Religion and the Senses in Early Modern Europe

Sensation is the subject of a burgeoning field in the humanities. This volume examines its role in the religious changes and transformations of early modern Europe. Sensation was not only central to the doctrinal disputes of the Reformation, but also critical in shaping new or reformed devotional practices. From this vantage point the book explores the intersections between the world of religion and the spheres of art, music, and literature; food and smell; sacred things and spaces; ritual and community; science and medicine. Deployed in varying, often contested ways, the senses were essential pathways to the sacred. They permitted knowledge of the divine and the universe, triggered affective responses, shaped holy environments, and served to heal, guide, or discipline body and soul. Contributors include Alfred Acres, Barbara Baert, Andrew R. Casper, Wietse de Boer, Sven Dupr, Iain Fenlon, Laura Giannetti, Christine G ttler, Jennifer R. Hammerschmidt, Joseph Imorde, Rachel King, Jennifer Rae McDermott, Walter S. Melion, Matthew Milner, Sarah Joan Moran, Yvonne Petry, and Klaus Pietschmann.

Wietse de Boer, Ph.D. (Erasmus University Rotterdam, 1995) is Professor of History at Miami University. Most of his publications are on the Italian Counter-Reformation, including The Conquest of the Soul: Confession, Discipline, and Public Order in Counter-Reformation Milan (Brill, 2001).Christine Gottler, Ph.D. (University of Zurich, 1991) is Professor of Art History at the University of Bern. Her main research interests concern the intersections of art, religion, and science in early modern Europe, particularly the Netherlands and Italy.Contributors include: Alfred Acres, Barbara Baert, Wietse de Boer, Andrew R. Casper, Sven Dupre, Iain Fenlon, Laura Giannetti, Christine Gottler, Jennifer R. Hammerschmidt, Joseph Imorde, Rachel King, Jennifer Rae McDermott, Walter S. Melion, Matthew Milner, Sarah Joan Moran, Yvonne Petry, and Klaus Pietschmann.