The Matter of Piety Zoutleeuw's Church of Saint Leonard and Religious Material Culture in the Low Countries 1450-1620

Description

The Matter of Piety provides the first in-depth study of Zoutleeuw’s exceptionally well-preserved pilgrimage church in a comparative perspective, and revaluates religious art and material culture in Netherlandish piety from the late Middle Ages through the crisis of iconoclasm and the Reformation to Catholic restoration. Analyzing the changing functions, outlooks, and meanings of devotional objects – monumental sacrament houses, cult statues and altarpieces, and small votive offerings or relics – Ruben Suykerbuyk revises dominant narratives about Catholic culture and patronage in the Low Countries. Rather than being a paralyzing force, the Reformation incited engaged counterinitiatives, and the vitality of late medieval devotion served as the fertile ground from which the Counter-Reformation organically grew under Protestant impulses. Contents Acknowledgements Illustrations Abbreviations Note on Currencies Introduction The Matter of Piety in an Age of Religious Change A Pulverized Image? Status quaestionis Sources, Methodology and Set-up Part 1 Late Medieval Piety in Perspective Chapter 1 The Cult of Saint Leonard at Zoutleeuw Saint Leonard’s Altarpiece Protohistory of the Cult The Fortunes of Devotion: Offerings Assessing Devotion: Offerings in Kind Quantifying Devotion: Offerings in Specie The Promotion of Devotion Cultic Awareness Spreading the Word: Badges and Indulgences Furnishing Sacred Space: Saint Leonard’s Chapel Creating Sacred Space: Making It Work Chapter 2 The Image of Piety at the Dawn of Iconoclasm Old Sources, New Views: Miracles and Indulgences Miracle Collections Indulgences Toward a New Image The Cult Circuit in the Low Countries Mapping the Cult Circuit Saint Leonard’s Share The Circuit Condenses: Brabant, c. 1500 A Spirited Devotional Culture Materialized Part 2 Catholic Piety in Iconoclastic Times Chapter 3 1520: The Waning of Medieval Piety? Cornelis Floris’ Sacrament House The Introduction of Protestant Thought The 1520-Thesis Problems Alternatives Continuities Chapter 4 Pilgrimage The Public Debate on Images, Miracles and Pilgrims Protestant Critiques The Low Countries Catholic Responses The Cult of Saint Leonard at Zoutleeuw: Tradition and Innovation Maintaining Tradition The Sale of Devotionalia Distribution of Food and Drinks Miracles and Cults, Old and New Miracles: Continuity versus Cessation New Cults and Cultic Renewal: Our Lady of the Ossenweg Miracles as Anti-Protestant Statements The Brussels Holy Sacrament of Miracle Miracles against Protestants Chapter 5 Parish Liturgy The Eucharist Musical Embellishment Chapter 6 Patronage The Memorial Landscape in Zoutleeuw Van Wilre’s Project Countering the Reformation Defining the Counter-Reformation The Eucharist as an Emblem of Counter-Reformatory Action Sacrament Houses as Objects of Defiance Polemical Forms: Style, Size and Iconography Catholic Profiling Chapter 7 1566: The Beeldenstorm and Its Aftermath Destructions and Descriptions The Wonderyear: Facts and Theories Les villes bonnes Zoutleeuw and the Hageland Region Part 3 The Miraculous Counter-Reformation Chapter 8 The Resumption of Miracles Paulus Gautier’s Miracle Memorial Painting A New Era? Explaining Intermittency, Asserting Continuity Cultic Antiquarianism The Rise of Votive Paintings A Culture of the Miraculous Zoutleeuw, 1612 Restoration The Intention of the Painting Chapter 9 Devotional Negotiation with the Archducal Government The Object of Devotion: Image versus Relic The Gift The Translation Conclusion The Thin Line Between Tradition and Transformation Appendix 1 The Churchwarden Accounts of Zoutleeuw’s Church of Saint Leonard Appendix 2 Graphs Notes Bibliography Primary Sources Published Sources Literature Online Databases Index