Perpetual Light

Through the visual and musical symbolism of the funerals of Ferdinand I, this chapter considers the ways in which resurrection’s role in the medieval community of faith was reimagined in Counter-Reformation Catholicism. By the time of Ferdinand’s death in 1564, the image of a universal Christianity had fractured, and the Holy Roman Empire was never again to be united by faith. In the imperial funerals in Vienna and Prague, however, ceremonial objects and polyphonic motets transformed resurrection’s ancient promises of reunion and triumph over decay into prophecies for the future of empire and of Catholicism. The funerals presented an overarching argument about the community of faith that marks a fundamental shift: whereas symbols of resurrection had been implicitly understood as common bonds, observers at Ferdinand’s funerals recast them as promises clear only to those whose faith had taught them to hear and see in particular ways.