J. Patrick Hornbeck II
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780823282173
- eISBN:
- 9780823286232
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823282173.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Remembering Wolsey seeks to contribute to our understanding of historical memory and memorialization bexamining in detail the posthumous commemoration and representation of Thomas Wolsey, the ...
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Remembering Wolsey seeks to contribute to our understanding of historical memory and memorialization bexamining in detail the posthumous commemoration and representation of Thomas Wolsey, the sixteenth-century cardinal, papal legate, and lord chancellor of England. Its questions are at once historical and ethical. Analyzing the history of Wolsey’s legacy from his death in 1530 through the present day, this book shows how images of Wolsey have been among the vehicles through which historians, theologians, and others have contested the events known collectively as the English Reformation(s). Over the course of nearly five centuries, Wolsey has been at the center of the debate about King Henry’s reformation and the virtues and vices of late medieval Catholicism. His name and image have been invoked in a bewildering, and often surprising, variety of contexts, including the works of chroniclers, historians, theologians, dramatists, or more recently screenwriters. Cultural producers have often related the story of Wolsey’s life in ways that have buttressed their preconceived opinions on a wide variety of matters. The complex history of Wolsey’s representation has much to teach us not only about the historiography of the English Reformation but also about broader dynamics of cultural and collective memory.Less
Remembering Wolsey seeks to contribute to our understanding of historical memory and memorialization bexamining in detail the posthumous commemoration and representation of Thomas Wolsey, the sixteenth-century cardinal, papal legate, and lord chancellor of England. Its questions are at once historical and ethical. Analyzing the history of Wolsey’s legacy from his death in 1530 through the present day, this book shows how images of Wolsey have been among the vehicles through which historians, theologians, and others have contested the events known collectively as the English Reformation(s). Over the course of nearly five centuries, Wolsey has been at the center of the debate about King Henry’s reformation and the virtues and vices of late medieval Catholicism. His name and image have been invoked in a bewildering, and often surprising, variety of contexts, including the works of chroniclers, historians, theologians, dramatists, or more recently screenwriters. Cultural producers have often related the story of Wolsey’s life in ways that have buttressed their preconceived opinions on a wide variety of matters. The complex history of Wolsey’s representation has much to teach us not only about the historiography of the English Reformation but also about broader dynamics of cultural and collective memory.
Werner H. Kelber
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823230877
- eISBN:
- 9780823235612
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823230877.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter sketches an approach to Christian passion narratives that considers them as ethically ambiguous products of remembering. Extending the sense of history as ...
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This chapter sketches an approach to Christian passion narratives that considers them as ethically ambiguous products of remembering. Extending the sense of history as irretrievable loss and future expectancy expressed in Wyschogrod's An Ethics of Remembering, it seeks to emulate her capacity for bringing widely differing genres into a productive tension, generating an understated novelty called a “prolonged hesitancy.” In this case, the chapter employs a Wyschogrodian sensibility to generate a reading of foundational texts caught in a “duplicitous mnemohistory.” It pries open a violent logic working in these foundational texts that memorializes in order to facilitate a pure remembering that nonetheless remains in the service of a certain present and future, even as it covers over the indeterminacy of the remembered past key to the logic itself.Less
This chapter sketches an approach to Christian passion narratives that considers them as ethically ambiguous products of remembering. Extending the sense of history as irretrievable loss and future expectancy expressed in Wyschogrod's An Ethics of Remembering, it seeks to emulate her capacity for bringing widely differing genres into a productive tension, generating an understated novelty called a “prolonged hesitancy.” In this case, the chapter employs a Wyschogrodian sensibility to generate a reading of foundational texts caught in a “duplicitous mnemohistory.” It pries open a violent logic working in these foundational texts that memorializes in order to facilitate a pure remembering that nonetheless remains in the service of a certain present and future, even as it covers over the indeterminacy of the remembered past key to the logic itself.
J. Patrick Hornbeck II
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780823282173
- eISBN:
- 9780823286232
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823282173.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter introduces the subject of the book, namely, the myriad ways in which Thomas Wolsey has been represented and commemorated since his death in 1530. His name and image have been invoked in ...
More
This chapter introduces the subject of the book, namely, the myriad ways in which Thomas Wolsey has been represented and commemorated since his death in 1530. His name and image have been invoked in a bewildering, and often surprising, variety of contexts, including retellings of the early English Reformation and narratives about the development of British democracy. It enumerates the major purposes for which cultural producers have told the story of Wolsey’s life, and situates this book’s contribution within recent scholarly discussions about collective memory and mnemohistory. The chapter distinguishes between mnemohistory and reception history and further describes how the terms memory, commemoration, and representation will be used throughout the book. It illustrates the book’s mnemohistorical method with a case study about the representation of Wolsey as obese. Finally, it previews the arguments of the chapters that follow.Less
This chapter introduces the subject of the book, namely, the myriad ways in which Thomas Wolsey has been represented and commemorated since his death in 1530. His name and image have been invoked in a bewildering, and often surprising, variety of contexts, including retellings of the early English Reformation and narratives about the development of British democracy. It enumerates the major purposes for which cultural producers have told the story of Wolsey’s life, and situates this book’s contribution within recent scholarly discussions about collective memory and mnemohistory. The chapter distinguishes between mnemohistory and reception history and further describes how the terms memory, commemoration, and representation will be used throughout the book. It illustrates the book’s mnemohistorical method with a case study about the representation of Wolsey as obese. Finally, it previews the arguments of the chapters that follow.
J. Patrick Hornbeck II
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780823282173
- eISBN:
- 9780823286232
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823282173.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
A brief Conclusion examines the latest public commemoration of Wolsey, a statue that was unveiled in Ipswich in 2011. It argues that this most recent portrayal, like its predecessors, strategically ...
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A brief Conclusion examines the latest public commemoration of Wolsey, a statue that was unveiled in Ipswich in 2011. It argues that this most recent portrayal, like its predecessors, strategically both highlights and elides certain features of Wolsey’s life in order to achieve a desired effect. Rounding out the book are some observations on what all this means for the study of the cardinal, for mnemohistory, and for the enterprise of commemoration at large.Less
A brief Conclusion examines the latest public commemoration of Wolsey, a statue that was unveiled in Ipswich in 2011. It argues that this most recent portrayal, like its predecessors, strategically both highlights and elides certain features of Wolsey’s life in order to achieve a desired effect. Rounding out the book are some observations on what all this means for the study of the cardinal, for mnemohistory, and for the enterprise of commemoration at large.
