Aesthetics and the Incarnation in Early Medieval Britain: Materiality and the Flesh of the Word

This study explores the theology of Insular art in Early Medieval Britain, treating it as a "contact zone" of cultural clash and exchange. It demonstrates how local cultures received the "Word that was made flesh" in distinctive ways, such as through verbal, poetic, and embodied forms, often disavowed by orthodox authorities. The book's primary material includes visual art, obscure texts, and the esoterica of the wisdom tradition, providing a prehistory for the experimental poetics of Middle English devotion.

Format: Hardback
Length: 340 pages
Publication date: 15 June 2023
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press

This extensive study presents Insular art on its own terms, unveiling a distinctive and unconventional theology that will undoubtedly reshape scholars' understanding of the long trajectory of English piety and the English literary tradition. By employing a diverse array of critical methodologies, Aesthetics and the Incarnation in Early Medieval Britain treats this era as a "contact zone" of cultural collision and exchange, where Christianity encountered a rich amalgamation of practices and attitudes, particularly concerning the sensible realm. Tiffany Beechy vividly illustrates how local cultures, including the Irish learned tradition, received the "Word that was made flesh," the central figure of Christian doctrine, in distinct ways: the Word, for instance, was verbal, related to words and signs, and was not at all ineffable. Similarly, the Word was often poetic—an enigma—and its powerful presence was not merely hinted at (as St. Augustine would have it) but manifest in the mouth or on the page. Beechy delves into how these Insular traditions received and expressed a distinctly iterable Incarnation, which was often disavowed and condemned by orthodox authorities. This was primarily an implicit theology, expressed or embodied in form (such as art, compilation, or metaphor) rather than in treatises. Beechy showcases how these forms drew upon various authorities, particularly significant to Britain—Bede, Gregory the Great, and Isidore, among the most prominent.

Beechy's study offers a prehistory in the English literary tradition for the more renowned experimental poetics of Middle English devotion. The book stands out for its remarkable diversity of primary material, encompassing visual art, including the Book of Kells; obscure and often briefly treated texts such as Adamnáns De locis sanctis (On the holy lands); and the challenging esoterica.

Dimension: 229 x 152 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780268205157