Sacred Movement in the High and Late Middle Ages

This thesis offers insight into the kinesthetic experiences of medieval Christians in their worship practices, liturgical and mystical rituals, and formal rites. In recent years, medievalists have become interested in the body and in multi- sensory forms of devotion. I study the use of movement in the medieval devotion from the perspective of dance history, drawing on medieval art, architecture, plays and music as well as on traditional sources. Three case studies, drawn from the twelfth through the fifteenth centuries and spread across Europe, demonstrate the widespread and varied nature of medieval religious dancing. Men and women, laity and clergy, urban and rural dwellers all danced, using their bodies in pose, in gesture, and in motion to connect with the divine