Moral and objects of affect in the medieval world
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2021-02-03

It is well attested through archaeological and historical thinking that the medieval material world was littered with objects imbedded with meaning. The argument that medieval objects were fundamental for creating identities, life courses and ethnicity for the person using or wearing the object or artefact has received a great deal of scholarly attention. However, to a lesser extent objects’ capability to invoke affect in others largely remain unexplored in material culture studies of the medieval period. Artefacts in museums, as well as depictions in medieval art, show that even the most mundane objects had the potential to evoke affect, especially if manipulated in certain contexts and space. The medieval carnivals, for instance, frequently invoked material culture for both humour and a sense of moral. Objects that include teachings of virtue and vice, such as the ornate bowls of hand washing, is another example. Further, from Scandinavian medieval law texts, regulating wear of superfluous and extravagant dress, it is also apparent that people could behave outside the norm and moral code. Finally, the ”affect teachings”, popular in 17th century Sweden, give some further insights to the subject. Summing up, this paper addresses questions of moral teaching and affect in the medieval object-world, and it explores what some objects do, and how they have may have both intended and unintended affects in others.



Joakim Kjellberg, Uppsala University, Sweden