Orientations of the divine in medieval urbanism

Frost, Christian W. (2017) Orientations of the divine in medieval urbanism. In: Matrice et signum. La croix dans la culture médiévale occidentale : histoire de l'art et anthropologie, 14th-16th June 2017, Paris.

Abstract

Many contemporary descriptions of twelfth and thirteenth-century medieval urban landscapes focus on characteristics of geometry, alignment and perspective (including the impression of crosses) that are derived more from later ideas of reason and perspectivity than from the cultural conditions of the Middle Ages. Using textual references, observations, and analytical drawings, this lecture argues that during the medieval period a broader understanding of orientation was exercised. This more complex interpretation of orientation included aspects of temporality, place, and order, and was most commonly revealed through the enactment of processions and parades.

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