The Sweet Sound of Sanctity
Catherine Saucier
Sensory studies of medieval devotion overwhelmingly prioritize the role smell in perception sainthood—the ubiquitous “odor sanctity”—despite evidence that both scent and sound shared a prominent association Christian worship spirituality. Prayers hymns, for example, were perceived to rise heavenward like smoke incense, while visionaries imagined saints heaven as inhabiting fragrant musical realm. This article examines interplay ideal sanctity through case study hagiographic texts music dating from eighth twelfth centuries Frankish martyr, St Lambert Liège. By studying miracle Lambert's posthumous singing perspectives sensory symbolism, perception, liminality, we can better understand synthesis with promotion broader representation transcendence.
The senses & society