ABSTRACT

The ekphraseis of sacred buildings that are such a precious source of information about the appearance and structure of monuments and about the ways in which those monuments were seen by contemporary viewers are often, for very good reasons, associated primarily with the sense of sight. The self-proclaimed goal of ekphrasis is to bring its subject "before the eyes", and today we encounter these texts primarily through the medium of the written word laid out on the printed page. This chapter explores one particular aspect of these texts: their evocation of a perceiving body—surrounded by and moving through the space defined by the building—in order to create a sense of presence that goes far beyond pure visuality. By engaging the various senses of their listeners—sight, hearing, touch, and the all-important kinesthetic awareness—the authors of ekphraseis bring about a virtual multisensory experience of being inside the sacred space of the church.