Research Catalog

Cathedral shrines of medieval England

Title: Cathedral shrines of medieval England / Ben Nilson.
Author: Nilson, Benjamin John, 1964-
Publication: Rochester, NY : Boydell Press, 1998.

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Use in library	BV896.G7 N55 1998	Off-site

Details

Description

276 pages : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

"Almost all the great medieval shrines disappeared at the Reformation, yet for several centuries they were the outward and visible sign of the spiritual benefits believed to flow from proximity to the saint's body, and an important witness to the spiritual life of the middle ages. They were the focal point of prayer and pilgrimage, but also a critical important economic factor in the life of the church." "This first study devoted to cathedral shrines draws on surviving cathedral records to describe their nature and development in England from around 1066 to 1540. The development of the shrine itself, the monument enclosing the saint's body, is followed, and the connections between the chapel around the shrine and changes in church architecture considered. Accounts of the cathedral clergy who built and managed the shrines, the pilgrims who visited them, and the fluctuating fortunes of the cathedrals which housed them complete the book."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject

Genre/Form

Church history.
History.

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (p. [243]-264) and index.

Contents

1. The Origins of Shrines: Canonisation and Translation. The origins of a saint cult. Translations: theory and causes. Translations: preparation. Translations: the exhumation and translation ceremony -- 2. The Shrine as Object: Feretra and Shrine Bases. The feretrum. The shrine base. Feretory chapels. Head relics and empty tombs. Beams and reredoses as bases -- 3. The Architectural Setting. The position of the shrine. Shrines and Romanesque architectural plans. Shrines and post-Norman square-ended plans. The problem of shrine vistas -- 4. Pilgrims and the Shrine. The pilgrim in the city and cathedral. The pilgrim's devotions. The offering. Other activities. Pilgrim numbers and patterns. Royal, noble and ecclesiastical pilgrims -- 5. Cathedral and Shrine. The power of sanctity. Staff and organisation. The shrine as a source of revenue -- 6. Shrine Accounts and Offerings. Canterbury. Ely. Norwich. Lincoln. Hereford. Durham. Westminster. York. Worcester. Other cathedrals -- 7. The Offerings Examined. A model of shrine income. Underlying influences on the level of shrine offerings. The importance of offerings to cathedral finances.

ISBN

0851155405
9780851155401

LCCN

97052221

OCLC

ocm38206656
38206656
SCSB-412982

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library