IMC 2019: Sessions
Session 218: Body Matters: Exploring the Materiality of the Medieval Human Body
Monday 1 July 2019, 14.15-15.45
| Sponsor: | University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Lampeter |
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| Organiser: | Harriett Webster, School of Archaeology, History & Anthropology, University of Wales Trinity Saint David |
| Moderator/Chair: | Louise Steel, Faculty of Humanities & Performing Arts, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Lampeter |
| Paper 218-a | All Fingers, No Thumbs: The Materiality of a Medieval Relic (Language: English) Index terms: Historiography - Medieval, Manuscripts and Palaeography, Monasticism, Religious Life |
| Paper 218-b | 'My Precious Body': The (Im)Materiality of the Body in Margaret of York's Manuscripts (Language: English) Index terms: Art History - General, Lay Piety, Manuscripts and Palaeography, Religious Life |
| Paper 218-c | The Resuscitation of the Twice-Hanged Man: Miracles and the Body in Medieval Swansea (Language: English) Index terms: Lay Piety, Local History, Manuscripts and Palaeography, Theology |
| Abstract | This session examines medieval attitudes towards the materiality of the human body through three case studies: the finger relic of St Germanus of Auxerre from Selby Abbey; the portrait illuminations of Margaret of York; and the hanged corpse of a Welsh rebel. The surviving manuscript evidence in each case helps us to develop a more rounded understanding of medieval perceptions of materiality and agency in relation to the body, in particular popular and elite beliefs about death, decay, and incorruptibility. A new publication featuring these papers will also be launched by University of Wales Press at the IMC this year. |