The Stirring of the Religious Soundscape. The Auditory Experience in the Antwerp Church of Our Lady (c. 1450–1566) and an Iconological Analysis of the Altar Bell

• Autores: Wendy W. Walters
• Localización: Christian Discourses of the Holy and the Sacred from the 15th to the 17th Century / coord. por Teresa Hiergeist, Ismael del Olmo, 2020, ISBN 978-3-631-80081-2, págs. 221-260
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • When entering a Gothic cathedral, what is most striking is how it is suffused with a profound stillness. The outside world appears to fall silent and with bated breath, visitors explore deeper into the heart of its sacred spaces. But what dynamics underlie this almost compulsive air of serenity? And to what extent did similar forces influence church-goers in centuries past? This chapter maps out the experience of early modern worshippers by examining three key topics: the analysis of the original soundscape in the Antwerp Church of Our Lady, the interplay between that soundscape and the rites of the altar bell, and the interconnection between the context of use and the iconography on liturgical hand bells. As artefacts can only acquire meaning through sensory experience, the terms ‘experience’ and ‘perception’ are both crucial. From a broader perspective, the tensions between prescribed and lived religion, which appear to manifest at every level, are also addressed.