Sensory Experiences of Thomas Aquinas's Saintly Presence in Dominican Liturgy II
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Touching, Tasting, Hearing, Seeing and Smelling : Sensory Experiences in the Feasts of St Thomas Aquinas (KONE Foundation); Turku Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies
Organizer Name
Marika Räsänen
Organizer Affiliation
Turun Yliopisto
Presider Name
Éric Palazzo
Presider Affiliation
Centre d’études supérieures de civilisation médiévale (CESCM)
Paper Title 1
Sensing the Saint through Liturgy and Prayer
Presenter 1 Name
Marika Räsänen
Paper Title 2
Language, Meter, and Meaning in the Memorial Liturgies of Thomas Aquinas
Presenter 2 Name
Seppo Heikkinen
Presenter 2 Affiliation
Helsingin Yliopisto
Paper Title 3
Music and Modality in the Memorial Officies of Thomas Aquinas
Presenter 3 Name
Hilkka-Liisa Vuori
Presenter 3 Affiliation
Vox Silentia
Start Date
11-5-2018 10:00 AM
Session Location
Schneider 1130
Description
The session focuses on one of the main features of a saint’s liturgy: making his or her presence real and active during the services of the Office. The presence of a saint was a notion that was central in elaborating the relationship between a saint, especially when he or she was a newcomer, and his or her folk. The presence should also be something that the saint him- or herself wanted. The perception of the presence of a saint was important per se; it was affective, comforting and protective but through the sensory experiences the audience was also vulnerable to more political charged messages.
In Thomas’s liturgical Offices, which are proposed to be at the centre of the analyses of the session, the presence of Thomas can be sensed by ears, eyes, nose, mouth and touch, and through such feelings as darkness and deepness, doubts, and joy. The participants are invited to explore how the liturgical melodies and texts were in the core of experiencing the presence of the saint. The session would like to elaborate the discussion on mode of a chant and the metrical structure as the key elements to interpret the sensual or emotional meanings the melodies and the texts conveyed in the Dominican church spaces. It also invites to discuss the power of emotionally loaded liturgy in transmitting political as well as religious ideologies. Altogether, the session proposes the necessity of analysing the cults of saints using liturgical sources through multidisciplinary gaze, especially when trying to recapture the emotions and experiences of medieval lay people.
Marika Räsänen
Sensory Experiences of Thomas Aquinas's Saintly Presence in Dominican Liturgy II
Schneider 1130
The session focuses on one of the main features of a saint’s liturgy: making his or her presence real and active during the services of the Office. The presence of a saint was a notion that was central in elaborating the relationship between a saint, especially when he or she was a newcomer, and his or her folk. The presence should also be something that the saint him- or herself wanted. The perception of the presence of a saint was important per se; it was affective, comforting and protective but through the sensory experiences the audience was also vulnerable to more political charged messages.
In Thomas’s liturgical Offices, which are proposed to be at the centre of the analyses of the session, the presence of Thomas can be sensed by ears, eyes, nose, mouth and touch, and through such feelings as darkness and deepness, doubts, and joy. The participants are invited to explore how the liturgical melodies and texts were in the core of experiencing the presence of the saint. The session would like to elaborate the discussion on mode of a chant and the metrical structure as the key elements to interpret the sensual or emotional meanings the melodies and the texts conveyed in the Dominican church spaces. It also invites to discuss the power of emotionally loaded liturgy in transmitting political as well as religious ideologies. Altogether, the session proposes the necessity of analysing the cults of saints using liturgical sources through multidisciplinary gaze, especially when trying to recapture the emotions and experiences of medieval lay people.
Marika Räsänen