The Shrine and the Marketplace: Religious Materiality in London during the Long Fifteenth Century (1370-1530)
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen Mary University of London
Department Name: History
Abstract
In recent years the long fifteenth century (c. 1370-c.1530) has received more
attention from historians of religion and literature. As historians move away from a view of a singular
English Reformation, and as inquiries into late medieval English religion put aside the polarity of heterodox discourse, they reveal a period vibrant with writing and other cultural production in English, which supported a wide range of lay devotional practices. This is amply evidenced in surviving artefacts. A myriad of books, clothes, badges, artworks and domestic objects bear witness to the way religion was practiced in the domestic sphere. This was part of a pan-European phenomenon, evident in objects and social movements in France, Italy and the Low Countries. However, histories of fifteenth-century English religion are still overwhelmingly textual. My research would seek to combine the abundant textual evidence of late medieval London with the plethora of surviving objects to provide an interdisciplinary insight into the devotional culture of the city and the lives of its denizens.
During the course of my research I will explore key research questions:
1) What were key elements of devotional practice in late Medieval London?
2) How did devotional practices develop and change during this period?
3) To what extent are the dichotomies often drawn around devotion such as Latin vs Vernacular/ Elite vs Popular/ Clergy vs Laity/ Pre-Reformation/ Reformation actually reflective of devotional practice?
4) How did groups and individuals provide services and products to facilitate devotional needs?
5) How did wider English and European contexts inform devotional practice in London?
In pursuing these aims, my project would seek to draw together a number of strands of fascinating scholarship on Material Culture in the Middle Ages, religion in the later Middle Ages, and scholarship around medieval London, to highlight the complex networks at play surrounding devotional culture and practice in Later Medieval London. This would be based on key historical analyses. Eamon Duffy's work on pre-Reformation England, and in particular his book The Stripping of the Altars, clearly showcases the complex devotional environment of pre-reformation England. Barbara Hanawalt and Caroline Barron have comprehensively discussed the civic life of London. Hanawalt's important work on the history of childhood and the history of Women in Medieval London also provides an important starting point for analysing the relationship between gender and devotion. Importantly, this project will allow through its utilisation of a variety of both secondary and primary sources to consider these issues from a broad social perspective. For instance, Important work has been done by historians considering the social importance of shrines and pilgrimage in Medieval England. Ronald Finucane and Rachel Koopmans have shown through their works on medieval shrine records, that Brian Spencer has highlighted the contexts of devotional objects in his analysis pilgrim badges. The burgeoning literature on Medieval Material Culture which has developed in the last few decades will provide important archaeological and historical contexts for my research. I would seek to draw these diverse historiographical strands together where possible, which will not only provide new academic insight but also allow for easier dissemination to wider groups outside of academia. I will seek however to not only draw elements of histography together, but different historical sources and methods. The fusion of written evidence and material culture will be particularly important. I would like therefore to use these varied sources and their contents to work across social strata, and to see how different social groups may have influenced each other in their consumption of devotional objects.
attention from historians of religion and literature. As historians move away from a view of a singular
English Reformation, and as inquiries into late medieval English religion put aside the polarity of heterodox discourse, they reveal a period vibrant with writing and other cultural production in English, which supported a wide range of lay devotional practices. This is amply evidenced in surviving artefacts. A myriad of books, clothes, badges, artworks and domestic objects bear witness to the way religion was practiced in the domestic sphere. This was part of a pan-European phenomenon, evident in objects and social movements in France, Italy and the Low Countries. However, histories of fifteenth-century English religion are still overwhelmingly textual. My research would seek to combine the abundant textual evidence of late medieval London with the plethora of surviving objects to provide an interdisciplinary insight into the devotional culture of the city and the lives of its denizens.
During the course of my research I will explore key research questions:
1) What were key elements of devotional practice in late Medieval London?
2) How did devotional practices develop and change during this period?
3) To what extent are the dichotomies often drawn around devotion such as Latin vs Vernacular/ Elite vs Popular/ Clergy vs Laity/ Pre-Reformation/ Reformation actually reflective of devotional practice?
4) How did groups and individuals provide services and products to facilitate devotional needs?
5) How did wider English and European contexts inform devotional practice in London?
In pursuing these aims, my project would seek to draw together a number of strands of fascinating scholarship on Material Culture in the Middle Ages, religion in the later Middle Ages, and scholarship around medieval London, to highlight the complex networks at play surrounding devotional culture and practice in Later Medieval London. This would be based on key historical analyses. Eamon Duffy's work on pre-Reformation England, and in particular his book The Stripping of the Altars, clearly showcases the complex devotional environment of pre-reformation England. Barbara Hanawalt and Caroline Barron have comprehensively discussed the civic life of London. Hanawalt's important work on the history of childhood and the history of Women in Medieval London also provides an important starting point for analysing the relationship between gender and devotion. Importantly, this project will allow through its utilisation of a variety of both secondary and primary sources to consider these issues from a broad social perspective. For instance, Important work has been done by historians considering the social importance of shrines and pilgrimage in Medieval England. Ronald Finucane and Rachel Koopmans have shown through their works on medieval shrine records, that Brian Spencer has highlighted the contexts of devotional objects in his analysis pilgrim badges. The burgeoning literature on Medieval Material Culture which has developed in the last few decades will provide important archaeological and historical contexts for my research. I would seek to draw these diverse historiographical strands together where possible, which will not only provide new academic insight but also allow for easier dissemination to wider groups outside of academia. I will seek however to not only draw elements of histography together, but different historical sources and methods. The fusion of written evidence and material culture will be particularly important. I would like therefore to use these varied sources and their contents to work across social strata, and to see how different social groups may have influenced each other in their consumption of devotional objects.
