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Heaven on Earth in Medieval Europe: Material Expressions of an Immaterial Realm

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Heaven on Earth in Medieval Europe: Material Expressions of an Immaterial Realm Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University History Dissertations Department of History 8-10-2021 Heaven on Earth in Medieval Europe: Material Expressions of an Immaterial Realm Christopher A. Tiegreen Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_diss Recommended Citation Tiegreen, Christopher A., "Heaven on Earth in Medieval Europe: Material Expressions of an Immaterial Realm." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2021. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_diss/87 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of History at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Heaven on Earth in Medieval Europe: Material Expressions of an Immaterial Realm by Chris Tiegreen Under the Direction of Nick Wilding, PhD A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2021 ABSTRACT The religious mind in medieval Latin Christianity was thoroughly preoccupied with heaven, not only as an afterlife destination but as a present reality just beyond the reach of physical senses. But material expressions of heaven could, in connecting with the senses, usher the soul into an experience of heaven’s realities, and many ecclesiastics, philosophers, architects, artists, musicians, city leaders, and utopian visionaries thought heaven’s realities had significant implications for life on earth. As a result, social hierarchies, the geometry of structures, the intervals of sacred music, the iconography of artists, the organization of sacred and civic space, and the words and rituals of the liturgy mimicked heavenly ideals in myriad ways. The question this project explores is to what extent late medieval and early modern European life was intentionally patterned after heaven’s template. The answer to this question helps us see medieval expression not simply in terms of theological and aesthetic preferences but as part of a complex, comprehensive worldview that would later face many challenges. This inquiry intersects with the fields of psychology, sociology, anthropology, art, and religion in helping us understand how views of the afterlife shape human activities, social structures, and expressions. Drawing from these disciplines, I explore beliefs about heaven within the larger medieval worldview and then examine material and social expressions of them in three case studies: Gothic France, Low Country pageantry and aesthetics, and northern Italian civic life. Assumptions about the afterlife profoundly shaped first the expressions of the sacred within the church, then reached beyond church walls to affect creative expressions, hierarchical structures both “sacred” and “secular,” and the ideals of city leaders and utopian visionaries. These findings help explain the dynamics of conflict in the reform movements, discoveries, and creative trends of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. INDEX WORDS: Medieval Europe, Religion, Catholic, Heaven, Materiality, Social structures Copyright by Christopher Alan Tiegreen 2021 Heaven on Earth in Medieval Europe: Material Expressions of an Immaterial Realm by Chris Tiegreen Committee Chair: Nick Wilding Committee: Denise Davidson Jared Poley Jacob Selwood Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Services College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University August 2021 iv DEDICATION For Hannah, whose grace, patience, and sacrifice made these years of research a bit more heavenly than they would have been without her. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have benefitted enormously from the communities of scholars at Georgia State and Emory Universities. The idea of researching the history of heaven grew out of a suggestion from Nick Wilding, whose insight, affirmation, and guidance were critical to this project. His nudges down diverse trails of inquiry were invaluable in refining this study’s scope and perspectives. Also invaluable were the advice and feedback of Denise Davidson, Jared Poley, and Jacob Selwood. To all, I am deeply grateful. I am also grateful for Georgia State University’s Research Services and Administration and the GSU Library for their substantial assistance in funding this project, and especially for their extra flexibility during the fluid financial dynamics of a pandemic. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ V LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... IX LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................. XII 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Thesis ............................................................................................................................. 6 1.2 Sources, Methodology, and Scope .............................................................................. 8 1.3 Outline ......................................................................................................................... 20 2 THE MEDIEVAL HEAVEN ......................................................................................... 25 2.1 Biblical Heavens ......................................................................................................... 28 2.2 Literary and Visionary Heavens ............................................................................... 36 2.3 Doctrinal Heavens ...................................................................................................... 48 2.4 The Experience of Heaven ......................................................................................... 65 2.5 Giving Shape to the Unseen Realm .......................................................................... 75 3 THE DESIGN OF HEAVEN: GOTHIC FRANCE .................................................... 79 3.1 Toward an Unearthly Church .................................................................................. 81 3.2 Mirrors of Heaven? .................................................................................................... 91 3.3 Stimulating the Spiritual Senses ............................................................................... 98 3.4 Layers of Time and Space ....................................................................................... 110 vii 4 THE PAGEANTRY AND ARTISTRY OF HEAVEN: LOW COUNTRY AESTHETICS ............................................................................................................... 116 4.1 The Promised Lands ................................................................................................ 117 4.2 The Mobility of the Sacred ...................................................................................... 122 4.3 The Ascent through Senses ...................................................................................... 131 4.4 The Harmonies of Heaven and Earth .................................................................... 134 4.5 The Art of Gazing at Heaven .................................................................................. 148 5 THE SOCIETY OF HEAVEN: CIVIC ITALY ........................................................ 160 5.1 Hybridizations of Heavens ...................................................................................... 161 5.2 Religion in ‘Secular’ Cities ...................................................................................... 167 5.3 Real and Imagined Social Structures ..................................................................... 173 5.4 The Order of Life ..................................................................................................... 179 5.5 Toward a Paradise Regained .................................................................................. 194 5.6 Order and Political Vision ....................................................................................... 211 5.7 Paradise Internalized ............................................................................................... 213 6 HEAVEN’S ORDER IN A DISORDERED WORLD ............................................... 215 6.1 Dynamics of a Worldview ........................................................................................ 216 6.2 For Further Research .............................................................................................. 222 6.3 Trajectories of an Idea ............................................................................................. 224 viii 7 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 238 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 242 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1. Jan van Eyck, Adoration of the Lamb, Ghent altarpiece center panel, 1432. ............ 26 Figure 2.2. “Revelations of St. Bridget of Sweden,” illumination on parchment, c. 1400. .......... 45 Figure 2.3. Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias I.6: “The Choirs of Angels,” from the Rupertsberg manuscript,
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