{"product_id":"eternal-light-and-earthly-concerns-belief-and-the-shaping-of-medieval-society-paperback-1","title":"Eternal light and earthly concerns: Belief and the shaping of medieval society - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003ePaul Fouracre\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book investigates how the practice of keeping a light burning in churches was established in the early Middle Ages. It asks what the material consequences of implementing the practice were and why it ceased at the end of the Middle Ages.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn early Christianity it was established that every church should have a light burning on the altar at all times. This unique study investigates the material and social consequences of maintaining such 'eternal lights'. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNever before has the subject been treated as important to the political economy or explored over the whole of the medieval period. The cost of maintaining the lights meant that only the elite could afford to do so, with peasants being organised to provide funds. Later, as society became wealthier, a wider range of people became providers and organised themselves into guilds or confraternities in support of the church and with the particular aim of commemorating their members. Power over the lights, and over individual churches, shifted to these organisations, and when belief in the efficacy of burning lights was challenged in the Reformation, it was such people who were capable of bringing the practice of burning eternal lights to a sudden and sometimes violent end. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe study concludes that the practice of keeping a flame on the altar did indeed have important material and cultural consequences. Because it examines the relation between belief and materiality at every turn, the book also serves as a guide to how Western Europe developed from the decline of the Roman Empire to the advent of the Protestant state.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePaul Fouracre is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at the University of Manchester\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 248\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.52 x 8.5 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 14, 2023\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42651314061408,"sku":"9781526167200","price":68.45,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0598\/1922\/9280\/files\/VFZVZng2WlhhMWNBR0NEYXIrYUNZUT09.webp?v=1773841852","url":"https:\/\/bijoucc.myshopify.com\/products\/eternal-light-and-earthly-concerns-belief-and-the-shaping-of-medieval-society-paperback-1","provider":"CARIBBEAN CONNECT","version":"1.0","type":"link"}