Grace, Gold, Stone, Likeness, Blood, Bone: Art & the Cult of the Saints in the Medieval West

This course will examine the visual culture of the cult of the saints in Western Europe from the first Christian centuries until ca. 1600. How and why did the cult of saints come about and later evolve through the medieval millennium? How did the practice acquire visual form? How did artifacts and environments shape veneration and pilgrimage practices, and impact polemics about their appropriateness?
Through our study of works of art in many media—including tiny pilgrims’ badges, precious illuminated manuscripts, monumental wall painting, lavish reliquaries, modest and grandiose pilgrimage churches and their decoration, and the transformation of the European landscape in response to pilgrimage—we will explore the impact of the cult of saints on European culture. Simultaneously, we will develop fruitful strategies for interpreting visual evidence, as well as acquaint ourselves with some major themes of Western European medieval art.
Readings will include primary sources such as accounts about relics, saintly biographies, and medieval pilgrim’s guides, as well as works by Hans Belting, Peter Brown, Patrick Geary, Cynthia Hahn, Larry Silver, Hank van Os, Caroline Walker Bynum, and Diana Webb, among others.
I warmly welcome graduate students from all disciplines and specializing in all historical periods, as well as well-prepared, advanced undergraduates who have the permission of their departmental advisors.
Be prepared to look, think, read, and write a lot.

A concentrated study of a specific topic in art history.
May be repeated for credit if content varies.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.