Sensus corporei, sensus spirituales: The Sensory Community of Paulinus of Nola
Sensus corporei, sensus spirituales: The Sensory Community of Paulinus of Nola

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to examine Paulinus of Nola’s treatment of the senses in the context of Christian devotional practice. The framework of this research is defined by the assumption that the group of people to whom Paulinus addressed his works – particularly in the Natalicia – constituted a sensory community: a group that shared a basic set of perceptions and values associated with sensory experience. In a manner typical of early Christian authors, Paulinus believed that humans could rely on two complementary but essentially distinct sensory apparatuses, which can be broadly described as physical and spiritual. According to this view, the spiritual sensorium should serve to perceive a reality that is inaccessible to the physical senses. In this context, we will analyze the ways and means by which Paulinus attempted to teach his sensory community about entering into the presence of God through the use of the spiritual senses and through the intercession of the saints – especially St. Felix.

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