Luther's Thesenportal: A Case Study of a “Ritual-Architectural Event”

Author: Stephenson, Barry

Source: Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art and Belief, Volume 4, Number 1, March 2008 , pp. 54-84(31)

Publisher: Berg Publishers

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Abstract:

This article is part of a larger field-based study of contemporary festivity and religious tourism in Lutherland, a geographic and symbolic place associated with the life and work of Martin Luther. My aim, with reference to the work of Lindsay Jones and Victor Turner, is to develop an approach for studying the intersection of material culture and ritual. Material culture does not simply signify into empty space, shining meanings into its surrounding environment as a street lamp does light. Rather, material culture is produced, handled, used in a variety of ways. An exemplary case for studying how built space and ritual performance intersect is the Thesenportal of Wittenberg's Schlosskirche, an object and performative space commemorating the origin of the German Reformation.

Keywords: REFORMATION; MARTIN LUTHER; RITUAL; PERFORMANCE; SACRED SPACE; SACRED ARCHITECTURE; FESTIVITY; PUBLIC RITUAL; CIVIL RELIGION

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.2752/175183408X288131

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