‘Holy Inappropriate’: Secular uses of the Medieval Parish Church
Lecture by Emma Wells
Given for the Churches Conservation Trust on December 3, 2020
Overview: In fifteenth-century Norfolk, a rector and Master of Corpus Christi College in Cambridge, bequeathed camping-land to his local parish for playing games, such as running and shooting. And this was far from an isolated event. Dances, dogs, football, bartering, trading, courting and gossiping: not how one would typically describe the everyday happenings of the medieval church—but this is no incorrect picture. Throughout the past, our ecclesiastical buildings and lands have been used for a multitude of what we may term “secular” activities or, at least, non-specifically devotional purposes.
While the church was of course the holiest of places, ecclesiastical property was not often considered an entirely separate and sacred world—but rather a domain where the secular and sacred crossed paths. In this talk, we will consider an array of these fascinating and sometimes frankly shocking examples. It hopes to be a captivating adventure into the intersecting world of the cultural and religious history of medieval Christendom—one you may not have been privy to before.
Dr. Emma J. Wells is a Lecturer in Ecclesiastical and Architectural History at the University of York. You can follow her on Twitter @Emma_J_Wells
‘Holy Inappropriate’: Secular uses of the Medieval Parish Church
Lecture by Emma Wells
Given for the Churches Conservation Trust on December 3, 2020
Overview: In fifteenth-century Norfolk, a rector and Master of Corpus Christi College in Cambridge, bequeathed camping-land to his local parish for playing games, such as running and shooting. And this was far from an isolated event. Dances, dogs, football, bartering, trading, courting and gossiping: not how one would typically describe the everyday happenings of the medieval church—but this is no incorrect picture. Throughout the past, our ecclesiastical buildings and lands have been used for a multitude of what we may term “secular” activities or, at least, non-specifically devotional purposes.
While the church was of course the holiest of places, ecclesiastical property was not often considered an entirely separate and sacred world—but rather a domain where the secular and sacred crossed paths. In this talk, we will consider an array of these fascinating and sometimes frankly shocking examples. It hopes to be a captivating adventure into the intersecting world of the cultural and religious history of medieval Christendom—one you may not have been privy to before.
Dr. Emma J. Wells is a Lecturer in Ecclesiastical and Architectural History at the University of York. You can follow her on Twitter @Emma_J_Wells
Top Image: Church of All Saints, Harston, Cambridgeshire – photo by David / Flickr
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