ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with how life in the public sphere was reflected in terms of what lived gender and lived religion meant to late medieval and early modern people. It focuses on people’s actions; on symbols, rituals and performances; and on forms of devotion that were intertwined with mundane activities lived among everyday routines and troubles. One major element consists of rituals that were public or deliberately made so. The chapter starts with pilgrimages, which were public rituals often having a background motivation in domestic relations and family life. In addition to pilgrimages, medieval and early modern religiosity embraced various other public performances as constitutive elements. They were a way to contest and confirm gendered expectations. A heated topic, for example, was the act of preaching by both lay men and women. It challenged not only gender expectations but also essential societal hierarchies.
