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Dancing in Body and Spirit: Dance and Sacred Performance In DANCING IN BODY AND SPIRIT: DANCE AND SACRED PERFORMANCE IN THIRTEENTH-CENTURY BEGUINE TEXTS A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Jessica Van Oort May, 2009 ii DEDICATION To my mother, Valerie Van Oort (1951-2007), who played the flute in church while I danced as a child. I know that she still sees me dance, and I am sure that she is proud. iii ABSTRACT Dancing in Body and Spirit: Dance and Sacred Performance in Thirteenth-Century Beguine Texts Candidate’s Name: Jessica Van Oort Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Temple University, 2009 Doctoral Advisory Committee Chair: Dr. Joellen Meglin This study examines dance and dance-like sacred performance in four texts by or about the thirteenth-century beguines Elisabeth of Spalbeek, Hadewijch, Mechthild of Magdeburg, and Agnes Blannbekin. These women wrote about dance as a visionary experience of the joys of heaven or the relationship between God and the soul, and they also created physical performances of faith that, while not called dance by medieval authors, seem remarkably dance- like to a modern eye. The existence of these dance-like sacred performances calls into question the commonly-held belief that most medieval Christians denied their bodies in favor of their souls and considered dancing sinful. In contrast to official church prohibitions of dance I present an alternative viewpoint, that of religious Christian women who physically performed their faith. The research questions this study addresses include the following: what meanings did the concept of dance have for medieval Christians; how did both actual physical dances and the concept of dance relate to sacred performance; and which aspects of certain medieval dances and performances made them sacred to those who performed and those who observed? In a historical interplay of text and context, I thematically analyze four beguine texts and situate them within the larger tapestry of medieval dance and sacred performance. This study iv suggests that medieval Christian concepts of dance, sacred performance, the soul, and the body were complex and fluid; that medieval sacred performance was as much a matter of a correct inner, emotional and spiritual state as it was of appropriate outward, physical actions; and that sacred performance was a powerful, important force in medieval Europe that various Christians used to support their own beliefs or to contest the beliefs and practices of others. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION................................................................................................................................ ii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................ iii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION: ENTRY POINT ..........................................................................................1 Prelude .................................................................................................................................1 A Journey Toward Questions...............................................................................................2 2. RESEARCH PLAN ..................................................................................................................11 Introduction and Terminology ...........................................................................................11 Selection of Texts ..............................................................................................................14 The Influence of Theory ....................................................................................................21 Specific Structure of the Research.....................................................................................31 Specific Structure of the Dissertation ................................................................................37 Brief Statement of the Research Question and Significance of the Study.........................40 3. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...................................................................................................42 Sources on Medieval Dance by Dancers ...........................................................................42 Sources on Medieval Dance by Scholars Outside the Field of Dance...............................48 Sources on Medieval Performance in Related Fields ........................................................57 Sources on Religious Women in Medieval Europe ...........................................................62 4. DANCE IN FOUR BEGUINE TEXTS....................................................................................75 The Beguines.....................................................................................................................76 Hadewijch, Mechthild, Agnes, and Elisabeth....................................................................79 vi Textual Passages Referring to Dance ................................................................................84 Group Dances........................................................................................................85 Solo Dances...........................................................................................................99 Dance as Allegory................................................................................................106 Negative or Ambiguous Passages About Dance..................................................109 Themes in the Passages about Dance..................................................................111 “As If” Dancing ...............................................................................................................112 5. QUASI-DANCES: BEGUINE SACRED PERFORMANCES ..............................................117 Introduction......................................................................................................................117 The Human Body and Christ’s Body in Christian Thought and Practice........................120 The Human Body in Beguine Texts.................................................................................129 Experiencing Revelation: The Senses, the Body, and the Spirit......................................133 Performing Revelation: Audience and Liturgy................................................................149 Textual Evidence of Sacred Performance........................................................................161 Overview ..............................................................................................................161 Stillness ................................................................................................................163 Kneeling, Bowing and Falling .............................................................................171 Weeping and Sighing...........................................................................................178 Shaking and Trembling........................................................................................180 Kissing Holy Objects............................................................................................182 Striking One’s Body.............................................................................................186 Making the Sign of the Cross...............................................................................191 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................195 vii 6. CONTEXTUALIZING DANCE AND SACRED PERFORMANCE...................................201 Introduction......................................................................................................................201 Dance in Medieval Europe...............................................................................................203 Festivity................................................................................................................210 Joy........................................................................................................................223 Sensuality and Sexuality......................................................................................233 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................241 Sacred Performance in Medieval Europe ........................................................................242 Order and Ecstasy................................................................................................244 Beyond the Ordinary............................................................................................254 The Inner State.....................................................................................................261 The Edification of Christians...............................................................................270 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................277 7. CONCLUSION: RESTING POINT.......................................................................................280 Postlude............................................................................................................................280 Sacred Performance Meets Research...............................................................................281 Final Thoughts.................................................................................................................290
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