Materiality and Religious Practice in Medieval Denmark ed. by Sarah Croix and Mads Vedel Heilskov (review)

A key insight from the edited volume 'Materiality and Religious Practice in Medieval Denmark' is that medieval Scandinavian religious culture was characterized by performed ritual piety, where devotional acts imbued material objects with sacred significance, fusing the worldly and divine through codified rituals, bodily enactments, and the translation of matter. The study employs an interdisciplinary approach to explore how materiality served as a focus for ritualistic and devotional practices, embodying faith and authority. It examines the agency of practitioners, the interconnectedness of people with things, and the potency embodied in objects, drawing on examples from liturgy, cults of saints, personal devotion, and memory. The volume emphasizes the importance of considering religion as an integrated part of society rather than an isolated subsystem.

McDonald, R. (2023). Materiality and Religious Practice in Medieval Denmark ed. by Sarah Croix and Mads Vedel Heilskov (review). Parergon, 40(1), 248–249. https://doi.org/10.1353/pgn.2023.a905428