Anthologizing the medieval senses: a methodological overview

Abstract

Sensology has grown to be an indispensable element in the cultural analysis of all aspects of the Middle Ages. As it has expanded in importance and range, its methodological concerns and range of subject matter have developed as well, something that can be elucidated particularly well by examining collections of essays on the medieval senses. One can trace this development from the early interest in the sense of sight in art historical anthologies; to pansensorial collections intent on all five external senses, perhaps limited by geography or discipline; to anthologies including aspects of the global Middle Ages; and to collections focused on the interface of sensory experience and objects. In these collections (and looking ahead to the future), phenomenology combined with anthropological forms of analysis is essential to uncovering the way the senses are integral to the cultural production of meaning that lies at the heart of sensology.

Comunidad sensorial y mundo animal en Rábano Mauro. El caso de las maravillas

“…En los últimos diez años, desde la antropología, la historia y la sociología se han realizado balances sobre la agenda del mundo sensible que revelan una transformación del interés original en el simbolismo sensorial hacia una mayor preocupación por las experiencias y prácticas sensoriales (Coronado Schwindt, 2020;Newhauser, 2021;Ortúzar Escudero, 2021).…”

La naturaleza sensorial del poder regio en la Segunda Partida de Alfonso X

“…Para un actual balance historiográfico sobre publicaciones centradas en los sentidos en la época medieval, véaseNewhauser (2021).…”