Medieval pilgrims not only worshipped relics, they also venerated statues and paintings. These images or idols' were of particular importance in the day-to-day religion of ordinary people judged superstitious by the Church.

This volume, on the cult of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) in Byzantium, focuses on textual and historical aspects of the subject, thus complementing previous work which has centered more on the cult of images of the Mother of God. This international cast of scholars, consider the development and transformation of the cult from approximately the fourth through the twelfth centuries. The aim of this volume is to build on recent work on the cult of the Virgin Mary in Byzantium and to explore new areas of study. The rationale is critical and historical, using literary, artistic, and archaeological sources to evaluate her role in the development of the Byzantine understanding of the ways in which God interacts with creation by means of icons, relics and the Theotokos.

By the late Middle Ages, manifestations of Marian devotion had become multifaceted and covered all aspects of religious, private and personal life. Mary becomes a universal presence that accompanies the faithful on pilgrimage, in dreams, as holy visions, and as pictorial representations in church space and domestic interiors. The first part of the volume traces the development of Marian iconography in sculpture, panel paintings, and objects, such as seals, with particular emphasis on Italy, Slovenia and the Hungarian Kingdom. The second section traces the use of Marian devotion in relation to space, be that a country or territory, a monastery or church or personal space, and explores the use of space in shaping new liturgical practices, new Marian feasts and performances, and the bodily performance of ritual objects.

Before the Renaissance and Reformation, holy images were treated not as "art" but as objects of veneration which possessed the tangible presence of the Holy. the faithful believed that these images served as relics and were able to work miracles, deliver oracles, and bring victory to the battlefield. In this magisterial book, Hans Belting traces the long history of the sacral image and its changing role--from surrogate for the represented image to an original work of art--in European culture. Likeness and Presence looks at the beliefs, superstitions, hopes, and fears that come into play as people handle and respond to sacred images, and presents a compelling interpretation of the place of the image in Western history. -- Back cover

A case study of the meaning and purpose of pilgrimage, based on the image of the 'scarred Virgin', Our Lady of Czestochowa. The tradition of pilgrimage to an image is so well-established as to be taken for granted. Throughout Christian history large numbers of people have made journeys to images associated with miracles, yet the phenomenon has never been a subject of detailed scholarly scrutiny. This book explores the issue through a case study of the origins of pilgrimage to one such image, Our Lady of Czestochowa in Poland. The shrine remains one of the most prominent pilgrimage destinations in the Catholic world: the striking focal panel painting shows the Virgin Mary with an apparently scarred face, and the legend of the picture's origin claims that it was painted by St Luke and desecrated by iconoclasts. The author assesses the significance of the stories attached to the shrine, and goes beyond them to consider the practices and responses of the pilgrims. Drawing on the earliest surviving miracle collections, he also explores the interaction between the pilgrims and the image of the 'scarred' Virgin. ROBERT MANIURA is Lecturer in the History of Renaissance Art, Birkbeck College, University of London.

Focuses on one of the most attractive features of late medieval manuscript illumination: the portrait of the book owner at prayer within the pages of her prayer-book.