Sacred Pain

Pain is a form of suffering, physically or mentally that any individual can undergo. Given the perplexity that inexplicable pain can pose it is surprising how common voluntary pain has been among religions of the world. Sacred pain as a sensory or sensual experience played a key role particularly in Medieval Art. In the article, Sacred Pain and the Phenomenal Self by Ariel Glucklich she identifies those who are common to acts of sacred pain, “Ascetics, mystics, and martyrs have sought and applied pain- in rights of passage (ordeals) and other forms of initiation- in the service of religious inquisition” (Glucklich 389).Though it is surprising how often sacred pain is presented, it is not surprising how common pain as punishment is portrayed as public spectacle in medieval art. Medieval culture had an obsession with violence, self-inflicted pain, and tortured bodies as evident by the literature and art made at the time. The amount of power …show more content…
The basic operation of the wheel is for it to be used by and executioner as a means of breaking the body. Once the body is twisted, bent and broken the body is then elevated. This portrayal of pain can also heavily influence a society by means of empathy but also as a tool for civilizing a society and making them conform in attempt to avoid the risk of torture. The Circle of the Master of Martyrdom piece shows the negative side of the senses, it pushes the boundaries of the body in a painful and shocking way. In the Broken Body as Spectacle Merback emphasizes, that intense violence through imagery should evoke emotion or cultivate compassion in order to have a meaningful and cultural purpose (Merback). The idea that these images were meant to cultivate compassion is important because physical pain is a highly charged subject in human relations and can impact the ways in which a society functions (Cohen