medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Thanks Rochelle, food for thought... I suppose they do have a shared
history of concerts/tours and Elvis's significant moments.
As to football (Terrence Lockyer's post), yes, Anfield came up too -
with its hymn, eternal flame, shared identity and history etc. I
recognise the value of these comparisons for helping students to
understand religious phenomena but I think it's necessary for them to
perceive the differences too. John Dillon's 'wonder-working or
salvific' potential is clearly one difference (or at least the
'salvific' part is, should it transpire that Elvis fans believe his
sparkly jumpsuit cures disease) - I'd be interested to know what
other defining/distinguishing qualities spring to the list's collective mind.
To put this in a little more in context, I'm currently researching
the post-Soviet revival of pilgrimage (to shrines which have very
long histories and to newly-created sites such as Ganina Yama, a
monastery built around the mineshaft where the Romanovs' murdered
bodies were dumped), so have found myself tackling a great deal of
anthropological literature on pilgrimage and sacred sites.
As a secondary question, could anyone recommend literature on the
development of processions of the cross? One of the processions I'm
looking at in Russia (a six day pilgrimage which carries an icon to
the place it miraculously appeared, and back again to the regional
cathedral that houses it) claims a 600 year old history. Participants
tell me that St John Chrysostom first created processions of the
cross as a means of combatting the Arian heresy, they feature
occasionally in medieval Russian chronicles, and were widespread by
the late Imperial period. The late Patriarch himself declared them a
traditional form of Russian pilgrimage, but they are also an
intrinsic part of the liturgy and prescribed on various feast days.
I'd love to find a historical overview that would allow me to explore
potential comparisons/contrasts with Western Christian practice...
With thanks,
Stella
At 14:14 23/09/2009, you wrote:
>medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
>Stella, you wrote:
>
>>Are pilgrims to Graceland part of a community with a shared
>>history? I'd say not, but perhaps I'm being influenced by my
>>personal beliefs...
>>
>>Stella
>
>Oddly enough, they are.
>
>The vast majority of Presley fans are in the same cohort, both in
>terms of age and similar cultural contexts. The trips to Graceland
>*are* pilgrimages. As Terrence pointed out, they do feel some kind
>of "magic" merely to touch something their idol held. (I did not
>make a copy of the student's paper, so I can't give you the bib she
>collected on this.) There are still reports of "Elvis sightings."
>Elvis that was, that is, not as he would be if he lived to over 100.
>I tend to think that by holding a ""piece" of something he used they
>feel they are keeping him alive. This known worship of a singer-idol
>is why Marjorie's students could connect with her example.
>
>There are people out there who still shed a tear over "The day the
>music died" -- that is, when Buddy Holly died in an airplane crash
>back in the 1950's. And that song is still played, though I'd think
>his fans are getting rather long in the tooth.
>
>(Can you imagine a worse film to show on a flight than The Buddy
>Holly Story? Well, that's exactly where I saw it as a prisoner of
>Zenda, er, in-flight entertainment -- no channel choices back then.
>And I was on a prop plane, too.)
>
>Then there were the Sinatra fans. As Sinatra aged, so did his
>swooning followers. (There were enough articles on that.) I don't
>think anyone actually worshipped Sinatra, but who knows? They
>certainly still "swooned" and called out "Oh, Frankie."
>
>So, yes, we do have to test personal beliefs rather frequently. But
>isn't that precisely what this thread is about?
>
>Back to my cyber cubby-hole,
>
>Rochelle
>
>>At 11:59 23/09/2009, you wrote:
>>>medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>>>
>>>Rochelle Altman wrote:
>>>
>>>: In fact, one of my former students, a devout
>>>: Catholic and a life turn-around student with five
>>>: step-stair children and a husband who deserted
>>>: the family, did a lot of research on relics of
>>>: saints. When she wrote up her term paper, she
>>>: compared the Medieval desire to collect (and
>>>: fight over) saint's relics to Graceland and what
>>>: goes on there.
>>>
>>>Coincidentally, just yesterday I saw a television advertisment
>>>for one of those part-work thingies: this one is devoted to
>>>Presley, and comes with "replica artefacts" from Graceland.
>>>There may not be a literal belief in "wonder-working or salvific"
>>>properties (to use John Dillon's phrase), but there clearly is,
>>>for some, a kind of magic (for want of a better word) in
>>>possession: how else does one explain the ability to keep
>>>re-releasing recordings, for example, and have some of the same
>>>people buy them; or the enormous prices attached to items that
>>>have a direct link to performers (e. g., John Lennon's old guitar
>>>string, in one case I recall)?
>>>
>>>
>>>Terrence Lockyer
>>>Johannesburg, South Africa
>>`*****************************************
>>Dr Stella Rock
>>Senior Research Fellow
>>Department of History
>>University of Sussex
>>Brighton BN1 9QL
>>Email:[log in to unmask]
>>http://www.sussex.ac.uk/history/profile17617.html
>
>**********************************************************************
>To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
>to: [log in to unmask]
>To send a message to the list, address it to:
>[log in to unmask]
>To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
>to: [log in to unmask]
>In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
>[log in to unmask]
>For further information, visit our web site:
>http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|