Foundation, Dedication and Consecration in Early Modern Europe: (22 Intersections)

Across all times and cultures, mankind has attached great importance to the foundation of buildings, cities and communities. By means of rituals of foundation, dedication and consecration, buildings and objects are charged with meaning. At the same time, these rituals bear witness of the way communities understand their own place in history, and how they position themselves in relation to others. As such, the study of these rituals deepens our understanding of society at large. Bringing together contributions from art history, architectural history, historiography and history of law, this volume is the first comprehensive exploration of the manifold meanings of foundation, dedication and consecration in early modern culture, which combined a renewed interest in notions of origins, history and identity with an exceptionally rich production of artefacts. Contributors include Piers Baker-Bates, Jorge Correia, Roger J. Crum, Maarten Delbeke, Alison C. Fleming, Dagmar Germonprez, Carmelina Gugliuzzo, Berthold Hub, Indra Kagis McEwen, Susan J. May, Brian J. Maxson, Anne-Françoise Morel, Almut Pollmer, Bernward Schmidt, Minou Schraven, Andrew Spicer, and Colin Wilder.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements Notes on the Editors Notes on the Contributors List of Figures List of Maps Foundation, Dedication and Consecration in Early Modern Europe: An Introduction MAARTEN DELBEKE AND MINOU SCHRAVEN I. FOUNDATION AND THE HUMANIST QUEST FOR ORIGINS Founding an Ideal City in Filarete’s Libro Architettonico BERTHOLD HUB Stepping Out of Brunelleschi’s Shadow: The Consecration of S. Maria del Fiore as International Statecraft in Renaissance Florence ROGER J. CRUM Establishing Independence: Leonardo Bruni’s History of the Florentine People and Ritual in Fifteenth-Century Florence BRIAN J. MAXSON Pienza: Relics, Ritual and Architecture in the City of a Renaissance Pope SUSAN J. MAY Founding Rome Anew: Sixtus IV and the Foundation of Ponte Sisto, 1473 MINOU SCHRAVEN II. (RE)FOUNDATION AS PURIFICATION AND APPROPRIATION A Means for the Projection of ‘Soft Power’: ‘Spanish’ Churches at Rome 1469-1527 PIERS BAKER-BATES Clash of Power and Creed: Cultural (Re)foundations in Northwest Africa JORGE CORREIA Building a Sense of Belonging: The Foundation of Valletta in Malta CARMELINA GUGLIUZZO St Ignatius of Loyola’s “Vision at la Storta” and the Foundation of the Society of Jesus ALISON C. FLEMING III CONSECRATION CEREMONIES AFTER TRENT Consecration and Violation: Preserving the Sacred Landscape in the (Arch)diocese of Cambrai, c. 1550-1570 ANDREW SPICER Foundation Rites in the Southern Netherlands: Constructing a Counter-Reformational Architecture DAGMAR GERMONPREZ Church Consecration in England 1549-1715: An Unestablished Ceremony ANNE-FRANÇOISE MOREL Ritual and its Negation: ‘Dedicatio Ecclesiae’ and the Reformed First Sermon ALMUT POLLMER-SCHMIDT AND BERNWARD SCHMIDT III. NEW BEGINNINGS Midsummer Moderns: The Foundation of the Paris Observatory, 21 June 1667 INDRA KAGIS MCEWEN The Importance of Beginning, Over and Over: The Idea of Primitive Germanic Law COLIN WILDER Index Nominum

About the Author :
Maarten Delbeke, Ph.D. (2001) in Architecture, Ghent University, is Associate Professor at Ghent University, and researcher at the LUICD of Leiden University. He has published on Early Modern theory of art and architecture, as well as modern architecture Minou Schraven, Ph.D. (2006) in Art History, Groningen University, is postdoctoral fellow at Leiden University. She has published on early modern material and festival culture, including her Festive Funerals in Early Modern Italy. Cultures of Conspicuous Commemoration (in press, Ashgate).

Review :
"[C]ontributions to this book provide valuable insights into cultural and religious difference as they pertain to (re)foundation and (re)consecration. [...] [I]t begins with an intriguing episode of the performative assertion of land possession and its scholarly value is not in dispute [...]. [...] It is a valuable compendium of rites and customs that were important elements of earlymodern culture and have long deserved a closer look." – Sally J. Cornelison, University of Kansas, in: Renaissance Quarterly 65/4 (Winter 2012), pp. 1196-1198