My Temple Should Be a House of Prayer: The Use and Misuse of Carolingian Churches
This essay explores eighth- and early ninth-century Frankish understandings and experiences of churches as holy spaces, arguing that myriad textual genres demonstrate the widespread Carolingian belief in churches as highly sacred spaces as well as the significant variations in the specifics and exec...
| Published in: | Church history |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
[2018]
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| In: |
Church history
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Frankish Empire
/ History 687-840
/ Church building
/ The Holy
/ Behavior
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| IxTheo Classification: | KAD Church history 500-900; early Middle Ages KBB German language area RB Church office; congregation |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This essay explores eighth- and early ninth-century Frankish understandings and experiences of churches as holy spaces, arguing that myriad textual genres demonstrate the widespread Carolingian belief in churches as highly sacred spaces as well as the significant variations in the specifics and execution of that belief. The first part of the article details how Carolingian legislation worked to define, recognize, and maintain the sacred space of churches by insisting upon specific, respectful behaviors within them. The central portion of the article considers epistolary and hagiographical texts that describe and, at times, accept transgressions of these laws, including by an elite member of the Carolingian court. The article contends that not all misbehavior and misuse of churches defiled them; rather, inappropriate behaviors often highlighted or activated the sanctity of a space in a way that legislation could not. This essay, in triangulating Carolingian legislative, hagiographical, and epistolary texts, opens a window onto the views of the laity regarding churches as sacred spaces. Ultimately, it raises questions about the extent (and limits) of Frankish beliefs regarding spatial sacrality, the reach of the Carolingian reform efforts, and the nature of lay religiosity. |
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| ISSN: | 1755-2613 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Church history
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0009640718000859 |