Re-use, Restoration and Innovation: re-examining English Catholic Liturgical Material Culture, 1580-1700

Abstract

This thesis uses liturgical artefacts as a lens through which to examine the religious practice and community identity of English Catholics during the early modern period. Surviving liturgical artefacts are often challenging sources for researchers as they can lack provenance or be steeped in mythical associations developed by subsequent generations. This thesis demonstrates the benefits of using the object biography methodology, developed by material culture studies, to unpick relevant information from liturgical material culture to further understand the Catholic community which created and engaged with it. By looking at the wider lifecycle of these artefacts, object biography pinpoints repeated patterns of behaviour by English Catholics of repair, re-use and adaptation, as well as points of divergence. This thesis conducts an in-depth study of the stylistic development of English Catholic liturgical artefacts from 1580-1700, which fills a significant gap in research. Previous scholarship has largely focussed on individual artefacts rather than overall trends or used liturgical material culture as secondary evidence to support textual based arguments. It challenges ideas of how we categorise English Catholic liturgical material culture and the problems that have developed by previous authors describing these artefacts as ‘recusant’. The thesis examines the makers, materials, and history of this material culture more comprehensively than previous studies, identifying previously unknown craftspeople and artefacts. The design and form of English Catholic liturgical artefacts both mirrored the social and political character of the community and likewise helped to shape the identity of that community through successive generations as indicators of history and memory. This thesis demonstrates the need to include material culture in the broader study of English Catholic history, particularly as new collections are becoming more accessible for researchers.