Isabel Moreira
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199736041
- eISBN:
- 9780199894628
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736041.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This study explores the early history of purgatory as it developed from the first to the eighth centuries. Approaching the subject from a variety of angles, the book examines how ideas of post-mortem ...
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This study explores the early history of purgatory as it developed from the first to the eighth centuries. Approaching the subject from a variety of angles, the book examines how ideas of post-mortem purgation as religious belief were forged from contested theology and eschatology, and how purgatory became the focus for such religious practices as prayer for the dead and the hope for intercession. Illuminating the various interests and influences at play in the formation of purgatorial ideas in late antiquity, this book discusses ideas about punishment and correction in the Roman world, slavery, medical purges at the shrines of saints, visionary texts, penitentials, and law codes. Confronting arguments that have viewed purgatory as a symptom of cultural shifts or educational decline, this book questions the extent to which Irish and Germanic views of society, and the sources associated with them — penitentials and legal tariffs — played a role in purgatory’s formation. In reassessing the significance of patristic discussion of purgatory, this study highlights Bede’s contribution to purgatory’s theological underpinnings allowing the future acceptance of purgatory as orthodox belief. Among those whose writings are examined are Origen, Augustine, Gregory the Great, and Bede.Less
This study explores the early history of purgatory as it developed from the first to the eighth centuries. Approaching the subject from a variety of angles, the book examines how ideas of post-mortem purgation as religious belief were forged from contested theology and eschatology, and how purgatory became the focus for such religious practices as prayer for the dead and the hope for intercession. Illuminating the various interests and influences at play in the formation of purgatorial ideas in late antiquity, this book discusses ideas about punishment and correction in the Roman world, slavery, medical purges at the shrines of saints, visionary texts, penitentials, and law codes. Confronting arguments that have viewed purgatory as a symptom of cultural shifts or educational decline, this book questions the extent to which Irish and Germanic views of society, and the sources associated with them — penitentials and legal tariffs — played a role in purgatory’s formation. In reassessing the significance of patristic discussion of purgatory, this study highlights Bede’s contribution to purgatory’s theological underpinnings allowing the future acceptance of purgatory as orthodox belief. Among those whose writings are examined are Origen, Augustine, Gregory the Great, and Bede.
Jerry L. Walls
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199732296
- eISBN:
- 9780199918492
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199732296.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This book is a philosophical and theological exploration and defense of the doctrine of purgatory. After a historical overview of the development of the doctrine, it examines Protestant objections to ...
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This book is a philosophical and theological exploration and defense of the doctrine of purgatory. After a historical overview of the development of the doctrine, it examines Protestant objections to the doctrine as well as Protestant accounts of how believers are purged of their imperfections and made ready for heaven. It goes on to show that the doctrine of purgatory has been construed in different ways, and that some of these are compatible with Protestant theology. Next, it shows that purgatory assumes not only continuity of personal identity but also conscious survival between death and resurrection. Such continuity of identity also arguably requires gradual moral development over time, which also supports a doctrine of purgatory. The traditional doctrine of purgatory is not understood as a second chance for salvation, but rather, only as a matter of perfecting persons who die in a state of grace. It is argued that the doctrine of purgatory should be modified to allow for postmortem repentance and conversion. The final long chapter of the book shows that popular writer C. S. Lewis not only believed in purgatory, but proposed a version of the doctrine that may appeal to Christians on both sides of the Reformation divide.Less
This book is a philosophical and theological exploration and defense of the doctrine of purgatory. After a historical overview of the development of the doctrine, it examines Protestant objections to the doctrine as well as Protestant accounts of how believers are purged of their imperfections and made ready for heaven. It goes on to show that the doctrine of purgatory has been construed in different ways, and that some of these are compatible with Protestant theology. Next, it shows that purgatory assumes not only continuity of personal identity but also conscious survival between death and resurrection. Such continuity of identity also arguably requires gradual moral development over time, which also supports a doctrine of purgatory. The traditional doctrine of purgatory is not understood as a second chance for salvation, but rather, only as a matter of perfecting persons who die in a state of grace. It is argued that the doctrine of purgatory should be modified to allow for postmortem repentance and conversion. The final long chapter of the book shows that popular writer C. S. Lewis not only believed in purgatory, but proposed a version of the doctrine that may appeal to Christians on both sides of the Reformation divide.
Henry Chadwick
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199264575
- eISBN:
- 9780191698958
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199264575.003.0039
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History, Early Christian Studies
This chapter discusses the debate about purgatory. To normal Latin view immediately on death souls received their reward, the damned to hell, the just to paradise, the imperfect to purification in ...
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This chapter discusses the debate about purgatory. To normal Latin view immediately on death souls received their reward, the damned to hell, the just to paradise, the imperfect to purification in Purgatory. Discussions and its circulation precipitated reactions on the subject of disagreement between Latin and Greek churches. The report of the debate about purgatory which survived from the Otranto meeting gives the Greek side, but a Latin account went at once to Rome.Less
This chapter discusses the debate about purgatory. To normal Latin view immediately on death souls received their reward, the damned to hell, the just to paradise, the imperfect to purification in Purgatory. Discussions and its circulation precipitated reactions on the subject of disagreement between Latin and Greek churches. The report of the debate about purgatory which survived from the Otranto meeting gives the Greek side, but a Latin account went at once to Rome.
Isabel Moreira
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199736041
- eISBN:
- 9780199894628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736041.003.0000
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter argues that the early history of purgatory must be discussed on its own terms and not as a precursor to later medieval Catholic doctrine. It explains the use of the term “purgatory.” It ...
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This chapter argues that the early history of purgatory must be discussed on its own terms and not as a precursor to later medieval Catholic doctrine. It explains the use of the term “purgatory.” It identifies major modern scholarly contributions to the field and the historical and interpretive issues raised by sixteenth-century reformers. The chapter explores Bede’s historical status as an author of purgatory.Less
This chapter argues that the early history of purgatory must be discussed on its own terms and not as a precursor to later medieval Catholic doctrine. It explains the use of the term “purgatory.” It identifies major modern scholarly contributions to the field and the historical and interpretive issues raised by sixteenth-century reformers. The chapter explores Bede’s historical status as an author of purgatory.
Isabel Moreira
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199736041
- eISBN:
- 9780199894628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736041.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter examines the role of punishment in correction as discussed by early Christian authors and the Roman elite as a way of understanding how punishment became associated with both hell and ...
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This chapter examines the role of punishment in correction as discussed by early Christian authors and the Roman elite as a way of understanding how punishment became associated with both hell and purgatory. It examines metaphors of paternal power and slavery. It suggests that the idea that the elect, too, must suffer violence in the afterlife arose from discussions about original sin at a time when the Roman elite were increasingly anxious about the erosion of legal immunities that had traditionally protected them from judicial torture. It highlights the ongoing importance of the metaphor of slavery to the way corporeal punishment was described in the afterlife, particularly in the Vision of Paul, and it considers notions of retributive justice and the fear of hell.Less
This chapter examines the role of punishment in correction as discussed by early Christian authors and the Roman elite as a way of understanding how punishment became associated with both hell and purgatory. It examines metaphors of paternal power and slavery. It suggests that the idea that the elect, too, must suffer violence in the afterlife arose from discussions about original sin at a time when the Roman elite were increasingly anxious about the erosion of legal immunities that had traditionally protected them from judicial torture. It highlights the ongoing importance of the metaphor of slavery to the way corporeal punishment was described in the afterlife, particularly in the Vision of Paul, and it considers notions of retributive justice and the fear of hell.
Isabel Moreira
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199736041
- eISBN:
- 9780199894628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736041.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter challenges a school of thought that proposes that purgatory emerged in the seventh century as a result of the contact of Mediterranean Christianity with Irish religious culture. It gives ...
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This chapter challenges a school of thought that proposes that purgatory emerged in the seventh century as a result of the contact of Mediterranean Christianity with Irish religious culture. It gives special attention to the Vision of Fursey as evidence for postmortem purgation and questions the argument that penitential tariffing had a direct influence on evolving conceptions of purgatory. The chapter also examines Bede’s epitome of the Vision of Fursey, the Fragmentary Vision of 757, Vision of Paul, Redaction 6, and the Bigotian Penitential.Less
This chapter challenges a school of thought that proposes that purgatory emerged in the seventh century as a result of the contact of Mediterranean Christianity with Irish religious culture. It gives special attention to the Vision of Fursey as evidence for postmortem purgation and questions the argument that penitential tariffing had a direct influence on evolving conceptions of purgatory. The chapter also examines Bede’s epitome of the Vision of Fursey, the Fragmentary Vision of 757, Vision of Paul, Redaction 6, and the Bigotian Penitential.
Isabel Moreira
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199736041
- eISBN:
- 9780199894628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736041.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter examines how purgatory was described and understood in the works of Bede and Boniface. Particular attention is given to Bede as the author of works in which purgatory was given ...
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This chapter examines how purgatory was described and understood in the works of Bede and Boniface. Particular attention is given to Bede as the author of works in which purgatory was given theological context and legitimation as orthodox belief. The chapter examines the role of friendship ties and gift-giving in Anglo-Saxon society and in the intercessory practices of Bede’s time. The chapter also considers the cultural and religious influences that informed Anglo-Saxon Christianity and explores the potential importance of Anglo-Saxon England’s close ties with eastern Christianity. Key texts discussed include Boniface’s Vision of the Monk of Wenlock and the works of Bede: the Vision of Drythelm, Homily for Advent, Commentary on Isaiah, and Commentary on Proverbs.Less
This chapter examines how purgatory was described and understood in the works of Bede and Boniface. Particular attention is given to Bede as the author of works in which purgatory was given theological context and legitimation as orthodox belief. The chapter examines the role of friendship ties and gift-giving in Anglo-Saxon society and in the intercessory practices of Bede’s time. The chapter also considers the cultural and religious influences that informed Anglo-Saxon Christianity and explores the potential importance of Anglo-Saxon England’s close ties with eastern Christianity. Key texts discussed include Boniface’s Vision of the Monk of Wenlock and the works of Bede: the Vision of Drythelm, Homily for Advent, Commentary on Isaiah, and Commentary on Proverbs.
Isabel Moreira
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199736041
- eISBN:
- 9780199894628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736041.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter examines the role of purgatory in Anglo-Saxon writings (especially those of Boniface) and in missionary eschatology. It discusses how pagan and Christian beliefs about the afterlife were ...
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This chapter examines the role of purgatory in Anglo-Saxon writings (especially those of Boniface) and in missionary eschatology. It discusses how pagan and Christian beliefs about the afterlife were represented by contemporaries, and how they have been represented by scholars and archaeologists. It examines the role played by the limitations of the Christian afterlife during the Frisian mission and in King Radbod’s failed conversion. This chapter also considers the relative appeal of ideas about purgatory, universal salvation, and posthumous salvation in a missionary environment.Less
This chapter examines the role of purgatory in Anglo-Saxon writings (especially those of Boniface) and in missionary eschatology. It discusses how pagan and Christian beliefs about the afterlife were represented by contemporaries, and how they have been represented by scholars and archaeologists. It examines the role played by the limitations of the Christian afterlife during the Frisian mission and in King Radbod’s failed conversion. This chapter also considers the relative appeal of ideas about purgatory, universal salvation, and posthumous salvation in a missionary environment.
Isabel Moreira
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199736041
- eISBN:
- 9780199894628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736041.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter asks the question: were the barbarian invasions responsible for the rise of purgatory? Examining ancient sources and modern interpretations, this chapter assesses the role of barbarian ...
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This chapter asks the question: were the barbarian invasions responsible for the rise of purgatory? Examining ancient sources and modern interpretations, this chapter assesses the role of barbarian institutions and law on descriptions of purgatory, in particular, the claims made for the influence of legal tariffs on purgatory. The chapter assesses the evidence of the Vision of Paul, Redaction 6. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of the eschatological and judicial ordeal.Less
This chapter asks the question: were the barbarian invasions responsible for the rise of purgatory? Examining ancient sources and modern interpretations, this chapter assesses the role of barbarian institutions and law on descriptions of purgatory, in particular, the claims made for the influence of legal tariffs on purgatory. The chapter assesses the evidence of the Vision of Paul, Redaction 6. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of the eschatological and judicial ordeal.
Isabel Moreira
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199736041
- eISBN:
- 9780199894628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736041.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter returns to the critical importance of Bede’s approach to purgatorial thinking and his willingness to confront Origen’s heretical views on the subject, as representing a formative and ...
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This chapter returns to the critical importance of Bede’s approach to purgatorial thinking and his willingness to confront Origen’s heretical views on the subject, as representing a formative and lasting contribution to purgatory’s early development, and as a critical juncture in the acceptance of the doctrine of purgatory as Catholic belief in the middle ages and beyond.Less
This chapter returns to the critical importance of Bede’s approach to purgatorial thinking and his willingness to confront Origen’s heretical views on the subject, as representing a formative and lasting contribution to purgatory’s early development, and as a critical juncture in the acceptance of the doctrine of purgatory as Catholic belief in the middle ages and beyond.
Peter J. Thuesen
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195174274
- eISBN:
- 9780199872138
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195174274.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Church History
Predestination—the idea that God foreordains each person's eternal destiny—is one of the most fascinating and controversial doctrines in Christianity. For centuries, theologians assumed that outright ...
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Predestination—the idea that God foreordains each person's eternal destiny—is one of the most fascinating and controversial doctrines in Christianity. For centuries, theologians assumed that outright denial of the dogma amounted to atheism but disagreed on whether God elected persons for salvation unconditionally (apart from foreknowledge of their actions) or conditionally (because of their foreseen merit or faith). The book argues that today's denominational landscape cannot be understood apart from such predestinarian disputes dating back 1,600 years to Augustine. The age-old riddle of divine sovereignty versus human free will was only one facet of the problem. A more practical religious concern was predestination's relationship to the sacraments: If a person's fate was already sealed, did baptism or the Eucharist have any saving effect? Predestination was also inseparable from questions about the doctrine of original sin, the existence of purgatory and hell, and the extent of God's providential involvement in human affairs. The book reexamines not only familiar predestinarians such as the New England Puritans and many later Baptists and Presbyterians, but also non-Calvinists such as Catholics and Lutherans, who struggled to reconcile otherworldly predestination with confidence in this-worldly ritual. In addition, the book shows how a variety of newer groups, from Methodists to Mormons, derived a surprising measure of their initial energy from opposition to predestination. Even contemporary megachurches, which shun theological technicalities, preach a “purpose-driven” outlook owing much to the American career of this contentious doctrine.Less
Predestination—the idea that God foreordains each person's eternal destiny—is one of the most fascinating and controversial doctrines in Christianity. For centuries, theologians assumed that outright denial of the dogma amounted to atheism but disagreed on whether God elected persons for salvation unconditionally (apart from foreknowledge of their actions) or conditionally (because of their foreseen merit or faith). The book argues that today's denominational landscape cannot be understood apart from such predestinarian disputes dating back 1,600 years to Augustine. The age-old riddle of divine sovereignty versus human free will was only one facet of the problem. A more practical religious concern was predestination's relationship to the sacraments: If a person's fate was already sealed, did baptism or the Eucharist have any saving effect? Predestination was also inseparable from questions about the doctrine of original sin, the existence of purgatory and hell, and the extent of God's providential involvement in human affairs. The book reexamines not only familiar predestinarians such as the New England Puritans and many later Baptists and Presbyterians, but also non-Calvinists such as Catholics and Lutherans, who struggled to reconcile otherworldly predestination with confidence in this-worldly ritual. In addition, the book shows how a variety of newer groups, from Methodists to Mormons, derived a surprising measure of their initial energy from opposition to predestination. Even contemporary megachurches, which shun theological technicalities, preach a “purpose-driven” outlook owing much to the American career of this contentious doctrine.
Peter Marshall
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198207733
- eISBN:
- 9780191716812
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207733.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
One of the most important aspects of the Reformation in England was its impact on the status of the dead. Protestant reformers insisted vehemently that between heaven and hell there was no ‘middle ...
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One of the most important aspects of the Reformation in England was its impact on the status of the dead. Protestant reformers insisted vehemently that between heaven and hell there was no ‘middle place’ of purgatory where the souls of the departed could be assisted by the prayers of the living. This was no remote theological proposition, but a revolutionary doctrine affecting the lives of all 16th-century English people, and the ways in which their Church and society were organised. This book illuminates the (sometimes ambivalent) attitudes towards the dead in pre-Reformation religious culture, and traces (up to about 1630) the uncertain progress of the ‘reformation of the dead’ attempted by Protestant authorities as they sought to stamp out traditional rituals and provide the replacements acceptable in an increasingly fragmented religious world. It provides surveys of perceptions of the afterlife, of the cultural meanings of ghosts, and of the patterns of commemoration and memory which became characteristic of post-Reformation England. Together these topics constitute an important case-study in the nature and tempo of the English Reformation as an agent of social and cultural transformation.Less
One of the most important aspects of the Reformation in England was its impact on the status of the dead. Protestant reformers insisted vehemently that between heaven and hell there was no ‘middle place’ of purgatory where the souls of the departed could be assisted by the prayers of the living. This was no remote theological proposition, but a revolutionary doctrine affecting the lives of all 16th-century English people, and the ways in which their Church and society were organised. This book illuminates the (sometimes ambivalent) attitudes towards the dead in pre-Reformation religious culture, and traces (up to about 1630) the uncertain progress of the ‘reformation of the dead’ attempted by Protestant authorities as they sought to stamp out traditional rituals and provide the replacements acceptable in an increasingly fragmented religious world. It provides surveys of perceptions of the afterlife, of the cultural meanings of ghosts, and of the patterns of commemoration and memory which became characteristic of post-Reformation England. Together these topics constitute an important case-study in the nature and tempo of the English Reformation as an agent of social and cultural transformation.
Lorna Hutson
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199212439
- eISBN:
- 9780191707209
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199212439.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, Shakespeare Studies
This chapter examines representations of evidence gathering in 15th-century homiletic and dramatic texts, and finds that within the penitential theology of the period, these are ways of figuring the ...
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This chapter examines representations of evidence gathering in 15th-century homiletic and dramatic texts, and finds that within the penitential theology of the period, these are ways of figuring the metaphysical terror of divine judgement in diabolic or purgatorial terms. It then shows how the play Mankind and the treatise Jacobs Well represent common law legal procedure as the diabolic, procedural antithesis of absolution and penance. The chapter concludes by showing how St German's writings helped to dismantle the conceptual structure that enabled canon law to claim jurisdiction over the secrets of the individual conscience. St German's writings absorbed and displaced the authority of the priest in confession by adapting his penitential concerns to the evidential limitations and concerns with public accountability that define the positive law.Less
This chapter examines representations of evidence gathering in 15th-century homiletic and dramatic texts, and finds that within the penitential theology of the period, these are ways of figuring the metaphysical terror of divine judgement in diabolic or purgatorial terms. It then shows how the play Mankind and the treatise Jacobs Well represent common law legal procedure as the diabolic, procedural antithesis of absolution and penance. The chapter concludes by showing how St German's writings helped to dismantle the conceptual structure that enabled canon law to claim jurisdiction over the secrets of the individual conscience. St German's writings absorbed and displaced the authority of the priest in confession by adapting his penitential concerns to the evidential limitations and concerns with public accountability that define the positive law.
Lorna Hutson
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199212439
- eISBN:
- 9780191707209
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199212439.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, Shakespeare Studies
This chapter examines the place of forensic rhetoric and of evidential uncertainty in two other innovative genres of the 1580s and 1590s: revenge tragedy and romantic comedy. In pre-Reformation ...
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This chapter examines the place of forensic rhetoric and of evidential uncertainty in two other innovative genres of the 1580s and 1590s: revenge tragedy and romantic comedy. In pre-Reformation penitential discourses on murder as sin, the concept of Purgatory as an intermediary or transitory place helped deal, conceptually, with the evidential problems of this-worldly justice, since sinful failures of justice might be atoned for in the purgatorial time/space between heaven and hell. Kyd's Spanish Tragedy, like contemporary murder pamphlets, attempts to translate Purgatory's otherworldly intermediateness into the delay and deferral of justice by the processes of evidential inquiry in this world. The chapter then considers a scandalous aspect of the evidential uncertainty characteristic of Roman Comedy: the uncertainty of paternity that enables ‘romantic’ recognition. It shows how Lyly's Mother Bombie and Shakespeare's Lost Labour's Lost wittily adapt the forensic rhetoric of classical comedy to respond to this scandal.Less
This chapter examines the place of forensic rhetoric and of evidential uncertainty in two other innovative genres of the 1580s and 1590s: revenge tragedy and romantic comedy. In pre-Reformation penitential discourses on murder as sin, the concept of Purgatory as an intermediary or transitory place helped deal, conceptually, with the evidential problems of this-worldly justice, since sinful failures of justice might be atoned for in the purgatorial time/space between heaven and hell. Kyd's Spanish Tragedy, like contemporary murder pamphlets, attempts to translate Purgatory's otherworldly intermediateness into the delay and deferral of justice by the processes of evidential inquiry in this world. The chapter then considers a scandalous aspect of the evidential uncertainty characteristic of Roman Comedy: the uncertainty of paternity that enables ‘romantic’ recognition. It shows how Lyly's Mother Bombie and Shakespeare's Lost Labour's Lost wittily adapt the forensic rhetoric of classical comedy to respond to this scandal.
Jeffrey A. Trumbower
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195140996
- eISBN:
- 9780199834747
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195140990.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This book investigates a variety of traditions in early Christianity in which various Christians sought to secure salvation after death for non‐Christians. Sometimes the dead would appear in dreams ...
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This book investigates a variety of traditions in early Christianity in which various Christians sought to secure salvation after death for non‐Christians. Sometimes the dead would appear in dreams to request prayer for the dead; sometimes soon‐to‐be martyrs were thought to have special powers to rescue even the non‐Christian dead. Some Christians practiced a vicarious baptism for the dead. Others imagined Christ offering salvation to the dead during the harrowing of hell (his descent to the realm of the dead). Some Christians went so far as to posit an ultimate universal salvation for everyone who had ever lived. The book culminates with a study of Augustine, who strove to limit these practices and beliefs to prayer for the Christian dead with light sins only. In this process, western notions of purgatory began to develop as a place where baptized Christians could be purified for eternal life with God.Less
This book investigates a variety of traditions in early Christianity in which various Christians sought to secure salvation after death for non‐Christians. Sometimes the dead would appear in dreams to request prayer for the dead; sometimes soon‐to‐be martyrs were thought to have special powers to rescue even the non‐Christian dead. Some Christians practiced a vicarious baptism for the dead. Others imagined Christ offering salvation to the dead during the harrowing of hell (his descent to the realm of the dead). Some Christians went so far as to posit an ultimate universal salvation for everyone who had ever lived. The book culminates with a study of Augustine, who strove to limit these practices and beliefs to prayer for the Christian dead with light sins only. In this process, western notions of purgatory began to develop as a place where baptized Christians could be purified for eternal life with God.
John Casey
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195092950
- eISBN:
- 9780199869732
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195092950.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The Roman Catholic doctrine of Purgatory has possibly attracted more opprobrium from Protestants than any other teaching of the Church. It went with the granting of indulgences—one of the ...
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The Roman Catholic doctrine of Purgatory has possibly attracted more opprobrium from Protestants than any other teaching of the Church. It went with the granting of indulgences—one of the precipitating occasions of the Reformation. Purgatory had very little scriptural warrant, greatly increased the spiritual power of the Church, and was thought to give rise to many abuses. Yet (the chapter argues) it was one of the happiest inspirations of Rome, for it led to a deepening understanding of the psychology of repentance, and a more humane vision of the possibilities of salvation. This theme is explored particularly in relation to Dante's Purgatorio along with a brief discussion of T. S. Eliot's poem “Animula.”Less
The Roman Catholic doctrine of Purgatory has possibly attracted more opprobrium from Protestants than any other teaching of the Church. It went with the granting of indulgences—one of the precipitating occasions of the Reformation. Purgatory had very little scriptural warrant, greatly increased the spiritual power of the Church, and was thought to give rise to many abuses. Yet (the chapter argues) it was one of the happiest inspirations of Rome, for it led to a deepening understanding of the psychology of repentance, and a more humane vision of the possibilities of salvation. This theme is explored particularly in relation to Dante's Purgatorio along with a brief discussion of T. S. Eliot's poem “Animula.”
Peter J. Thuesen
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195174274
- eISBN:
- 9780199872138
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195174274.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Church History
Despite their longstanding mutual hostility, Catholics and Lutherans shared a history of internal strife over predestination and a robust sacramentalism that set them apart from other American ...
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Despite their longstanding mutual hostility, Catholics and Lutherans shared a history of internal strife over predestination and a robust sacramentalism that set them apart from other American Christians. In different ways, both of these immigrant groups domesticated the werewolf of predestination—Catholics by entrusting the fate of dead individuals partly to living family members, who sought the masses of the church and the intercession of local saints; Lutherans by reinterpreting their confessions to temper Luther's harshest predestinarian conclusions. This chapter examines the Catholic debate between Molinists and strict Thomists, and shows how purgatory and the sacramental system remained vital to Catholic predestinarianism. The chapter then turns to the Lutheran predestinarian controversy of the 1880s, which divided the “back‐to‐Luther” conservatives of the Missouri Synod from more liberal synods committed to a doctrine of election “in view of” faith. Finally, the chapter considers predestination's role in the 1999 Catholic‐Lutheran “Joint Declaration.”Less
Despite their longstanding mutual hostility, Catholics and Lutherans shared a history of internal strife over predestination and a robust sacramentalism that set them apart from other American Christians. In different ways, both of these immigrant groups domesticated the werewolf of predestination—Catholics by entrusting the fate of dead individuals partly to living family members, who sought the masses of the church and the intercession of local saints; Lutherans by reinterpreting their confessions to temper Luther's harshest predestinarian conclusions. This chapter examines the Catholic debate between Molinists and strict Thomists, and shows how purgatory and the sacramental system remained vital to Catholic predestinarianism. The chapter then turns to the Lutheran predestinarian controversy of the 1880s, which divided the “back‐to‐Luther” conservatives of the Missouri Synod from more liberal synods committed to a doctrine of election “in view of” faith. Finally, the chapter considers predestination's role in the 1999 Catholic‐Lutheran “Joint Declaration.”
Bridget Morris (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195166262
- eISBN:
- 9780199868223
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195166262.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Book IV includes private devotions, meditations, and autobiographical details, with many images drawn from St. Birgitta's own domestic world. Many of the important revelations deal with justice, ...
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Book IV includes private devotions, meditations, and autobiographical details, with many images drawn from St. Birgitta's own domestic world. Many of the important revelations deal with justice, judgment, and the law, and there are graphic depictions of purgatory that later became popular in 15th-century England. There are political messages addressed to individuals, including comments proposing a solution for the Hundred Years' War. There are continued attacks on the lapsed and laxity of the church, and there are concerns about the state of Rome. The last fourteen revelations in Book IV form a separate tract, known as the Tractatus revelacionum beate Birgitte ad sacerdotes ad summos pontifices (Tract of the Revelations of St. Birgitta on the Subject of Priests and Popes), which gathers together comments on individual contemporary popes during their residence in Avignon.Less
Book IV includes private devotions, meditations, and autobiographical details, with many images drawn from St. Birgitta's own domestic world. Many of the important revelations deal with justice, judgment, and the law, and there are graphic depictions of purgatory that later became popular in 15th-century England. There are political messages addressed to individuals, including comments proposing a solution for the Hundred Years' War. There are continued attacks on the lapsed and laxity of the church, and there are concerns about the state of Rome. The last fourteen revelations in Book IV form a separate tract, known as the Tractatus revelacionum beate Birgitte ad sacerdotes ad summos pontifices (Tract of the Revelations of St. Birgitta on the Subject of Priests and Popes), which gathers together comments on individual contemporary popes during their residence in Avignon.
PETER MARSHALL
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198207733
- eISBN:
- 9780191716812
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207733.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This chapter examines the religious and cultural significance of the dead in later 15th and early 16th-century England. It explains the late medieval theology of purgatory, and its diffusion in ...
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This chapter examines the religious and cultural significance of the dead in later 15th and early 16th-century England. It explains the late medieval theology of purgatory, and its diffusion in popular religious literature, sermons, and other cultural media. It also explores ‘points of contact’ between living and the dead, including beliefs about revenants contingent on ‘bad deaths’ or appearing at the season of Halloween. The character and importance of late medieval funerals and post-mortem intercession (masses, obits) is assessed, and the strong imperative for people to be ‘remembered’. It is suggested that while there is little evidence for any ‘decline’ of belief in purgatory before the Reformation, the demands of intercession were placing considerable social and economic burdens on society.Less
This chapter examines the religious and cultural significance of the dead in later 15th and early 16th-century England. It explains the late medieval theology of purgatory, and its diffusion in popular religious literature, sermons, and other cultural media. It also explores ‘points of contact’ between living and the dead, including beliefs about revenants contingent on ‘bad deaths’ or appearing at the season of Halloween. The character and importance of late medieval funerals and post-mortem intercession (masses, obits) is assessed, and the strong imperative for people to be ‘remembered’. It is suggested that while there is little evidence for any ‘decline’ of belief in purgatory before the Reformation, the demands of intercession were placing considerable social and economic burdens on society.
PETER MARSHALL
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198207733
- eISBN:
- 9780191716812
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207733.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This chapter examines the early Protestant or evangelical critique of purgatory by figures such as Simon Fish, John Frith, and William Tyndale in the reign of Henry VIII, and traditionalist Catholic ...
More
This chapter examines the early Protestant or evangelical critique of purgatory by figures such as Simon Fish, John Frith, and William Tyndale in the reign of Henry VIII, and traditionalist Catholic responses to it by Thomas More and others. It goes on to explore the official status of purgatory, indulgences, and post-mortem prayer after Henry's break with the papacy, concluding that, while conservative in many other respects, the Henrician Church's position in these matters represented a striking break with the past. This was due to both to purgatory's uncertain foundation in scripture and to its particular association with papal authority. Wills are used to trace a declining pattern of intercessory provision in a climate of uncertainty about official intentions, and a hitherto neglected theme — the significance for the cultural status of the dead of the dissolution of the monasteries — is investigated.Less
This chapter examines the early Protestant or evangelical critique of purgatory by figures such as Simon Fish, John Frith, and William Tyndale in the reign of Henry VIII, and traditionalist Catholic responses to it by Thomas More and others. It goes on to explore the official status of purgatory, indulgences, and post-mortem prayer after Henry's break with the papacy, concluding that, while conservative in many other respects, the Henrician Church's position in these matters represented a striking break with the past. This was due to both to purgatory's uncertain foundation in scripture and to its particular association with papal authority. Wills are used to trace a declining pattern of intercessory provision in a climate of uncertainty about official intentions, and a hitherto neglected theme — the significance for the cultural status of the dead of the dissolution of the monasteries — is investigated.
