The sensory experience of English local shrines

In a sense, all saints are local, and many are both native and international. But from the early eighth century, high-status saints of regional importance began permeating locally-superior churches, and England’s ‘golden age’ of sainthood was secured. Then, ‘universal’ or ‘popular’ cults, came into existence around the turn of the thirteenth century, when shrines of international significance began to outdo those of traditional local importance. Nonetheless, no cult could be successful if it did not appeal to the heart of pilgrimage: a sense of contact with the saint. This article explores the sensory experience of the pilgrim at local shrine sites in England from the post-Conquest era to the late fifteenth century, to discover how and why pilgrims participated in such sensory actions. The discussion necessitates examination of the architectural design and development of the structural arrangements created for the veneration of local saintly relics, from which it is argued that an increase in the sensory aspects of shrine design was a direct result of the demand by supplicants for more interaction in devotion

Aesthetics · Art · Cognitive psychology · Perception · Sensory system · Synesthesia · Architecture and Cultural Influences · Communication · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology · Neuroscience · Psychology