Dissimilar Similitudes

Devotional Objects in Late Medieval Europe

Bibliographic Data

ID2687748
AuthorsCaroline Walker Bynum (0009-0007-2172-2749)
Year2020
Pages105-150
Publication date2020-09-29
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueDissimilar Similitudes (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherZone Books (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/j.ctv15r5dvj
OpenAlexW4251321274
Open LibraryOL34100115M
ISBN9781942130383
LanguageEN
Citations received24

This chapter, "Dissimilar Similitudes," from Caroline Walker Bynum's book *Metamorphosis and Identity in Late Medieval Europe* (Zone Books, 2020), delves into the complex relationship between devotional objects and religious experience in the late Middle Ages. Bynum examines how seemingly disparate objects, such as Eucharistic wafers, relics, and images, fostered similar devotional practices and emotional responses. She argues that these objects, despite their differences in materiality and theological significance, functioned as mediators of divine presence, enabling believers to experience the sacred in tangible ways. The chapter explores the sensory engagement with these objects, including sight, touch, and taste, and how these sensory experiences shaped religious understanding and identity. Bynum also analyzes the anxieties surrounding the potential misuse or misinterpretation of these objects, highlighting the ongoing negotiation between materiality and spirituality in late medieval religious culture

Philosophy · Philosophy, History, and Historiography · Political Science Research and Education · Christianity · Devotional objects · History · Material culture · Medieval Civilization · Methodology · Religion · Resemblance (Philosophy) · World history

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