Baptismal Fonts in Medieval Parish Churches Carolyn Twomey
Event details
A physical place of spiritual transformation and initiation, the baptismal font is a key focal point of popular religion in medieval Christianity. Join historian Carolyn Twomey as she explores the multifaceted social and ritual roles of the font in the premodern past and its significance to parish communities.
Carolyn will address the long history of baptismal architecture in Britain from late antique Roman baptisteries to the solidification of baptism in carved stones inside Yorkshire parish churches by the 11th and 12th centuries. Using the decorated font of St Helen’s Church as her inspiration, Carolyn will reveal how fonts were active ‘living stones’ within medieval communities that directed parishioner movement and represented the architecture and iconography of their surrounding churches in miniature. These highly interactive objects supplied sacred water for the rites of initiation as well as medical cures and curses.
Both human and holy objects, discover why fonts continue to fascinate today and remain important monuments to local life.
Image credit: Carolyn Twomey
About the speaker
Dr Carolyn Twomey is an Assistant Professor in medieval European history at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, US, with publications and research interests on the early medieval sculpture, liturgy, and archaeology of Britain and Ireland. She completed her MA at the University of York, UK in 2008. She is the Editor of the journal Church Archaeology published by the Society for Church Archaeology and is currently writing a book on the material history of baptism in early medieval England.
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