Façade as Spectacle: Ritual and Ideology at Wells Cathedral

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Full Title:: Façade as Spectacle: Ritual and Ideology at Wells Cathedral / Carolyn Marino Malone
Series Titles:: Studies in Medieval and Reformation Traditions ; 102
Studies in medieval and Reformation traditions ; v. 102.

Genre:: Electronic books
Subjects:: Christian art and symbolism--England--Wells--Medieval, 500-1500
Facades--England--Wells--Themes, motives
Sculpture, English--England--Wells--Themes, motives
Sculpture, Gothic--England--Wells--Themes, motives

Table of Contents:: List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1. The Façade and its Producers -- 2. The Church Triumphant -- 3. The Production of Signs -- 4. Liturgical Practice -- 5. Eucharistic Practice -- 6. Ideological Strategies -- Conclusion -- Plates -- Bibliography -- Index.
Summary:: This interdisciplinary study interprets the façade of Wells Cathedral as an integral part of thirteenth-century English Church liturgy and politics. Carolyn Malone posits that architectural motifs, as signs, complemented not only the façade's sculptural program of the Church Triumphant but also its use during liturgical processions. Interpreted as an ideological construct, the façade's design is related to theological change, liturgical innovation and political strategy, as well as to the conjuncture of several major historical and cultural events of the 1220s. As part of the Church's empowering ritual, the façade expressed the reforming views of the Fourth Lateran Council, promoted Wells as the seat the diocese and proclaimed the covenant between Church and State in England following Magna Carta.
Language:: English
Physical Type/Description:: 1 online resource
Local Note:: Available to current Emory faculty, students and staff.