Touching Female Memories in the Purification Funerary Chapel in Burgos (c. 1482–1531)

Late medieval women, such as the Countess of Haro Mencía de Mendoza, crafted sophisticated funerary ensembles that blended architecture, art, and sensory elements to shape memory and experience. The Purification Chapel in Burgos Cathedral (c. 1482–1531), commissioned by Mencía, exemplifies this interplay between gender, perception, and cognition. Through art historical analysis, the study reveals how intersensorial design—combining visual, tactile, and liturgical elements—created immersive spaces that challenged textual-centric interpretations of medieval thought. This work highlights the nuanced ways women like Mencía leveraged sensory manipulation to assert influence, offering new insights into the cognitive and perceptual models of the era.

Paulino Montero, E. (2024). Touching Female Memories in the Purification Funerary Chapel in Burgos (c. 1482–1531). Nuncius, 39(2), 275–304. https://doi.org/10.1163/18253911-bja10104