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IMC 2013: Sessions

Session 1614: Visualizing Pleasure in the Middle Ages

Thursday 4 July 2013, 11.15-12.45

Organiser:Susan Solway, Barat College, DePaul University, Illinois
Moderator/Chair:Susan Solway, Barat College, DePaul University, Illinois
Paper 1614-a'And the vines with the tender grape give a good smell': The Sense of Smell in Anglo-Saxon Art
(Language: English)
Anna Gannon, St Edmund's College, University of Cambridge
Index terms: Art History - General, Daily Life, Numismatics
Paper 1614-bThe Thrill of the Chase: Sexual Pleasure and Medieval Seals
(Language: English)
James Robinson, Department of Art & Design, National Museums of Scotland
Index terms: Art History - General, Daily Life, Sexuality
Abstract

In the Middle Ages as today people believed that part of God's plan for humanity was pleasure. We humans were created to laugh, love, play and enjoy ourselves, and in so doing savor a taste of heaven on earth. God's presence among us could be felt not only at prayer, but through countless forms of pleasure experienced in daily life. If faith leads to joy, certainly joy as experienced in the earthly realm can lead to faith. This session includes papers that investigate the many ways that worldly pleasure was visualized in coins, seals and other forms of medieval art.