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Thus concludes the chapter dedicated to the perception of the body in the medieval era. The next one in the series will deal with the perception of the body in the renaissance. The choice of the previous images, showing our favorite Gothic cathedral inside and out, is a perfect segue into the next chapter. Though most art historians state that the renaissance was the first major intrusion of paganism into the Christian mainstream culture of Europe, our take on the topic is that it was not the renaissance, but Gothic art, that first introduced paganism and pagan sensibility into the mainstream culture. This is especially important and obvious when it comes to church and religious art and architecture. Gothic art relies heavily on the senses, arguably more so than the renaissance art. It acts and impresses itself on the senses, producing a carnal sense of awe in the visitor of the cathedral. Relying on 'special effects' such are the music, the frankincense, and especially the marvelous stained-glass illumination, the Gothic art communicated religion via the senses (the body, flesh) rather than via the word (the spirit, mind). In this regard, Gothic art truly is not only more ambitious and inspiring, but indeed more carnal and sensual than the renaissance art ever was. Situated in this angle, we aim to give a different reading of renaissance art and aesthetics - not to go that far as to say that it will be original (up to you to decide if it is so) but it will be both daring and substantiated. #medieval #medievalart #medievalarchitecture #church #cathedral #notredame #notredamedeparis #body #bodypolitics #cler #paris #city #citylife #cityliving (presso Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLgvcjoJKv5/?igshid=ijtfvkh0jlbx

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The only adequate conclusion of this chapter on the medieval relation to body is at the same the finale of the essay in question – the body of a human being and its relation to god. Like all of the humans of the kingdom would come together to form the political body of the king, and like all of them would be connected spiritually via the shared religion, so too, was all of humanity physically connected via god. It is important to make a distinction between religion and god, as important as it is to make one between faith and religion. God is not only permeating every given Christian who partakes in the Eucharist and adopts the Christ in their body – god is also the social cohesive force between every human being. In other words, (Christian) god is love, bringing everyone together – and this love is as carnal as it is spiritual. It is consumed, entertained and perpetuated by the body. Love in medieval terms is not only love making. Carnal love, and love in the absolute, is the life itself, and, prior to our society having thoroughly segregated the body and the spirit – during the periods of the renaissance and the enlightenment, which shall be addressed in the following essays – the body and the spirit were fused together. It differed for people of different classes, and their practices of this unity were vastly different depending on their social strata and stations, but the principle was the same. The peasant worked physically in the field; the aristocrat exuded the physical, tangible sense of superiority; the priest contemplated eternity of the body, and heaven as a carnal affair – one look at any Gothic cathedral can affirm how sensual and involved with the flesh those majestic buildings are. Out of all of the social strata, only the bourgeois were taken more by reason, the mind, and the spirit – being busy with business, they were the ones to be least connected to this realm of existence – and they created the world we live in today. #medieval #middleages #body #bodypolitics #city #citylife #cityliving #notredame #cathedral #notredamedeparis (presso Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLd6wjjJepR/?igshid=51a0k4lt9r5c

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With kings and popes of the medieval period being more of idiosyncratic notions of authority rather than a real, tangible presence with which someone could actually interact, religion was the most important connective tissue of the society. It is what created the notion of identity and the notion of belonging to a higher form of existence, as well as being a part of something larger than oneself. Today, this notion of identity is still to a certain extent connected to religion, but more so to the notion of the nation (of which, often, religion plays a significant part). Before the creation of the nation state, it was religion that had the capacity to unify and move about the masses of people. One such example was the massive undertaking of crusade wars, which attracted droves of enthusiastic followers, willing to risk their lives so that they could liberate Jerusalem and the tomb of Christ. This speaks of the corporeal nature of Christianity and the importance of the body in the medieval world in its own fashion. If Christ was a purely spiritual entity, why bother going to Jerusalem – back in the day, in itself a life risking adventure – and fight the Muslims currently occupying it? Why not stay home and practice one’s Christianity in spirit, where it matters the most? Quite simply, because it matters the most in the flesh, in this world, in material circumstances. Christ’s body is not in his tomb; as he ascended to heaven forty days after the resurrection. But his tomb, having only briefly been in touch with him, is enough of a relic to be worthy of a series of incredibly expensive and deadly wars. The control of the strategically important region of Levant and setting up the first in many of European colonial presences had something to do with the affair too, but liberating the tomb of Christ was the official explanation of this vast undertaking. #medieval #middleages #notredame #notredamedeparis #religion #cathedral #church #body #bodypolitics #city #cityliving #citylife #medievalart #stainedglass #rosetta (presso Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLbhzTvJM-N/?igshid=nanawi33i2oi

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The sense of belonging was, given the medieval circumstances discussed in previous entries, heavily centered on the notion of the body. Be that the body of the king or the spiritual connection handled by the pope, it was still, ultimately, backed by the Catholic Christianity, and therefore superbly carnal in nature. To properly understand this, one needs to remember one of the most important rituals of the Catholic faith, that of the Eucharist. The Catholics believe that the community wafer taken during the ritual is, in fact, the body of Christ. Not metaphorically, but actually is; the wine, following the same logic, is the blood of Christ. This is important, because by consuming the flesh and the blood of Christ, one partakes in his body, one receives religion in one’s own body, and one becomes similar to Christ. More importantly, one becomes a member of the bodily communion of all of the Catholic Christians. The notion taken from Roman debt law is that by consuming food purchased from the loaner’s money, one effectively consumes their debt and infuses their body with the said debt. In doing so, their body, in parts or in entirety, becomes the property of the money loaner. They eventually belong to them until they work of their debt, which may be never. In Christian perspective, one partakes in the Eucharist as a way of showing the willing acceptance of this obligation, and a wiling entrance in this connection. The ritual speaks not only of the bodily nature of Christianity, and importance of flesh, Christian conceptualization of flesh, but also, perhaps even more importantly, of the notion of the religion shared by everyone. The notion of the congregation, of a community coming together in the act of consumption of the sacrificed son of god, is what binds this community together. It is through the act of the food consumption, very material and carnal in nature – and very necessary for survival – that one affirms their partaking in both the community and the religion in question. #medieval #notredame #cathedral #notredamedeparis #middleages #king #christ #eucharist #body #bodypolitics #catholic #medievalart #medievalarchitecture #paris #cityliving (presso Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLYv247JZY1/?igshid=1clrls50fdylv

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The point of interest in considering the notion of body politics, royal authority emanating from the king’s body and connection all of his subjects together, is the relation of this concept to the pope. The supreme pontiff, officially the highest ranking authority of medieval Europe, usually spent most of his time dealing with the any given unruly and disobedient French king, trying to seize even more power for himself and to limit the influence of the pope. They could not go all out in doing so (as certain English king has done), as their very state was founded on religious premises, but were nonetheless engaged in the century old, perpetual tug-of-war of who was going to impose themselves on top. One thing that defined the pope and that should have been a clear advantage, was the theoretical premise of papal infallibility. As pope was god’s representative on earth, he shared in divine correctness of judgement – as god was infallible, so was the pope, by extension. Still, on more than one occasion the kings were able to have their way despite the will of the pope. While the king was the synthesis of all of the peoples’ bodies, the pope could have, following the same logic, represent the synthesis of everyone’s spirit. Something can be said of the gradual decline of the papal power, and the gradual growth of royal power. This is especially relevant in France, where the kings grew more absolutistic in time, as opposed to England, were kings and queens gradually shrunk their power. On the other hand, something can also be said of the fact that most European monarchies no longer exist, and that the institution of the Holy See is alive and well. For all the unsavory scandals shaking the Catholic Church, past and present, it is doing formidably well, as there are more Catholics in the world today than ever before, both in absolute and in relative numbers. #pope #theholysee #catholicism #catholic #king #medieval #middleages #notredame #notredamedeparis #cathedral #body #bodypolitics #city #cityliving #citylife (presso Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLWQvXTp4Ug/?igshid=1kz9x9wlx1bar

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Cynical remarks aside, the idea behind this concept was that the entirety of the royal domain is synthetized and joined together to form sovereign's renown and culture. Some kings, especially the French ones, used this notion generously, and did not shy away from ruining entire regions by famines, if they needed to collect taxes to fund a war, or another lavish project that would contribute to their eternal glory. This is how entire villages and countless people were destroyed, but is also how we got some of the world’s most impressive feats of architecture, and most precious gems of medieval art and culture. The notion of all of the members of the society partaking in the political body of the king may be theological in origin, but proved very useful in the realm of politics as well. The idea is that of the unity of culture and the sense of belonging, in the period before the notion of national culture that tried to bind people by usage of the same law, language, the idea of common history and destiny. In the medieval period, people that lived five kilometers apart did not necessarily speak the same language; they did not have the same culture, nor the same sense of purpose, nor the same destiny, nor just about anything in common, especially if we speak of different societal classes. The only thing connecting said populous was the notion of partaking in the king’s political body, and the notion of shared religion being that of Catholic Christianity. These two bonds, royal and religious, needed to be strong enough to unify the people who otherwise did not move about, did not have the idea of nation, nor just about anything else. Assuming the questionable nature of Christianity practiced by the peasants that was effectively much more pagan than it was actually Christian, connection felt through the royal body-bond had to be possibly stronger and more important than the one felt through religion. As abstract and distant as the idea of the king was, it had to be very persuasive, as most peasants never actually saw the person in question. #royal #medieval #middleages #king #aristocracy #paris #body #bodypolitics #notredame #notredamedeparis #city https://www.instagram.com/p/CLUD7wJJgBv/?igshid=14qnv4bgfsc66

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The same notion of physical, bodily, territorial belonging was even more relevant for the medieval king than it was for his fellow aristocrat. The idea behind it was that the body of the king symbolically represents the state, where every body part serves as an image of a certain social strata. The notion was that of the two factual bodies of the king, corporeal and political – the former was the king’s actual physical form, whereas the latter was the entirety of the state, with all of the people, animals, lands etc. that constitute it. The two bodies are in a way one, because the king’s physical body, connecting him to the lineage of kingly ancestors, was a guarantee of the divinely ordained bloodline out of which the very statehood emerges. In this manner, the two bodies are inseparably connected. If the physical body of the king is ill, in a way, so must the entire country be. To properly understand this notion, one must remember that while we today live in nation states, those did not exist before the French revolution. The notion of the nation is abstract, and largely a product of culture; the idea behind the notion of the body of the king, for supporters of monarchy at least, was that it was tangible and founded in concrete, empirically verifiable reality. While the actual body of the king existed, so too did his political body. As the king was essentially an aristocrat, but one of the highest order, him too would have the aristocratic moral of exuding law, harmony, statehood and excellence. The point of the kingly body that is of interest here, however, is that the entire state partook in it. Like is the case with one’s favorite sports team, their success is their supporters’ too (though, it really isn’t). The king’s beauty, glory, respectability and awesomeness belonged, in a way, to their royal subjects too (though really, they didn’t). https://www.instagram.com/p/CLOpc1lJif5/?igshid=m8w4f8b2duai

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This unbroken tie between humans and the material world served as the very foundation of the society, in its own way. The manner in which the clergy observed the body, as the holy pinnacle of divine creative effort, was as relevant for the social dynamics of medieval France as was the universal scale of natural phenomena ranging from pure matter (stone) to pure spirit (essence of god). The society was built upon the sense of belonging, very clearly represented and symbolized by the body. Any given person belonged to a certain territory, be it the feudal domain, or the free city, or the territory under control of the pope (or the king). The sense of belonging one felt was to a certain extent comparable to that a contemporary person might have to a sports team they cheer for. After all, the very idea of athletic allegiance and sport fandom was very much based in medieval thought – usage of medieval (like) banners, flags, emblems and crests; speaking of loyalty to one’s club, understanding every match as a battle, talking about the sense of pride, heroism or cowardice certain players or teams manifested, and so on. It mattered little back then, as it matters little today, that a supporter of a, say, soccer team has exactly nothing tangible to do with the team in question, and neither gains nor loses anything if their team wins or is defeated. In a sense, this was pretty much the case in the medieval period too. If the lord would lose the royal favor, or would do something to provoke the king’s anger, they would lose the title, the lands, and often their life – but this had little to do with peasants who worked on the land. They would receive a different lord, who would, in all likelihood, keep the same banner, the same crest and all the other symbols of that domain. They would either add it to the list of already existing titles, or would assume it as their only one. The peasant, lest they lost their very life in war, would not feel a dramatic change in life over aristocratic schemes turned successful or gone awry. #medieval #medievalarchitecture #medievalart #city #cityliving #paris #middleages #notredame #notredamedeparis #body #bodypolitics (presso Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLL5JZvJFQi/?igshid=kgrz18uw710b

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This notion of connection between a human being and the rest of their surroundings is not only relevant for the clergy, but also for how the world functioned. One could say that how the world functioned was mostly designed by the clergy; and relevant to our topic, the way the world was designed (by the clergy) had a lot to do with the previously stated premise, taken from the Bible, that the human body was connected to the rest of the world in the very act of divine creation. In the medieval period, this connection was not only dogmatically embraced, but also actively experienced in everyday life. Seeing domestic, and also wild (remember the notorious episode of the wolf raid in 15th century Paris) beast was a quite common site. As mentioned, peasants that couldn’t afford separate housing for animals, shared the same living space as their cattle. Pigs, cows, horses, chickens and alike were as commonly seen on the streets of Paris, as humans were. Denizens of Paris would still, though it was not always the best of ideas, use the water from the Seine for their everyday purposes. Today, this is a very, very bad idea. In the modern, industrialized world, one almost instinctively knows not to drink the river water – back then, it was the opposite. The world of today is being disconnected from the humans not only on account of pollution, but also on account of property. In the medieval period, all the way to the industrial revolution actually, the common land was a much more, well, common occurrence. Certain forests, rivers and fields didn’t belong to a lord, or the pope, or the king, or the city, but were left for everyone to use as they needed them. There was, in this fashion too, the sense of connection between the human and the, say, river, if it was commonly understood that the said river belonged to everyone. The changing view of property that the industrial revolution brought, changed the view of the body as well. #medieval #medievalarchitecture #medievalart #middleages #property #privateproperty #personalproperty #body #bodypolitics #city #cityliving #notredame #notredamedeparis #clergy #cathedral (presso Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLJWfzDpUDk/?igshid=1h2hr6zwro960

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The veneration and appreciation of the flesh the medieval clergy cultivated was, by extension, spread to the rest of the world. According to the Bible, God created humans out of dust. As the world was being made, humans came as the very pinnacle of divine effort, of divine creation. In this effort, the entirety of the world as such was used. Not only dust (or earth), but also all of the previous stages of divine creation. As is known, water also constitutes an important percentage of the human body. The point that the medieval clergy was well aware of, was that (biblically speaking at least), human was created out of earth (and water), and as therefore connected to the rest of the material world. The world in its entirety is connected to the human being in this way; the world, as created by god, is also holy, despite not necessarily having divine spirit blew into the nose. This is the important point to be made, because it addresses the relation a member of the clergy would have to the material reality as such. One could say that the clergy was more interested in eternity than they were in the quotidian, in the moment; and this was true. It needs to be said, though, that the eternity they envisioned was material as well as spiritual. Spirit was invoked and represented, as was the case in the church architecture and art, by material means – stained glass windows of many colors, paintings, statues, music (created via voices and very real instruments). The bond between the two was unbreakable. This is of special relevance for Catholicism, as, again, religious fetishes were and still are important in this religion. Even when the spirit is departed from its earthly vessel, the said vessel maintains holiness – as evidenced by all those lavishly ornate saintly bodies on display in gilded glass cases. The body, flesh, be it of a saint or of a regular person, is the work of god, and as such is also the path towards god. #medieval #middleages #medievalarchitecture #medievalart #medievalchurch #cathedral #notredame #notredamedeparis #body #bodypolitics #clergy #city #citylife #paris (presso Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLG4rOXptc9/?igshid=1jq6ou17eu0st

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The carnal nature of human being in the perspective of the medieval clergy was seldom denied during the medieval period. Evidence of this can be found in the Bible. Let us observe he verses of the Requiem’s Introit taken from the Psalms -Te decet hymnus Deus in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Hierusalem; exaudi orationem (meam), ad te omnis caro veniet (Psalms, 64:2-3 in the Latin Vulgate).A hymn O God, becometh Thee in Zion; and a vow shall be paid to Thee in Jerusalem, hear my prayer, all flesh shall come to Thee. Note how it is not stated that all the souls shall come to the Lord to receive the final judgment – but all the flesh. The substance of the human being, according not only to the Old Testament out of which these verses are taken, but also in Christian practice, out of which the tradition of Requiem mass comes, is flesh. The inextricable aspect of humanity, and according to these verses at least, the very essence of humanity, is flesh, rather than soul. Why else should all flesh come before the Lord? Why else should humans regain their material form, their carnal presence, in the Apocalypse? The idea is therefore that the flesh is what shall receive eternal life, or eternal death, which would in later stages of the Christian faith be interpreted as damnation. The importance of carnality and of the body in this particular case cannot be overstated. While certain bodies are obviously so important that they are considered holy; and become, therefore, an important commodity on the market of relics and religious fetishes, and are quantifiable in gold and silver pieces; while those bodies are obviously more holy than the others, all bodies, without exception, are considered as such to a certain extent. To a member of the medieval clergy, the body is not, by any measurable metrics, irrelevant or banal. #medieval #middleages #church #cathedral #clergy #notredame #notredamedeparis #body #bodypolitics #city #cityliving #medievalarchitecture #medievalart (presso Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLEJ_dsJots/?igshid=1n847c6id4uxt

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A couple of examples of medieval clerical open-mindedness are in order. Saint Thomas Aquinas stated that prostitutes were much like sewers, a notion unpleasant at the first glance, but most necessary and useful for the proper functioning of a society. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, famous as the knight of Virgin Mary (chevalier de Notre Dame), excelled in giving most passionate speeches on the topic of Virgin Mary, Christ and divine nature – his commentary on the Solomon’s Song of Songs, without a doubt the most sensual writings fond in the Bible, as well as his theory of god communicating with humans through three kisses speaks enough of this. The love story between Eloise and Abelard, a pupil and a well-known clergyman and scholar of his day, is legendary. So was their passion and commitment to one another. An example that does not necessarily come from the medieval period, but rather from late antiquity, is that of Saint Augustine – it had to be placed here if not for any other reason, than because it is one of the author’s favorite quotes ever. So it states – “ God, give me chastity and continence, but not yet”. The clergy of the medieval period, therefore, did not disregard their bodies as irrelevant, as prisons of the soul, and alike. Quite the opposite is true, as they held the body in great esteem and treated it with utmost reverence. After all, the body was created by god, in his image – if nothing but for that, it was holy, as every human body – male and female, indeed – was a direct creation of god. The aristocrat could have had arrogant disregard for life, and all things that came from the realm of the ephemeral and material. But for the clergyman, flesh was holy, and was to be treated as such, with utmost love, respect and care. One should observe medieval laws from this perspective. This is why it was forbidden to perform autopsies for most of this period, because it was considered ungodly and disrespectful to rummage about dead bodies. #medieval #medievalarchitecture #medievalart #middleages #body #bodypolitics #city #paris #medievalparis #notredame #notredamedeparis #cityliving #medievallove #abelardandheloise (presso Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLBmDxkJSaS/?igshid=4zd947kcabpm

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Resurrection, such an import aspect of the evangelical narrative, sees Christ restored in body and soul; the Apocalypse, another important aspect of the narrative, speaks about humans resuming their bodies to receive the final judgment, and then continuing to live, or not. The point is, that none of these instances suggests existence in soul alone. This is the posterior development, and has to do with later influences on the religion, out of which Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet that in many ways foresaw the coming of the renaissance, was one of the more important ones. In this regard, the medieval idea of the body entertained by the clergy, was very much oriented towards eternity, but, one of bodily presence, and one of material outline. Knowing this, knowing the importance the body has for the Catholics (not necessarily the same with the Orthodox), one can better understand the fetishism regarding the saintly bodies preserved in churches with highest honors, and treated as the most holy of relics. The way these relics were, and still to this day are, presented, was made to inspire awe and to suggest supernatural properties of such objects. Possessing a relic of importance was an important economic factor, too, as it attracted pilgrimage, the phenomenon today regarded as religious tourism. In other words, having a saintly body meant, quite simply, generating more income, and attracting more tourism, which was as good for local businesses back in the day as it is now. It is therefore perhaps of no surprise that some of the greatest saints and father figures of the Church, were, according to today’s standards as well as those of yore, fairly open minded people, some of them quite far from the image of a pious, self-flagellating priest. This, too, was more the exception that proved the rule, than the rule itself. Monks and priests of the time were more likely to overindulge in food and wine than to flog themselves out of fiery piety. #medieval #middleages #medievalparis #clergy #cler #paris #city #cityliving #medievalarchitecture #medievalart #conciergerie #iledelacite (presso Conciergerie) https://www.instagram.com/p/CK_MakJJDf0/?igshid=g15d9ppb4vap

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Regardless of how strong the connection between the aristocrat and god was, it was still not the strongest of the entire medieval society. That position belonged to the member of the clergy, the actual rulers of the society and the so called ‘first state’ in medieval France. The clergy was at the same time the highest, most respected societal strata, and perhaps paradoxically, at the same time the only one that gave some possibility of social mobility. A gifted medieval youngster could become a member of the monastery, and through diligent study, rise through the ranks of the Church. Some of the most important clergymen of medieval period, like abbot Suger (the inventor of Gothic style, and the personal advisor to the king Louis VII) were not of noble, but of common origin. Being a member of the clergy in the medieval period meant, in theory at least, renouncing the worldly affairs more so than the aristocracy, with the prospects of receiving the even higher reward. In this regard, the member of the clergy was the most adequate individual to control and oversee worldly matters, because they did not belong to the world. Their ambitions, aspirations and thoughts were all turned towards the sky. One might therefore think that the medieval clergy member was the one to completely disregard the body as the mere ‘dungeon of the soul’, as is the common trope, but this was not so. It was especially not so in France, the stronghold of the Marian Catholicism, a branch of religion that placed such a strong emphasis on Virgin Mary and therefore on the body – Virgin Mary being the giver of body to the Christ. Indeed, following the original message of the New Testament, the medieval members of the clergy conceptualized eternity in purely material, bodily fashion. When Christ speaks of eternal life, he does not offer it to the soul alone, but to body and soul alike. #medieval #medievalparis #middleages #medievalart #medievalarchitecture #stainedglass #stainedglasswindow #clergy #middleages #body #bodypolitics #religion #paris #medievalreligion #city #cityliving (presso Église Saint-Séverin) https://www.instagram.com/p/CK8YnPNp1lA/?igshid=lw3wh76swl2o

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The final aspect of the notion of a medieval aristocratic body has to do with the courage that was expected out of a professional warrior. This goes beyond our today’s conceptions of courage, and has a lot to do with the religious premise of what an aristocrat was – a being divinely chosen to rule, ensure laws and wage war. In this regard, if one is an instrument of god, they do not care what happens with their lives, as they are, in this regard, irrelevant. Compared to divine plan, each of the human instruments involved is ephemeral and, to a certain extent, interchangeable. A proper aristocrat would therefore never fret for their earthly existence, as by default and by definition, their essence was not of this earth. Being afraid or concerned for one’s worldly affairs such were management of money, housekeeping, and alike was right next to being concerned about one’s own existence. In this regard, the aristocrats were mimicking the Roman patricians, who found pride in showing how little they cared about their earthly affairs and existence – despite operating in a completely different, that is to say pagan, not Christian, religious and cultural context. The suicide by opening one’s wrists and ankles, allowed to the perpetrator of the act the spectacle of life slowly leaving their body, regarded with distant arrogance, elegant poise and sense of superiority over the said life itself. The medieval aristocrat was not as keen to commit suicide, as in Christianity it is a great sin, but they were as keen to look down upon the earthly existence and to embrace their ends, if not with open arms, certainly with utter indifference. The same can be said of the aristocratic relation to material objects. While the bourgeois would marvel over the artistry, finesse and skill it took to produce a masterful painting, or a cup, or a sword, the aristocrat would simply use those objects without giving them a second (nor a first) thought. #medieval #middleages #medievalarchitecture #medievalart #aristocracy #medievalparis #paris #city #body #bodypolitics https://www.instagram.com/p/CK54HWZJ4Z0/?igshid=1kunj0fk5tp2l

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One can understand the entire necessity of poise and performance of the aristocratic body if it is properly contextualized as the political instrument afore anything else. In this regard, the military nature of the aristocrat as a trained soldier and warrior also becomes more comprehensible. As it was stated, societies are held together by laws, and laws distribute violence (that is their end goal), and are also enforced by violence. It makes most sense therefore that the role of the enforcer is given to the person that is actually trained in violence, warfare and bloodshed. This was the logic of the medieval period. If ultimately the functionality of law is in violence, the person who is infused by that same quality from their very birth, who is elevated and educated to deal in it, is, by that logic, the best possible person to deal in it and to distribute it accordingly. Living in the bourgeois society as most of us today do, we tend to have a somewhat administrative, abstract understanding of the law – it is something lawyers and courts deal with. Not so in the medieval period, at least, not nearly to that extent. The laws emanated from the royal and from the aristocratic body, and laws were sublimated and personalized by the persons who at the same time were infused with the very essence of law as well as with its final outcome – violence. This, too, was the reason why the aristocrat’s role was not to inspire love, compassion, empathy, understanding or any of those currently valued traits of character. Understanding their military nature, and necessity to be ready for war – or, more accurately, to always give away the impression to be ready for war – was of far greater use in their lives than just about anything else. If one is to rule by fear and awe, one was to be savvy in the ways of violence, both in afflicting it, in projecting it, and enduring it. #medieval #medievalarchitecture #medievalart #aristo #aristocracy #middleages #paris #medievalparis #medievalaristocracy #body #bodypolitics #saintgermain (presso Saint-Germain-des-Prés) https://www.instagram.com/p/CK3Pxvqpota/?igshid=dqyhmrb3avjn

[parisinperson]

The capacity to rule by violence is an important aspect of the aristocratic body in the medieval period, and a notion that merits further explanation. One will agree that every society, regardless of the era, relies on laws. The laws, in order to work, rely on the distribution and control of violence – if one breaks the law, some form of violence will be applied on their person. This can range from carceration, corporeal or capital punishment – all of the instances are applications of violence in one form or the other. There is one major difference between modern bourgeois and the medieval societies. In the modern, post American and French revolution legislature, the law is defined by documents that the people (in theory) have agreed upon, and they apply to everyone (again, in theory) equally. The law is seen as an abstract form, hovering over society. Not so in the medieval period – the law was embodied in the actual body of the lord, be they a local aristocrat or the king. Lord’s body, infused by divine essence, was the law – both metaphorically and figuratively. As the aristocratic body was seen as different from birth, was trained to be different throughout their lives, was dressed to be visibly different – so was their capacity to exude lawfulness and right by their very presence. If one’s entire right to rule comes from the premise that they are divinely ordained; if, in that sense, they need to produce legitimate male heirs so as to continue the unbroken bond between ancestry and posterity through the law of primogeniture (the right of the first-born son); if these traits are the be-all of inheriting a title, it becomes clear why the body or the aristocrat, or, for that matter, the king, is an important political instrument. If a body is to exude and radiate law, it has to look, act and perform accordingly. The law has to be obvious and remarkable from the first glance. #medieval #medievalart #medievalparis #middleages #aristocracy #paris #body #bodypolitics #law #medievalaristocracy (presso Saint-Germain-des-Prés) https://www.instagram.com/p/CK0s_Mcp3er/?igshid=19478oz53tec0