Description
Book SynopsisWhat does 'performance' mean in Christian culture? How is it connected to rituals, dramatic and visual arts, and the written word? Performing the Sacred: Christian Representation and the Arts explores both the meaning of re-presentation and the role of performance within the Christian tradition between arts and drama. The essays in this book demonstrate that the idea of performance was central to Christian theology and that—from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern era—it became a device through which people saw, prayed, preached, wrote, imagined, officiated rites, celebrated cults, and practiced devotions. Seen that performance is a habitus within Christianity, performing the sacred does not just mean representing it, but rather enacting it in a tangible, visible and involved way.
Table of ContentsPreface List of Illustrations Notes on Contibutors Introduction Carla M. Bino and Corinna Ricasoli 1 The Drama of Christian Images: Art, Liturgy, Sacred Theatre Timothy Verdon 2 A ‘Dramatic Turn’: The Revolution of Christian Representation Carla M. Bino 3 No Drama Please, We’re Greek: Sacred Plays from a Greek Orthodox Perspective Andrew Walker White 4 Enacting Sacred Narrative: Biblical, Liturgical, and Sacramental Practices in the Latin West Nils Holger Petersen 5 Mary in the Scriptures as Container and Way: Henry Adams and the Virgin of Chartres Rachel Fulton Brown 6 The Power of Images of Passion: Animated Sculptures of the Crucified Christ and the Problem of Visualizing Suffering in Medieval Art Kamil Kopania 7 Women as Performers of the Bible: Female Preaching in Premodern Europe Carolyn Muessig 8 Dramatic Action and the Participatory Spectator at the Sacro Monte di Varallo: Frozen Theatre or Immersive Installation? Allie Terry-Fritsch 9 The Paradox of the Saint Actress: Church and Commedia Dell’arte during the Counter-Reformation Fabrizio Fiaschini 10 Performing Glory: The Misteri or Festa D’elx on Contemporary Stages Francesc Massip 11 Performing the Bible: Christian Drama and the Arts Jean-Claude Schmitt Copyright Index
