the study and theory of material culture and religious practice.

"An extraordinary, moving and thought-provoking evocation of late medieval devotion."— Times Higher Education

"Caroline Bynum is America’s foremost scholar of medieval religion… . [This book] is the distillation of years of learning and accumulated insight, the work of a mature scholar at the height of her powers. It will delight, challenge, and energize her fellow historians. It will also inform, fascinate, and on occasion curdle the blood of the intelligent general reader. And books that achieve that enviable double objective are as rare and precious as the relics of the saints."— New York Review of Books

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Christian Materiality: An Essay on Religion in Late Medieval Europe Hardcover – June 5, 2011

In the period between 1150 and 1550, an increasing number of Christians in western Europe made pilgrimage to places where material objects ― among them paintings, statues, relics, pieces of wood, earth, stones, and Eucharistic wafers ― allegedly erupted into life. These objects appeared animated ― they wept, bled, and even walked. Such phenomena posed a challenge to Christians. On the one hand, they sought ever more frequent encounters with miraculous matter and, on the other hand, they turned toward an inward piety that rejected material objects of devotion. By the fifteenth century, these aspirations, accompanied by new anxieties and concerns, were at the heart of religious practice and polemic. In Christian Materiality , Caroline Walker Bynum describes the miracles themselves, discusses the problems they posed to both church authorities and to the ordinary faithful, and probes the basic scientific and religious assumptions about matter that lay behind them. Bynum also provides a deep analysis of the proliferation of religious art in the later Middle Ages. Her argument is without precedent: religious art, in this context and time period, called attention to its own materiality in sophisticated ways that explain both the animation of images and the hostility toward them on the part of iconoclasts. Understanding the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries’ Christian culture as a paradoxical affirmation of the glory and the threat of the natural world, Bynum’s study suggests a new understanding of the background to sixteenth-century reformations, both Protestant and Catholic. Moving beyond a cultural study of “the body” ― a field she was crucial in establishing ― Bynum exposes how Western attitudes toward the body and person must be placed in the context of changing conceptions of matter itself. Christian Materiality is a major contribution to the study and theory of material culture and religious practice.

• Print length 416 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Zone Books
• Publication date June 5, 2011
• Dimensions 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
• ISBN-10 9781935408109
• ISBN-13 978-1935408109
• See all details

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Editorial Reviews

About the author.

Caroline Walker Bynum is Professor of Medieval European History, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, and University Professor Emerita at Columbia University. She is the author of Fragmentation and Redemption: Essays on Gender and the Human Body in Medieval Religion and Metamorphosis and Identity , both published by Zone Books.

Product details

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1935408100
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zone Books (June 5, 2011)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781935408109
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1935408109
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.7 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
• #6,419 in History of Religions
• #13,238 in History of Christianity (Books)
• #15,530 in Christian Church History (Books)

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Caroline walker bynum.

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Christian Materiality: An Essay on Religion in Late Medieval Europe

Description.

Late Medieval Christianity's encounter with miraculous materials viewed in the context of changing conceptions of matter itself.

In the period between 1150 and 1550, an increasing number of Christians in western Europe made pilgrimage to places where material objects--among them paintings, statues, relics, pieces of wood, earth, stones, and Eucharistic wafers--allegedly erupted into life through such activities as bleeding, weeping, and walking about. Challenging Christians both to seek ever more frequent encounters with miraculous matter and to turn to an inward piety that rejected material objects of devotion, such phenomena were by the fifteenth century at the heart of religious practice and polemic. In Christian Materiality , Caroline Walker Bynum describes the miracles themselves, discusses the problems they presented for both church authorities and the ordinary faithful, and probes the basic scientific and religious assumptions about matter that lay behind them. She also analyzes the proliferation of religious art in the later Middle Ages and argues that it called attention to its materiality in sophisticated ways that explain both the animation of images and the hostility to them on the part of iconoclasts.

Seeing the Christian culture of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries as a paradoxical affirmation of the glory and the threat of the natural world, Bynum's study suggests a new understanding of the background to the sixteenth-century reformations, both Protestant and Catholic. Moving beyond the cultural study of "the body"--a field she helped to establish--Bynum argues that Western attitudes toward body and person must be placed in the context of changing conceptions of matter itself. Her study has broad theoretical implications, suggesting a new approach to the study of material culture and religious practice.

About the Author

Caroline Walker Bynum is Professor of Medieval European History, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, and University Professor Emerita at Columbia University. She is the author of Fragmentation and Redemption: Essays on Gender and the Human Body in Medieval Religion and Metamorphosis and Identity, both published by Zone Books.

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Caroline Walker Bynum, Christian Materiality. An Essay on Religion in Late Medieval Europe. New York, Zone Books 2011

Rezensierte publikation:.

Bynum Caroline Walker Christian Materiality. An Essay on Religion in Late Medieval Europe. 2011 Zone Books New York £ 22,95

Bynum Caroline Walker Eberhardt Ilse Kunert Romy Christian Materiality. An Essay on Religion in Late Medieval Europe . (Westfalen in der Vormoderne, Bd. 9.) , Zone Books , New York , 2011 408 S., £ 22,95. Search in Google Scholar

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Christian Materiality – An Essay on Religion in Late Medieval Europe (Zone Books) Paperback – 2 Oct. 2015

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Late Medieval Christianity's encounter with miraculous materials viewed in the context of changing conceptions of matter itself.

In the period between 1150 and 1550, an increasing number of Christians in western Europe made pilgrimage to places where material objects―among them paintings, statues, relics, pieces of wood, earth, stones, and Eucharistic wafers―allegedly erupted into life through such activities as bleeding, weeping, and walking about. Challenging Christians both to seek ever more frequent encounters with miraculous matter and to turn to an inward piety that rejected material objects of devotion, such phenomena were by the fifteenth century at the heart of religious practice and polemic. In Christian Materiality , Caroline Walker Bynum describes the miracles themselves, discusses the problems they presented for both church authorities and the ordinary faithful, and probes the basic scientific and religious assumptions about matter that lay behind them. She also analyzes the proliferation of religious art in the later Middle Ages and argues that it called attention to its materiality in sophisticated ways that explain both the animation of images and the hostility to them on the part of iconoclasts.

Seeing the Christian culture of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries as a paradoxical affirmation of the glory and the threat of the natural world, Bynum's study suggests a new understanding of the background to the sixteenth-century reformations, both Protestant and Catholic. Moving beyond the cultural study of “the body”―a field she helped to establish―Bynum argues that Western attitudes toward body and person must be placed in the context of changing conceptions of matter itself. Her study has broad theoretical implications, suggesting a new approach to the study of material culture and religious practice.

• ISBN-10 1935408119
• ISBN-13 978-1935408116
• Edition Reprint
• Publisher Zone Books – MIT
• Publication date 2 Oct. 2015
• Language English
• Dimensions 19.05 x 3.81 x 26.67 cm
• Print length 416 pages
• See all details

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About the author, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zone Books – MIT; Reprint edition (2 Oct. 2015)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1935408119
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1935408116
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 19.05 x 3.81 x 26.67 cm
• 209 in Historical Essays, Journals, Letters & True Accounts
• 1,116 in Christian Church History

About the author

Caroline walker bynum.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

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An independent publisher since 1985

Christian Materiality: An Essay on Religion in Late Medieval Europe

Caroline Walker Bynum

50 black and white illus.

Published: april 2011.

ISBN: 9781935408116

Out of print

ISBN: 9781935408109

In the period between 1150 and 1550, an increasing number of Christians in western Europe made pilgrimage to places where material objects — among them paintings, statues, relics, pieces of wood, earth, stones, and Eucharistic wafers — allegedly erupted into life. These objects appeared animated — they wept, bled, and even walked. Such phenomena posed a challenge to Christians. On the one hand, they sought ever more frequent encounters with miraculous matter and, on the other hand, they turned toward an inward piety that rejected material objects of devotion. By the fifteenth century, these aspirations, accompanied by new anxieties and concerns, were at the heart of religious practice and polemic.

In Christian Materiality , Caroline Walker Bynum describes the miracles themselves, discusses the problems they posed to both church authorities and to the ordinary faithful, and probes the basic scientific and religious assumptions about matter that lay behind them. Bynum also provides a deep analysis of the proliferation of religious art in the later Middle Ages.

“An extraordinary, moving and thought-provoking evocation of late medieval devotion.” — Times Higher Education

Her argument is without precedent: religious art, in this context and time period, called attention to its own materiality in sophisticated ways that explain both the animation of images and the hostility toward them on the part of iconoclasts. Understanding the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries’ Christian culture as a paradoxical affirmation of the glory and the threat of the natural world, Bynum’s study suggests a new understanding of the background to sixteenth-century reformations, both Protestant and Catholic. Moving beyond a cultural study of “the body” — a field she was crucial in establishing — Bynum exposes how Western attitudes toward the body and person must be placed in the context of changing conceptions of matter itself. Christian Materiality is a major contribution to the study and theory of material culture and religious practice.

“Caroline Bynum is America’s foremost scholar of medieval religion… . [This book] is the distillation of years of learning and accumulated insight, the work of a mature scholar at the height of her powers. It will delight, challenge, and energize her fellow historians. It will also inform, fascinate, and on occasion curdle the blood of the intelligent general reader. And books that achieve that enviable double objective are as rare and precious as the relics of the saints.” — New York Review of Books

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No one who witnessed the recent ceremony to beatify the late Pope John Paul II - when his exhumed coffin lay before the altar of St Peter's, while a vial of his blood was displayed in an elaborate silver reliquary for veneration - could miss the centrality of what Caroline Walker Bynum calls "holy matter" in Catholic religious practice. As she points out, this persistent and pervasive Christian concern with "materiality" was at its most intense in Western Europe in the later Middle Ages, the period from the 12th century to the early 16th that forms the subject of her profoundly absorbing book.

For some readers, the mention of medieval relics will summon up the spirit of Monty Python, and those looking for anecdotes to rival the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch will not be disappointed. There are the hairs of the 13th-century holy woman Mary of Oignies, preserved separately from her body, which came alive for an hour to cure the sick, and the foot of Agnes of Montepulciano, which rose from her bier to salute a visit from the 14th-century saint Catherine of Siena, not to mention a 15th-century prayer for the blessing and exorcism of radishes.

It's all too easy for 21st-century eyes to see nothing here but credulity and superstition, but Walker Bynum's remarkable achievement is to reveal how alive with meaning were these experiences and the theology that sought to explain them. This is one of those rare books that can make one look at the world in a new way.

It should come as no surprise, perhaps, that a religion founded on the premise that God was made flesh should be preoccupied with physicality. But the nature of that preoccupation, in Walker Bynum's account, challenges some of our most deeply held assumptions. We draw fundamental categorical distinctions between living and dead, animate and non-animate matter. But in the medieval mind the essential boundary lay instead between materiality and transcendence - between a physical world where matter of every kind was liable to change (whether generative or degenerative) and the eternal immutability of heaven.

And in a world where all matter has the potential to undergo processes of birth, metamorphosis and decay, the sudden animation of a dead saint's hair or foot becomes much less surprising - although no less challenging in the anxiety such miraculous moments of material change provoked about the nature of their relationship to the divine. The same anxieties and enthusiasms were also raised by the religious art of the Middle Ages, which, as Walker Bynum demonstrates, is much less concerned with "realistic" visual representation than it is with the actual physicality of both its materials and its images.

In fact, there might be no distinction between these ostensibly different categories of holy objects, given that paintings and sculptures often contained relics - or became them, if they miraculously bled, sweated, spoke or moved. "One might say", Walker Bynum wryly remarks, "that to a modern theorist, the problem is to explain how things 'talk'; to a medieval theorist, it was to get them to shut up."

For all the discussion of "thingness" and "stuffness", this text demands concentration (and possibly a dictionary for anyone whose vocabulary doesn't normally extend to "theurgic", "somatic" or "apotropaic" - although the author does offer a definition of the prayed-for radishes). But it is well worth the effort: an extraordinary, moving and thought-provoking evocation of late medieval devotion in all its contradictions, paradoxes and multiplicities.

By Caroline Walker Bynum. Zone Books, 408pp, £22.95. ISBN 9781935408109. Published 10 June 2011

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Jean-Claude Schmitt; Christian Materiality: An Essay on Religion in Late Medieval Europe. Common Knowledge 1 January 2013; 19 (1): 134–135. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/0961754X-1815836

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