What do you think?
Rate this book
Sanctuary
Sanctuary is an ancient right. But what does it mean today? Drawing on a lifetime of engagement with literature, myth, history and tradition from different cultures, Marina Warner's Sanctuary is an ambitious attempt to grapple with the sharpest questions that we are facing in today's world of global turmoil.
Sanctuary is an ancient right– a haven, a place of refuge and freedom from harm. In the classical world, it offered immunity to fugitives from justice; in medieval Europe it extended a reprieve to all who sought sanctuary in a church or holy site. It was a sacrilege to lay hands on a sanctuary was sacred.
But what are the principles that govern this ancient tradition? Could a revived practice of sanctuary today offer security, a home for those who seek it? What could ‘sanctuary’ offer to those who have been displaced? Or does the idea support excluding those of a certain race or creed?
Increasingly, in keeping with the general growth of nationalism and individualism, the arc of the concept has been bending away from a place of openness and welcome towards a private safe place, a home and homeland as sanctuaries to be defended against strangers, migrants, incomers.
In this groundbreaking book, the distinguished cultural historian Marina Warner explores the principles that underpin the tradition of ‘sanctuary’. She ranges broadly across myth and history and explores the concept of hospitality, the cult of relics, shrines and festivals, the imagination of place, and travelling tales. She asks profound questions about political ideas of a right to safety, home, freedom of movement, and peace.
Sanctuary was written alongside work with the project “Stories in Transit” which brings young refugees together with artists, writers and musicians in the UK and in Sicily to invent or reimagine stories and perform them. Marina Warner reflects on the ways stories address the worst experiences of humanity and argues that the act of storytelling offers a salve, a route to a site of mutual interaction and understanding, a new place of belonging and conviviality. The book draws on a lifetime of engagement with literature, myth, history and tradition from different cultures. It is an ambitious attempt to grapple with the sharpest questions that we are facing in a world of global turmoil. Warner’s inquiry could not be more relevant.
Sanctuary is an ancient right– a haven, a place of refuge and freedom from harm. In the classical world, it offered immunity to fugitives from justice; in medieval Europe it extended a reprieve to all who sought sanctuary in a church or holy site. It was a sacrilege to lay hands on a sanctuary was sacred.
But what are the principles that govern this ancient tradition? Could a revived practice of sanctuary today offer security, a home for those who seek it? What could ‘sanctuary’ offer to those who have been displaced? Or does the idea support excluding those of a certain race or creed?
Increasingly, in keeping with the general growth of nationalism and individualism, the arc of the concept has been bending away from a place of openness and welcome towards a private safe place, a home and homeland as sanctuaries to be defended against strangers, migrants, incomers.
In this groundbreaking book, the distinguished cultural historian Marina Warner explores the principles that underpin the tradition of ‘sanctuary’. She ranges broadly across myth and history and explores the concept of hospitality, the cult of relics, shrines and festivals, the imagination of place, and travelling tales. She asks profound questions about political ideas of a right to safety, home, freedom of movement, and peace.
Sanctuary was written alongside work with the project “Stories in Transit” which brings young refugees together with artists, writers and musicians in the UK and in Sicily to invent or reimagine stories and perform them. Marina Warner reflects on the ways stories address the worst experiences of humanity and argues that the act of storytelling offers a salve, a route to a site of mutual interaction and understanding, a new place of belonging and conviviality. The book draws on a lifetime of engagement with literature, myth, history and tradition from different cultures. It is an ambitious attempt to grapple with the sharpest questions that we are facing in a world of global turmoil. Warner’s inquiry could not be more relevant.
- GenresNonfiction
399 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 3, 2025
7 people are currently reading
98 people want to read
About the author
Marina Warner
172 books343 followersMarina Sarah Warner is a British novelist, short story writer, historian and mythographer. She is known for her many non-fiction books relating to feminism and myth.
She is a professor in the Department of Literature, Film and Theatre at the University of Essex, and gave the Reith Lectures on the BBC in 1994 on the theme of 'Managing Monsters: Six Myths of Our Time.'
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 19, 2025
"Sanctuary has taken the form of a sacred precinct or holy mountain, a secret enclave or a safe and private refuge, but it is above all a disposition and an idea that underpins actions."
This cultural history of sanctuary, written in light of the modern-day refugee crisis, reaches beyond the conventional borders of this term to explore its wider connotations: forms of sacredness, the idea of refuge from harm, storytelling as a source of safety. Warner pulls from a surprising range of sources—medieval relics and Italian opera both play starring roles—to examine how these objects, from institutions of faith in embattled areas to the act of storytelling for modern refugees, provide solace and security. This broadness of scope sometimes makes the thread of Warner's argument difficult to trace, but the components of her argument are all fascinating (I was particularly taken by her close study of how medieval relics were venerated, and the ways in which the story of Dido and Aeneas connect both characters' status as people displaced from their homelands), shedding engaging light on the history and future of sanctuary.
This cultural history of sanctuary, written in light of the modern-day refugee crisis, reaches beyond the conventional borders of this term to explore its wider connotations: forms of sacredness, the idea of refuge from harm, storytelling as a source of safety. Warner pulls from a surprising range of sources—medieval relics and Italian opera both play starring roles—to examine how these objects, from institutions of faith in embattled areas to the act of storytelling for modern refugees, provide solace and security. This broadness of scope sometimes makes the thread of Warner's argument difficult to trace, but the components of her argument are all fascinating (I was particularly taken by her close study of how medieval relics were venerated, and the ways in which the story of Dido and Aeneas connect both characters' status as people displaced from their homelands), shedding engaging light on the history and future of sanctuary.
unappealing
October 21, 2025Could not finish this. Only way I can describe it is "Death by Example"
When the writer provides an example, usually more than one, to prove a point, she unfortunately goes into excruciating detail. Biblical and mythological history is discussed so in depth that you forget what point she's trying to make.
Perhaps if I had more of a background in myth and biblical stories I would have enjoyed this, but I felt like I was scouring the book for the point of each chapter, drowning in detail.
When the writer provides an example, usually more than one, to prove a point, she unfortunately goes into excruciating detail. Biblical and mythological history is discussed so in depth that you forget what point she's trying to make.
Perhaps if I had more of a background in myth and biblical stories I would have enjoyed this, but I felt like I was scouring the book for the point of each chapter, drowning in detail.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews