The people of the parish : community life in a late medieval English diocese / Katherine L. French.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

French, Katherine L.

Series:

Middle Ages series.

The Middle Ages series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Parishes--England--History--Middle Ages, 600-1500.

Parishes.

England--Church history.

England.

England--Religious life and customs.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (327 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia, Pa. : University of Pennsylvania Press, c2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The parish, the lowest level of hierarchy in the medieval church, was the shared responsibility of the laity and the clergy. Most Christians were baptized, went to confession, were married, and were buried in the parish church or churchyard; in addition, business, legal settlements, sociability, and entertainment brought people to the church, uniting secular and sacred concerns. In The People of the Parish, Katherine L. French contends that late medieval religion was participatory and flexible, promoting different kinds of spiritual and material involvement. The rich parish records of the small diocese of Bath and Wells include wills, court records, and detailed accounts by lay churchwardens of everyday parish activities. They reveal the differences between parishes within a single diocese that cannot be attributed to regional variation. By using these records show to the range and diversity of late medieval parish life, and a Christianity vibrant enough to accommodate differences in status, wealth, gender, and local priorities, French refines our understanding of lay attitudes toward Christianity in the two centuries before the Reformation.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Defining the Parish

2. "The book and Writings of the Parish church"

3 "A Servant of the Parish"

4. " Received by the Good Devotion of the Town and Country"

5. "Curious Windows and Great Bells"

6 "The Worthiest Thing"

Conclusion

Appendix

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [281]-301) and index.

ISBN:

9781283890182

1283890186

9780812201956

0812201957

OCLC:

802049521