Cathedral Shrines of Medieval England

First ever detailed study of lost medieval shrines in English cathedrals.

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Shrines were an important institution of the middle ages, yet until now they have never been systematically studied as artefacts. This book describes their nature and development in England from around 1066 to 1540, focusing on those to be found in cathedrals, looking at the ways in which the shrine itself, the monument enclosing the saint's body, developed during the period, becoming more and more elaborate; the author demonstrates that the chapel aroundthe shrine, usually in the most sacred and important area of the church behind the high altar, had an intimate connection with changes in church architecture. Dr Nilson also looks at the cathedral clergy who built the shrines, tended them, and managed the offerings that flowed into them; and the pilgrims who visited the shrines in an attempt to receive the blessing and miraculous power that the holy relics were believed to bestow. Many of the surviving cathedral records are financial in nature, and these are used to assess the amount of monetary offerings to shrines, and the rise and fall in the level of offering.
BEN NILSONis College Professor at Okanagan University College, Canada.