Saturday, April 30, 2011

The Fates of Sacred Landscape in the Reformation

The Guardian has just published Graham Parry's compeling review of Alexandra Walsham’s The Reformation of the Landscape: Religion, Identity, and Memory in Early Modern Britain and Ireland. St. Patrick’s Purgatory is treated extensively, along with others sites throughout the British Isles — even such as Stonehenge — that were attacked in an effort to purge the natural world of sacred places that attracted worshippers and pilgrims. As the Reformers set about remaking the “popish” and “pagan” landscapes, they attempted to destroy everything from sacred trees to sacred waters. 

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Reliquaries on View

Two shows currently examine the place of medieval relics in devotion and art. Objects of Devotion and Desire: Medieval Relic to Contemporary Art is at the Hunter Gallery in New York (68th Street and Lexington Avenue) through April 30. Treasures of Heaven is at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore through May 15th. While none of the objects in these two shows relate particularly to the few surviving relics from the Pilgrim’s Way to St. Patrick’s Purgatory — which mostly are found in the National Museum in Dublin — this is nevertheless a good opportunity to see some interesting objects, in interesting contexts.