Anthologizing the medieval senses: a methodological overview

Sensology has grown to be an indispensable element in the cultural analysis of all aspects of the Middle Ages. As it has expanded in importance and range, its methodological concerns and range of subject matter have developed as well, something that can be elucidated particularly well by examining collections of essays on the medieval senses. One can trace this development from the early interest in the sense of sight in art historical anthologies; to pansensorial collections intent on all five external senses, perhaps limited by geography or discipline; to anthologies including aspects of the global Middle Ages; and to collections focused on the interface of sensory experience and objects. In these collections (and looking ahead to the future), phenomenology combined with anthropological forms of analysis is essential to uncovering the way the senses are integral to the cultural production of meaning that lies at the heart of sensology.