Hayes, Dawn Marie 1968–

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Hayes, Dawn Marie 1968–

PERSONAL:

Born June 17, 1968. Education: City University of New York Graduate Center, Diploma in Latin, 1989; B.A., 1990; M.A., 1992; New York University, Ph.D., 1998.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of History, Montclair State University, 426 Dickson Hall, Montclair, NJ 07043. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Educator, writer, and administrator. New York University, New York, NY, teaching assistant, 1991-94, administrative assistant, 1993, 1996; Web master and Web designer, 1996-97; College of Staten Island, New York, NY, adjunct lecturer, 1996-98; Iona College, New Rochelle, NY, assistant professor, 1998-2002, department of history and political science Web master and Web designer, 1999-2002; Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York, New York, NY, assistant professor, 2002-03; Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, assistant professor, 2003-06, newsletter editor, 2005—, associate professor, 2006—, director of Sicily summer study abroad program, 2006—; International Catholic History Discussion List (H-Catholic) Web site, list editor, 2004—. Writer for the History Channel, 1999, ProQuest, 2002, and KnowledgeNotes, 2002.

MEMBER:

Medieval Academy of America; American Historical Association; American Catholic Historical Association; Mediterranean Studies Association; Hagiography Society; Medieval Club of New York.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Graduate assistantships, New York University, 1991-94; Golden Dozen Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, New York University, 1994; Bernadotte E. Schmitt Grant, American Historical Association, 1996, 2000; Student Travel Grant, New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science, 1998; Faculty Travel and Research Summer Grant, Iona College, 1999; Faculty Instructional Technology Initiative Grant, Iona College, 1999; Arts Council Grant: Conference on Eastern Catholic Churches, Iona College, 2000; Faculty Instructional Technology Award, Iona College, 2000; Collegium Fellowship, Iona College, 2001; PSC-CUNY Research Award, Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York, 2003; NEH Summer Institute for College Teachers: Anglo-Saxon England, Cambridge University, 2004; Global Education Grant, Montclair State University, 2004; Summer Grant Proposal Development Award, Montclair State University, 2004; Global Education Grant, Montclair State University, 2004, 2006, and 2007; Student Faculty Research Award, Montclair State University, 2004; Research Award, Montclair State University, 2005; Dean's Recognition Award, Montclair University, 2007; Teaching Fellow, Montclair's Research Academy for University Learning, 2007-08.

WRITINGS:

Body and Sacred Place in Medieval Europe, 1100-1389, Routledge (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

Born June 17, 1968, Dawn Marie Hayes is a specialist in medieval European history. She received a diploma in Latin from the City University of New York Graduate Center in 1989 and went on to obtain her B.A. in 1990 and her M.A. in 1992. She earned her Ph.D. in history in 1998 from New York University and began teaching. She was also a writer for the History Channel and for an online history research service, as well as the creator and Web master for several university and history department Web sites.

Hayes's first book, Body and Sacred Place in Medieval Europe, 1100-1389, is an expansion of her doctoral thesis. In it she examines the medieval Christian experience of the relationship between the physical human body and the physical space in the church building. In the Middle Ages, although churches were considered to be sacred spaces, they actually held roles in both the sacred and secular lives of their congregations. The cathedral enclave was not as compartmentalized as it became later, and the spaces within it were used ambiguously, flowing between spiritual and mundane. Hayes writes about how the church building reflected the medieval attitude toward the human body, which was used as a metaphor to teach worshipers about the correct use and understanding of both. The church, in turn, stood for the body of Christ, the human body, and the body of the laity.

Hayes uses two case studies to illustrate her thesis. First is the murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in England on December 29, 1170. She uses accounts of the murder to exemplify the definition of sacred space. The murder was particularly shocking because of its desecration of a time—Christmas vespers—and place, as well as the sacred body of an archbishop. Contemporary accounts written by those who supported Becket against King Henry II suggest that the grisly murder actually achieved Becket's goal of bringing the English church back under the control of the papacy, consecrating the cathedral as sacred space by the sacrifice of Becket's sacred body, and establishing it as a popular attraction for pilgrims.

Hayes's second case study concerns the Miracle of Our Lady of Chartres at Chartres Cathedral in France. It is her contention that cults of the saints were exploited as an advertising campaign by the clergy of Chartres as a means of raising funds to rebuild the church after it was destroyed by fire in 1194. A relic held by the cathedral called the Sancta Camisia was supposed to be the shirt worn by Mary while she was giving birth to Jesus, thereby touching both their bodies. This relic was given credit for performing many miracles in an attempt to establish the cathedral as a place of pilgrimage.

There were many instances of mundane use of the cathedral space, and Hayes explores the various forms these took. Nondevotional uses of cathedral spaces were common and considered completely appropriate by the laity. Graveyards and churchyards in particular were used for village fairs and special sales, and cloisters were frequently used on a regular basis as hostels for pilgrims and as taverns, courtrooms, and gaming parlors. As the Middle Ages progressed, however, the spaces in the cathedral became more defined as clergy restricted access to certain spaces. Hayes interprets this as the clerical response to changes in society that increasingly viewed reason and faith as separate realities.

In the Catholic Historical Review, Susan Laningham called Body and Sacred Place in Medieval Europe, 1100-1389 "well written and extensively annotated," and Roberta Gilchrist, in her review in the Journal of Ecclesiastical History, praised the book for its "strong case studies that explore the conflict between theory and practice in medieval sacred space."