ART 358 The Cult of Saints in Medieval Europe
From the earliest days of Christianity, certain holy men and women were dubbed saints and their bones, the places where they died, and the stories of their lives were given special status and became the focus of artistic activity. This course will focus on the art and architecture produced in the service of the cult the saints, and will cover not only major architectural monuments and richly decorated reliquaries and manuscripts, but also the smaller, more humble keepsakes made for the pilgrims who visited the shrines. The monuments discussed will be primarily western European, but non-Western saints and pilgrimage activities, particularly Byzantine and Islamic, will receive some attention. In addition to art-historical literature, students will read some medieval texts including saints' Lives and first-hand accounts of pilgrimage. No previous coursework in art history is required, but some familiarity with medieval studies will be helpful.