John Mirk's Festial : orthodoxy, lollardy and the common people in fourteenth-century England / Judy Ann Ford.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ford, Judy Ann.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mirk, John, active 1403? Festial.

Mirk, John.

Sermons, Medieval--England.

Sermons, Medieval.

England.

Lollards.

England--Church history--1066-1485.

Church history.

Physical Description:

168 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : D.S. Brewer, 2006.

Summary:

Marvellously perceptive and insightful'. FIONA SOMERSET, Duke University. Written with largely uneducated rural congregations in mind, John Mirk's Festial became the most popular vernacular sermon collection of late-medieval England, yet it has been neglected by scholars -- despite the fact that the question of popular access to the Bible, undoubtedly regarded as the preserve of learned culture, along with the related issue of the relative authority of written text and tradition, is at the heart of both late-medieval heresy and the resultant reformulation of orthodoxy. It offers, in fact, an unparalleled opportunity to analyze the religious ideology communicated by the orthodox church to the vast majority of people in fourteenth-century England: the ordinary country folk. This book offers the first major examination of the Festial, looking in particular at the issues of popular culture and piety; the oral tradition; biblical and secular authority; and clerical power. JUDY ANN FORD is Associate Professor in the History Department of Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Contents:

Introduction: John Mirk's Festial and Fourteenth-Century England 1

England in the Fourteenth Century 2

John Mirk's Festial 8

Overview of this Study 14

1 Popular Culture and the Study of Late Medieval Piety 16

Telling Stories: Sermon Literature and Popular Culture 16

The Study of Popular Piety in Late Medieval England 19

Lollardy, Language, and Literacy 22

2 Clerical Power and Lay Agency 32

Lay Agency in the Festial 32

Theories of Confession 35

Confession in the Festial: The Narrative of the Embarrassed Woman 39

Orthodox Confession in the Festial 46

The Character of the Penitent and the Confessor in the Festial 54

Transubstantiation and Clerical Authority 61

3 Secular Authority and Rebellion 70

The Festial and the Revolt of 1381 70

Economic Oppression of the Commons 71

Literacy, Justice, and Oppression 85

Lollardy, Apocalyptic Millenarianism, and Revolution 100

4 Biblical Authority and Oral Tradition 113

The Festial and Biblical Authority 113

English as a Medium of Religious Expression 117

Biblical Authority 121

Preaching 135

Conclusion: The Festial and Popular Piety in Late Medieval England 143.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 151-162) and index.

ISBN:

1843840014

OCLC:

63691761