 |
 |
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Thanks, Jim, for the happy accident of your sending these photos to the list. To judge from the penultimate photo (DSCN6867.JPG), space could be at a premium just past the table where the Holy Blood is displayed. Is it possible to turn left there, cross over, and descend by another set of steps? Or does one have to return the way one came? I ask because for a relic of such significance, controlling the passage of the numerous faithful past the relic and out again ought to have been an important concern, at least until relatively recently. The eighteenth-century redesign of the interior of Santa Maria del Carmine at Naples included the erection of a raised passageway hidden behind the sanctuary that allows one to enter from one side of the presbytery, ascend a flight of steps and then pass along to the early sixteenth-century tabernacle housing this church's (and Naples') sacred Marian icon, the fourteenth(?)-century "La Bruna", continue along the passageway, descend, and come out on the other side. Is it roughly so also in Bruges? Best, John Dillon Here's a view of La Bruna: http://www.napoletanita.it/foto/napoli35.jpg The height at which she's placed allows a view of her, but not of those in the passageway (called a chapel and indeed outfitted with a small altar), through a window placed behind the main altar: http://tinyurl.com/4jgmcr A view of the sanctuary (though at an angle not allowing one to see the aforementioned window): http://tinyurl.com/3oakjo Note the dull coloration of the marbles and other facing stones: this is a Carmelite church. On Friday, June 6, 2008, at 1:36 pm, Jim Bugslag wrote: > I'm attaching a few photos of the Holy Blood relic at Bruges, taken as > I said, in summer 2007. > Thanks for your offer to post them for the list. > Cheers, > Jim Bugslag ********************************************************************** 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