When Past and Present Intermingle: Balsamon’s Comments on Feasts and Liturgies, lecture by Béatrice Caseau (Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV)), Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, February 4, 2020, 6:15 pm

This communication will present aspects of the 12th century canonists on the proper behavior inside churches. Reading and commenting ancient canons, the canonists express their opinions on the way one should behave, pray and sing inside contemporary churches. They contrast the behavior of the past with that of the present. They also criticize contemporary behavior and offer their own ideas on what should be changed. Their comments provide us with a lively picture of religious ceremonies and festivals in the 12th century.

Béatrice Caseau is professor of Byzantine history at the University of Paris-Sorbonne. She is the director of the research cluster LABEX RESMED (Religions and society in the Mediterranean world). Her research interests concentrate on Late Antique and Byzantine Christianity. She has written on the history of incense, the cultural history of the senses, especially on smell, taste and touch, on the history of Christian liturgies, and particularly on eucharistic practices, on religious violence and destruction of statuary, and on the history of childhood and family networks.