Alan Scott
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198263616
- eISBN:
- 9780191682612
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198263616.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Philosophy of Religion
It was widely assumed by intellectuals from antiquity to the Middle Ages that the beauty and regularity of the heavens was a sign of their superior life. Through this belief the stars gained an ...
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It was widely assumed by intellectuals from antiquity to the Middle Ages that the beauty and regularity of the heavens was a sign of their superior life. Through this belief the stars gained an important position in Greek religion, and speculations on their nature figured prominently in discussions of human psychology and eschatology. In the 3rd century AD the influential Christian theologian Origen included Hellenistic theories on the life and nature of the stars in his cosmology. This marked an interesting episode in the history of the idea, but it also had important implications for early Christian theology. Although he was condemned as heretical for these (and other) speculations, he was successful in incorporating traditional philosophical theories about the stars into a biblical theology.Less
It was widely assumed by intellectuals from antiquity to the Middle Ages that the beauty and regularity of the heavens was a sign of their superior life. Through this belief the stars gained an important position in Greek religion, and speculations on their nature figured prominently in discussions of human psychology and eschatology. In the 3rd century AD the influential Christian theologian Origen included Hellenistic theories on the life and nature of the stars in his cosmology. This marked an interesting episode in the history of the idea, but it also had important implications for early Christian theology. Although he was condemned as heretical for these (and other) speculations, he was successful in incorporating traditional philosophical theories about the stars into a biblical theology.
Arthur Versluis
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195306378
- eISBN:
- 9780199850914
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195306378.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This book provides an investigation into the intellectual origins of totalitarianism. The book unveils the connections between heretic-hunting in early and medieval Christianity, and the emergence of ...
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This book provides an investigation into the intellectual origins of totalitarianism. The book unveils the connections between heretic-hunting in early and medieval Christianity, and the emergence of totalitarianism in the 20th century. It shows how secular political thinkers in the 19th century inaugurated a tradition of defending the Inquisition, and how Inquisition-style heretic-hunting later manifested across the spectrum of 20th-century totalitarianism. This book begins with early Christianity, and traces heretic-hunting as a phenomenon through the middle ages and right into the 20th century, showing how the same inquisitional modes of thought recur both on the political Left and on the political Right.Less
This book provides an investigation into the intellectual origins of totalitarianism. The book unveils the connections between heretic-hunting in early and medieval Christianity, and the emergence of totalitarianism in the 20th century. It shows how secular political thinkers in the 19th century inaugurated a tradition of defending the Inquisition, and how Inquisition-style heretic-hunting later manifested across the spectrum of 20th-century totalitarianism. This book begins with early Christianity, and traces heretic-hunting as a phenomenon through the middle ages and right into the 20th century, showing how the same inquisitional modes of thought recur both on the political Left and on the political Right.
Solomon Schimmel
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195188264
- eISBN:
- 9780199870509
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195188264.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter explains the author's motives for writing this book, which originated in his being raised as an Orthodox Jew, to which he was deeply committed from early childhood until adulthood. He ...
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This chapter explains the author's motives for writing this book, which originated in his being raised as an Orthodox Jew, to which he was deeply committed from early childhood until adulthood. He received an intensive education in traditional Jewish religious life, literature, and belief, at home and in yeshivot (Jewish parochial schools), but from a young age harbored doubts about the core theological belief of Orthodoxy that the Pentateuch was revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai. Upon exposure to modern biblical scholarship, philosophical and literary critiques of religion, and modern biology and science he eventually concluded, in his early twenties, that he could no longer believe that which he had been taught from childhood. The chapter describes the emotional effects and social consequences of losing a faith which one loves (and in some respects continues to love), and the intellectual freedom earned by rejecting Orthodox beliefs and becoming a heretic.Less
This chapter explains the author's motives for writing this book, which originated in his being raised as an Orthodox Jew, to which he was deeply committed from early childhood until adulthood. He received an intensive education in traditional Jewish religious life, literature, and belief, at home and in yeshivot (Jewish parochial schools), but from a young age harbored doubts about the core theological belief of Orthodoxy that the Pentateuch was revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai. Upon exposure to modern biblical scholarship, philosophical and literary critiques of religion, and modern biology and science he eventually concluded, in his early twenties, that he could no longer believe that which he had been taught from childhood. The chapter describes the emotional effects and social consequences of losing a faith which one loves (and in some respects continues to love), and the intellectual freedom earned by rejecting Orthodox beliefs and becoming a heretic.
Peter Schäfer
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153902
- eISBN:
- 9781400842285
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153902.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter addresses a problem that must have plagued the rabbis a great deal: the undeniable fact that the Hebrew Bible uses various names for God, most prominent among them Elohim and the ...
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This chapter addresses a problem that must have plagued the rabbis a great deal: the undeniable fact that the Hebrew Bible uses various names for God, most prominent among them Elohim and the tetragrammaton YHWH. Both names attracted the attention and curiosity of Gentiles, the latter because of the mystery surrounding it—it was originally used only by the High Priest entering the Holy of Holies of the Temple, and its proper pronunciation was deemed lost—and the former because it is grammatically a plural and hence could easily give rise to the idea that the Jews worshiped not just one God but several gods. The “heretics” apparently knew enough Hebrew to seize the opportunity and insinuate that the Jews were no different in this regard than the pagans and indeed accepted the notion of a pantheon of various gods.Less
This chapter addresses a problem that must have plagued the rabbis a great deal: the undeniable fact that the Hebrew Bible uses various names for God, most prominent among them Elohim and the tetragrammaton YHWH. Both names attracted the attention and curiosity of Gentiles, the latter because of the mystery surrounding it—it was originally used only by the High Priest entering the Holy of Holies of the Temple, and its proper pronunciation was deemed lost—and the former because it is grammatically a plural and hence could easily give rise to the idea that the Jews worshiped not just one God but several gods. The “heretics” apparently knew enough Hebrew to seize the opportunity and insinuate that the Jews were no different in this regard than the pagans and indeed accepted the notion of a pantheon of various gods.
Peter Schäfer
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153902
- eISBN:
- 9781400842285
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153902.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter looks at the problem faced by the rabbis when they were confronted with the fact that the God of the Hebrew Bible assumes various guises, using the example of a relatively early ...
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This chapter looks at the problem faced by the rabbis when they were confronted with the fact that the God of the Hebrew Bible assumes various guises, using the example of a relatively early Palestinian midrash. There, the heretics take advantage of the fact that God is sometimes portrayed as a young war hero and sometimes as a merciful old man. Countering the heretics' argument that these various manifestations point to two divine powers of equal right in heaven, one old and one young, the rabbis insist that their God, despite his varying appearances, nevertheless is always one and the same—never changing and never growing old. The danger evoked by such an interpretation of the Hebrew Bible is obvious: one immediately thinks of the Christian notion of the old and young God—God–Father and God–Son.Less
This chapter looks at the problem faced by the rabbis when they were confronted with the fact that the God of the Hebrew Bible assumes various guises, using the example of a relatively early Palestinian midrash. There, the heretics take advantage of the fact that God is sometimes portrayed as a young war hero and sometimes as a merciful old man. Countering the heretics' argument that these various manifestations point to two divine powers of equal right in heaven, one old and one young, the rabbis insist that their God, despite his varying appearances, nevertheless is always one and the same—never changing and never growing old. The danger evoked by such an interpretation of the Hebrew Bible is obvious: one immediately thinks of the Christian notion of the old and young God—God–Father and God–Son.
Caroline Humfress
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198208419
- eISBN:
- 9780191716966
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208419.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This book approaches the subject of late Roman law from the perspective of legal practice revealed in courtroom processes, as well as more ‘informal’ types of dispute settlement. From at least the ...
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This book approaches the subject of late Roman law from the perspective of legal practice revealed in courtroom processes, as well as more ‘informal’ types of dispute settlement. From at least the early 4th century, leading bishops, ecclesiastics, and Christian polemicists participated in a vibrant culture of forensic argument with far-reaching effects on theological debate, the development of ecclesiastical authority, and the elaboration of early ‘Canon law’. One of the most innovative aspects of late Roman law was the creation and application of new legal categories used in the prosecution of ‘heretics’. Leading Christian polemicists not only used techniques of argument learnt in the late Roman rhetorical schools to help position the Church within the structure of Empire, they also used those techniques in cases involving accusations against ‘heretics’ — thus defining and developing the concept of Christian orthodoxy itself.Less
This book approaches the subject of late Roman law from the perspective of legal practice revealed in courtroom processes, as well as more ‘informal’ types of dispute settlement. From at least the early 4th century, leading bishops, ecclesiastics, and Christian polemicists participated in a vibrant culture of forensic argument with far-reaching effects on theological debate, the development of ecclesiastical authority, and the elaboration of early ‘Canon law’. One of the most innovative aspects of late Roman law was the creation and application of new legal categories used in the prosecution of ‘heretics’. Leading Christian polemicists not only used techniques of argument learnt in the late Roman rhetorical schools to help position the Church within the structure of Empire, they also used those techniques in cases involving accusations against ‘heretics’ — thus defining and developing the concept of Christian orthodoxy itself.
Caroline Humfress
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198208419
- eISBN:
- 9780191716966
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208419.003.010
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This chapter analyses concrete legal processes involving accusations of heresy in late antiquity. Topics discussed include heretics before the courts, the use of heresy accusations by private ...
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This chapter analyses concrete legal processes involving accusations of heresy in late antiquity. Topics discussed include heretics before the courts, the use of heresy accusations by private individuals, and ecclesiastics and accusations of heresy.Less
This chapter analyses concrete legal processes involving accusations of heresy in late antiquity. Topics discussed include heretics before the courts, the use of heresy accusations by private individuals, and ecclesiastics and accusations of heresy.
Cecilia A. Hatt (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198270119
- eISBN:
- 9780191600609
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198270119.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Literature
The texts are given of two anti‐Lutheran sermons, the “sermon against the pernicious doctrine of Martin Luther” preached in 1521 and a “sermon concerning certain heretics” of 1526. An introduction ...
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The texts are given of two anti‐Lutheran sermons, the “sermon against the pernicious doctrine of Martin Luther” preached in 1521 and a “sermon concerning certain heretics” of 1526. An introduction explains the controversial background, of the search in England for heretical writings and the Leipzig disputation in the case of the first and the history of Robert Barnes in the second. There is a discussion of William Tyndale's reaction to the earlier sermon. A commentary to each sermon explains references to Luther's writings and to the patristic and other sources cited by Fisher.Less
The texts are given of two anti‐Lutheran sermons, the “sermon against the pernicious doctrine of Martin Luther” preached in 1521 and a “sermon concerning certain heretics” of 1526. An introduction explains the controversial background, of the search in England for heretical writings and the Leipzig disputation in the case of the first and the history of Robert Barnes in the second. There is a discussion of William Tyndale's reaction to the earlier sermon. A commentary to each sermon explains references to Luther's writings and to the patristic and other sources cited by Fisher.
Grégoire Chamayou
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151656
- eISBN:
- 9781400842254
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151656.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
Touching on issues of power, authority, and domination, this book takes an in-depth look at the hunting of humans in the West, from ancient Sparta, through the Middle Ages, to the modern practices of ...
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Touching on issues of power, authority, and domination, this book takes an in-depth look at the hunting of humans in the West, from ancient Sparta, through the Middle Ages, to the modern practices of chasing undocumented migrants. Incorporating historical events and philosophical reflection, the book examines the systematic and organized search for individuals and small groups on the run because they have defied authority, committed crimes, seemed dangerous simply for existing, or been categorized as subhuman or dispensable. The book begins in ancient Greece, where young Spartans hunted and killed Helots (Sparta's serfs) as an initiation rite, and where Aristotle and other philosophers helped to justify raids to capture and enslave foreigners by creating the concept of natural slaves. The book discusses the hunt for heretics in the Middle Ages; New World natives in the early modern period; vagrants, Jews, criminals, and runaway slaves in other eras; and illegal immigrants today. Exploring evolving ideas about the human and the subhuman, what we owe to enemies and people on the margins of society, and the supposed legitimacy of domination, the book shows that the hunting of humans should not be treated ahistorically, and that manhunting has varied as widely in its justifications and aims as in its practices. The book investigates the psychology of manhunting, noting that many people, from bounty hunters to Balzac, have written about the thrill of hunting when the prey is equally intelligent and cunning. An unconventional history on an unconventional subject, this book is an in-depth consideration of the dynamics of an age-old form of violence.Less
Touching on issues of power, authority, and domination, this book takes an in-depth look at the hunting of humans in the West, from ancient Sparta, through the Middle Ages, to the modern practices of chasing undocumented migrants. Incorporating historical events and philosophical reflection, the book examines the systematic and organized search for individuals and small groups on the run because they have defied authority, committed crimes, seemed dangerous simply for existing, or been categorized as subhuman or dispensable. The book begins in ancient Greece, where young Spartans hunted and killed Helots (Sparta's serfs) as an initiation rite, and where Aristotle and other philosophers helped to justify raids to capture and enslave foreigners by creating the concept of natural slaves. The book discusses the hunt for heretics in the Middle Ages; New World natives in the early modern period; vagrants, Jews, criminals, and runaway slaves in other eras; and illegal immigrants today. Exploring evolving ideas about the human and the subhuman, what we owe to enemies and people on the margins of society, and the supposed legitimacy of domination, the book shows that the hunting of humans should not be treated ahistorically, and that manhunting has varied as widely in its justifications and aims as in its practices. The book investigates the psychology of manhunting, noting that many people, from bounty hunters to Balzac, have written about the thrill of hunting when the prey is equally intelligent and cunning. An unconventional history on an unconventional subject, this book is an in-depth consideration of the dynamics of an age-old form of violence.
Caroline Humfress
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198208419
- eISBN:
- 9780191716966
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208419.003.009
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This chapter argues that late Roman heresiology was not simply a discourse controlled by the ‘orthodox’ at the expense of the ‘heretic’ — all Christians were inscribed within it whether they wanted ...
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This chapter argues that late Roman heresiology was not simply a discourse controlled by the ‘orthodox’ at the expense of the ‘heretic’ — all Christians were inscribed within it whether they wanted to be or not. Nor was the late Roman discourse of heresiology a ‘rhetorical construct’; rather it produced its own field. In other words, it created the very objects that previously it had been thought merely to explain or describe. Heresiological categories and classifications were part of late Roman lived experience. What was to be defined as ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ belief, was constructed through argument; moreover, the very processes of theological and legal definition threw up new matters to be defined and categorized. Individuals, however, are not passive subjects of a given structure (such as ‘law’ or ‘orthodoxy’, for example), but rather active participants — constituting and reconstituting the structure itself by their constant negotiation of its rules and expectations.Less
This chapter argues that late Roman heresiology was not simply a discourse controlled by the ‘orthodox’ at the expense of the ‘heretic’ — all Christians were inscribed within it whether they wanted to be or not. Nor was the late Roman discourse of heresiology a ‘rhetorical construct’; rather it produced its own field. In other words, it created the very objects that previously it had been thought merely to explain or describe. Heresiological categories and classifications were part of late Roman lived experience. What was to be defined as ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ belief, was constructed through argument; moreover, the very processes of theological and legal definition threw up new matters to be defined and categorized. Individuals, however, are not passive subjects of a given structure (such as ‘law’ or ‘orthodoxy’, for example), but rather active participants — constituting and reconstituting the structure itself by their constant negotiation of its rules and expectations.
G. E. M. De Ste. Croix
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199278121
- eISBN:
- 9780191707872
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199278121.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter analyses how the Church, after enduring persecution during its first three centuries, emerged as a triumphant and highly effective persecuting force during the next three centuries, with ...
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This chapter analyses how the Church, after enduring persecution during its first three centuries, emerged as a triumphant and highly effective persecuting force during the next three centuries, with pagans, Jews, Manichees, and Christian heretics as its victims. In contrast to the pre-Christian Roman Empire, which was remarkably willing to accept most new religions, Christianity was a jealous religion and quickly used the privileges secured through Constantine's conversion to involve the Roman state in enforcing its wishes. The conflict in North Africa between Donatists and Catholics provided the trigger, but also demonstrated the problems of enforcing imperial wishes on groups whose earlier experience of persecution had stiffened their resolve. The evidence for the rigour of the Church's views on the persecution of heresy is analysed, before an editorial appendix considers the wider issue of religious toleration in classical antiquity and how the triumph of Christianity affected this.Less
This chapter analyses how the Church, after enduring persecution during its first three centuries, emerged as a triumphant and highly effective persecuting force during the next three centuries, with pagans, Jews, Manichees, and Christian heretics as its victims. In contrast to the pre-Christian Roman Empire, which was remarkably willing to accept most new religions, Christianity was a jealous religion and quickly used the privileges secured through Constantine's conversion to involve the Roman state in enforcing its wishes. The conflict in North Africa between Donatists and Catholics provided the trigger, but also demonstrated the problems of enforcing imperial wishes on groups whose earlier experience of persecution had stiffened their resolve. The evidence for the rigour of the Church's views on the persecution of heresy is analysed, before an editorial appendix considers the wider issue of religious toleration in classical antiquity and how the triumph of Christianity affected this.
David C. Steinmetz
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195130485
- eISBN:
- 9780199869008
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195130480.003.0019
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Balthasar Hubmaier was an Anabaptist theologian who earned a theological doctorate at the University of Ingolstadt with John Eck and served as an early colleague of Huldrych Zwingli. He opposed ...
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Balthasar Hubmaier was an Anabaptist theologian who earned a theological doctorate at the University of Ingolstadt with John Eck and served as an early colleague of Huldrych Zwingli. He opposed Martin Luther's doctrine of the bondage of the human will. He argued instead that human beings have three wills that must be distinguished in order to stipulate how sinners are both bound and free. It was important for Hubmaier to affirm a certain freedom of the will. He rejected infant baptism and defended a believer's baptism that rested on the possibility of a free response to the gospel. He was captured by the Austrians and burned at the stake as a heretic.Less
Balthasar Hubmaier was an Anabaptist theologian who earned a theological doctorate at the University of Ingolstadt with John Eck and served as an early colleague of Huldrych Zwingli. He opposed Martin Luther's doctrine of the bondage of the human will. He argued instead that human beings have three wills that must be distinguished in order to stipulate how sinners are both bound and free. It was important for Hubmaier to affirm a certain freedom of the will. He rejected infant baptism and defended a believer's baptism that rested on the possibility of a free response to the gospel. He was captured by the Austrians and burned at the stake as a heretic.
Christopher Highley
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199533404
- eISBN:
- 9780191714726
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199533404.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, 17th-century and Restoration Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
Turks, Northerners, and the Barbarous Heretic focuses on the connections forged in Catholic texts between Protestant heretics and Turkish infidels — an analogy that reversed Protestant accusations ...
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Turks, Northerners, and the Barbarous Heretic focuses on the connections forged in Catholic texts between Protestant heretics and Turkish infidels — an analogy that reversed Protestant accusations and that demonstrated how so-called reformers were not just un-English but the quintessential enemies of the Church. Catholic polemic about Protestants-as-Turks was complexly related to other tropes of heresy and barbarism, particularly to geohumoral discourses that identified the north as the seat of heresy. Through the polemical linkages of Turk, northerner, and heretic, Catholic writers were able to explore fundamental questions about religious persecution and toleration, as well as about what it meant to be civilized and English.Less
Turks, Northerners, and the Barbarous Heretic focuses on the connections forged in Catholic texts between Protestant heretics and Turkish infidels — an analogy that reversed Protestant accusations and that demonstrated how so-called reformers were not just un-English but the quintessential enemies of the Church. Catholic polemic about Protestants-as-Turks was complexly related to other tropes of heresy and barbarism, particularly to geohumoral discourses that identified the north as the seat of heresy. Through the polemical linkages of Turk, northerner, and heretic, Catholic writers were able to explore fundamental questions about religious persecution and toleration, as well as about what it meant to be civilized and English.
J. M. Hussey
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198264569
- eISBN:
- 9780191601170
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198264569.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
Starts by discussing the impending internal and external threats to the Byzantine Empire in 1025–1204, which led in the later Middle Ages to any pre‐eminence in East Mediterranean politics being lost ...
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Starts by discussing the impending internal and external threats to the Byzantine Empire in 1025–1204, which led in the later Middle Ages to any pre‐eminence in East Mediterranean politics being lost until the Empire was finally submerged into the Muslim Ottoman Empire. The Orthodox Church itself, however, survived this downfall. Sections 2–4 of the chapter discuss the following: the successive patriarchs in the period 1025–81; continuity in the period 1081–1180, when for nearly 100 years three able rulers (Emperors Alexius I Comenus, his son John II Comenus, and grandson Manuel I Comenus) gave an apparent measure of stability to Byzantium; heresy trials during the patriarchates of Cosmas I (1075–81) and Eustratius Garidas (1081–4), who did not themselves take the lead against the philosopher intellectuals, which was rather taken by Emperors Alexius I and Manuel I. The fifth section discusses the dualist heresies and actions taken against them—the Armenian Paulicians, whose essence of belief was that there is a distinction between the two principles of good and evil, with matter regarded as evil so that the fundamental Christian belief in the incarnation and in the sacraments and hierarchy were rejected, and the Bulgarian Bogomilism, which is closely linked to Messalianism. The last section discusses the changing relations of Byzantium (and the Orthodox Church) with the West and the first four crusades (1097–1204).Less
Starts by discussing the impending internal and external threats to the Byzantine Empire in 1025–1204, which led in the later Middle Ages to any pre‐eminence in East Mediterranean politics being lost until the Empire was finally submerged into the Muslim Ottoman Empire. The Orthodox Church itself, however, survived this downfall. Sections 2–4 of the chapter discuss the following: the successive patriarchs in the period 1025–81; continuity in the period 1081–1180, when for nearly 100 years three able rulers (Emperors Alexius I Comenus, his son John II Comenus, and grandson Manuel I Comenus) gave an apparent measure of stability to Byzantium; heresy trials during the patriarchates of Cosmas I (1075–81) and Eustratius Garidas (1081–4), who did not themselves take the lead against the philosopher intellectuals, which was rather taken by Emperors Alexius I and Manuel I. The fifth section discusses the dualist heresies and actions taken against them—the Armenian Paulicians, whose essence of belief was that there is a distinction between the two principles of good and evil, with matter regarded as evil so that the fundamental Christian belief in the incarnation and in the sacraments and hierarchy were rejected, and the Bulgarian Bogomilism, which is closely linked to Messalianism. The last section discusses the changing relations of Byzantium (and the Orthodox Church) with the West and the first four crusades (1097–1204).
Paul Friedland
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199592692
- eISBN:
- 9780191741852
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199592692.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History, European Early Modern History
Through the beginning of the sixteenth century, executions often attracted large crowds of people who saw themselves as full participants in a ritual with profound spiritual meaning. With the first ...
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Through the beginning of the sixteenth century, executions often attracted large crowds of people who saw themselves as full participants in a ritual with profound spiritual meaning. With the first executions of Lutheran heretics, however, who refused to play the traditional role of the remorseful penitent but instead went to the scaffold joyously, crowds of spectators began to attend executions as a spectacular novelty. From the middle of the sixteenth century onward, wealthier segments of the population began viewing executions as a form of novel entertainment, renting windows overlooking the scaffold. By the seventeenth century, the upper classes had developed a fascination with criminality, which they satisfied through the reading of scandalously realistic true-crime novels as well as through a growing taste for witnessing real criminals be put to death in spectacles of public execution.Less
Through the beginning of the sixteenth century, executions often attracted large crowds of people who saw themselves as full participants in a ritual with profound spiritual meaning. With the first executions of Lutheran heretics, however, who refused to play the traditional role of the remorseful penitent but instead went to the scaffold joyously, crowds of spectators began to attend executions as a spectacular novelty. From the middle of the sixteenth century onward, wealthier segments of the population began viewing executions as a form of novel entertainment, renting windows overlooking the scaffold. By the seventeenth century, the upper classes had developed a fascination with criminality, which they satisfied through the reading of scandalously realistic true-crime novels as well as through a growing taste for witnessing real criminals be put to death in spectacles of public execution.
Annabel Annabel
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199573462
- eISBN:
- 9780191702112
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199573462.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, Milton Studies
This chapter examines the importance of the keyword Scripture in John Milton's epic poem Paradise Regained. In this work Milton confronted the special status of biblical texts and gave Scripture a ...
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This chapter examines the importance of the keyword Scripture in John Milton's epic poem Paradise Regained. In this work Milton confronted the special status of biblical texts and gave Scripture a special status in his canon. It analyses Paradise Regained and suggests that it was clearly a heretic text consistent with Milton's increasing fascination with Socinianism and its belief that the Crucifixion could not really be the centre of Christianity.Less
This chapter examines the importance of the keyword Scripture in John Milton's epic poem Paradise Regained. In this work Milton confronted the special status of biblical texts and gave Scripture a special status in his canon. It analyses Paradise Regained and suggests that it was clearly a heretic text consistent with Milton's increasing fascination with Socinianism and its belief that the Crucifixion could not really be the centre of Christianity.
Wes Williams
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198159407
- eISBN:
- 9780191673610
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198159407.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
This chapter examines the edition, translation, and reception of Gregory of Nyssa's second letter on pilgrimage. It suggests that this letter influenced the movement where pilgrimage was redefined by ...
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This chapter examines the edition, translation, and reception of Gregory of Nyssa's second letter on pilgrimage. It suggests that this letter influenced the movement where pilgrimage was redefined by both Reformers and counter-Reformers. His letter was read in ways characteristic of the devotional critiques of pilgrimage and Gregory was believed to cast doubt on the value of the literal journey. Those who defended the practice of pilgrimage as a literal journey adopted three different positions. These include direct attack on Gregory's views, arguments that Gregory did not mean what others took him to mean with heretics, and claims that the letter was falsely ascribed to Gregory.Less
This chapter examines the edition, translation, and reception of Gregory of Nyssa's second letter on pilgrimage. It suggests that this letter influenced the movement where pilgrimage was redefined by both Reformers and counter-Reformers. His letter was read in ways characteristic of the devotional critiques of pilgrimage and Gregory was believed to cast doubt on the value of the literal journey. Those who defended the practice of pilgrimage as a literal journey adopted three different positions. These include direct attack on Gregory's views, arguments that Gregory did not mean what others took him to mean with heretics, and claims that the letter was falsely ascribed to Gregory.
Susan Wessel
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199268467
- eISBN:
- 9780191699276
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199268467.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
What were the historical and cultural processes by which Cyril of Alexandria was elevated to canonical status while his opponent, Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople, was made into a heretic? In ...
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What were the historical and cultural processes by which Cyril of Alexandria was elevated to canonical status while his opponent, Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople, was made into a heretic? In contrast to previous scholarship, this book concludes that Cyril's success in being elevated to orthodox status was not simply a political accomplishment based on political alliances he had fashioned as opportunity arose. Nor was it a dogmatic victory, based on the clarity and orthodoxy of Cyril's doctrinal claims. Instead, it was his strategy in identifying himself with the orthodoxy of the former bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius, in his victory over Arianism, in borrowing Athanasius' interpretive methods, and in skillfully using the tropes and figures of the second sophistic that made Cyril a saint in the Greek and Coptic Orthodox Churches.Less
What were the historical and cultural processes by which Cyril of Alexandria was elevated to canonical status while his opponent, Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople, was made into a heretic? In contrast to previous scholarship, this book concludes that Cyril's success in being elevated to orthodox status was not simply a political accomplishment based on political alliances he had fashioned as opportunity arose. Nor was it a dogmatic victory, based on the clarity and orthodoxy of Cyril's doctrinal claims. Instead, it was his strategy in identifying himself with the orthodoxy of the former bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius, in his victory over Arianism, in borrowing Athanasius' interpretive methods, and in skillfully using the tropes and figures of the second sophistic that made Cyril a saint in the Greek and Coptic Orthodox Churches.
Frédérique Apffel-Marglin
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199793853
- eISBN:
- 9780199919246
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199793853.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Chapter 3 focuses on the pre-modern European oral peasantry and their gift economy and rituals on the commons. The chapter argues that the eradication of this world is in great part due to the ...
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Chapter 3 focuses on the pre-modern European oral peasantry and their gift economy and rituals on the commons. The chapter argues that the eradication of this world is in great part due to the enclosure movement and the rise of the market economy. The transition from the gift (or moral) economy to the market economy is said to play a central role in the de-spiriting of the non-human world. The work of Elizabeth Potter on the debate between Robert Boyle and the hylozoist Franciscus Linus, and the defeat of hylozoism, a non-dualistic, non-mechanistic worldview, is presented. Using other historical works, it is argued that hylozoism was the worldview of those who lost out in the struggles of the times, namely the peasantry, the working classes, the heretics, and the “witches.” The new order required a new worldview, the dualist mechanistic one we have inherited.Less
Chapter 3 focuses on the pre-modern European oral peasantry and their gift economy and rituals on the commons. The chapter argues that the eradication of this world is in great part due to the enclosure movement and the rise of the market economy. The transition from the gift (or moral) economy to the market economy is said to play a central role in the de-spiriting of the non-human world. The work of Elizabeth Potter on the debate between Robert Boyle and the hylozoist Franciscus Linus, and the defeat of hylozoism, a non-dualistic, non-mechanistic worldview, is presented. Using other historical works, it is argued that hylozoism was the worldview of those who lost out in the struggles of the times, namely the peasantry, the working classes, the heretics, and the “witches.” The new order required a new worldview, the dualist mechanistic one we have inherited.
Alfred Haverkamp
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198221722
- eISBN:
- 9780191678486
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198221722.003.0014
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
From the end of the 11th century, the various non-noble classes of the population in Germany constantly increased in importance, and not only in the areas of politics, the economy, and trade. The ...
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From the end of the 11th century, the various non-noble classes of the population in Germany constantly increased in importance, and not only in the areas of politics, the economy, and trade. The transformation of religious and ecclesiastical ways of life stood in close correlation to these processes. The new forms of piety, which on the whole contained a more profound Christianity, can most clearly be seen in the transformation of monastic and other ecclesiastical communities. This chapter examines monastic and church reform, pastoral work and missions, heretics, and monastery schools.Less
From the end of the 11th century, the various non-noble classes of the population in Germany constantly increased in importance, and not only in the areas of politics, the economy, and trade. The transformation of religious and ecclesiastical ways of life stood in close correlation to these processes. The new forms of piety, which on the whole contained a more profound Christianity, can most clearly be seen in the transformation of monastic and other ecclesiastical communities. This chapter examines monastic and church reform, pastoral work and missions, heretics, and monastery schools.
