Dr Emily Davenport Guerry

My research focuses on saints, relics, and devotion in the medieval imagination.

I teach papers across medieval British, European, and world history, as well as options related to visual culture and I supervise dissertations on medieval art, architecture, and devotional culture.

Research Interests

The way in which art and architecture shapes the devotional experience of relic cults stands at the heart of what I do – if the sacred object is like a battery, its miracle-working presence is the electricity, and the surrounding visual culture is the machine that generates meaning.

My research examines the relationship between religious devotion and artistic representation in the Middle Ages, retracing and unpacking how the veneration of relics influenced Christian iconography. I am especially interested in the historical context surrounding changes in the representation of Crucifixion, as well as the patrons, theologians, and artists who facilitated its reinvention. Some of my current projects focus on the Gothic wall paintings in Paris and Angers, royal patronage at Westminster, the role of diplomats in the collection of relics from Constantinople, and the development of religious cults across the British Isles, Europe, and the wider Mediterranean.

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