Civic Ceremony and Religion in Medieval Bruges c.1300–1520

A new insight into the interplay between ceremonial ritual and power, drawing on the rich archives of medieval Bruges.

Andrew Brown (Author)

9781107692039, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 23 January 2014

384 pages, 1 b/w illus. 2 maps 9 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.51 kg

'… a bracingly smart excavation of Bruges's ceremonial pulse, a study grounded in extensive, patient work in ecclesiastical and civic sources. Brown's study is impressive for its empiricism … and for its theoretical familiarity with ritual as a scholarly field … one of the finest considerations of medieval Bruges … will be considered the standard work for decades to come.' Peter Arnade, Journal of Ecclesiastical History

Public religious practice lay at the heart of civic society in late medieval Europe. In this illuminating study, Andrew Brown draws on the rich and previously little-researched archives of Bruges, one of medieval Europe's wealthiest and most important towns, to explore the role of religion and ceremony in urban society. The author situates the religious practices of citizens - their investment in the liturgy, commemorative services, guilds and charity - within the contexts of Bruges' highly diversified society and of the changes and crises the town experienced. Focusing on the religious processions and festivities sponsored by the municipal government, the author challenges much current thinking on, for example, the nature of 'civic religion'. Re-evaluating the ceremonial links between Bruges and its rulers, he questions whether rulers could dominate the urban landscape by religious or ceremonial means, and offers new insight into the interplay between ritual and power of relevance throughout medieval Europe.

Introduction
1. The Holy Blood Procession
2. General processions
3. Feast days and liturgical commemoration
4. Guilds: feast, festivity and public worship
5. Guilds and civic government
6. Civic charity
7. Civic ceremony, religion and the counts of Flanders
Conclusion and epilogue: civic morality c.1500.

Subject Areas: Church history [HRCC2], Medieval history [HBLC1], Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], European history [HBJD]