Writing Tamil Catholicism : literature, persuasion and devotion in the eighteenth century / by Margherita Trento.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Trento, Margherita, editor.

Edwin B. Cole Memorial Fund.

Series:

Philological encounters monographs ; 2451-9200 v. 3.

Philological encounters monographs, 2451-9200 ; volume 3

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Beschi, Costantino Giuseppe, 1680-1747--Criticism and interpretation.

Beschi, Costantino Giuseppe.

Beschi, Costantino Giuseppe, 1680-1747. Tēmpāvaṇi.

Beschi, Costantino Giuseppe, 1680-1747.

Tamil poetry--18th century--History and criticism.

Tamil poetry.

Tamil poetry--Catholic authors.

Religion and literature.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

xiii, 355 pages : illustrations (some color), maps (some color) ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, [2022]

Summary:

"In Writing Tamil Catholicism: Literature, Persuasion and Devotion in the Eighteenth Century, Margherita Trento explores the process by which the Jesuit missionary Costanzo Giuseppe Beschi (1680-1747), in collaboration with a group of local lay elites identified by their profession as catechists, chose Tamil poetry as the social and political language of Catholicism in eighteenth-century South India. Trento analyzes a corpus of Tamil grammars and poems, chiefly Beschi's Tēmpāvaṇi, alongside archival documents to show how, by presenting themselves as poets and intellectuals, Catholic elites gained a persuasive voice as well as entrance into the learned society of the Tamil country and its networks of patronage"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Genealogies of Tamil Catholicism

2. Microstoria and the Global in the Local

3. The Beginnings of Catholic Literature in Tamil

3.1. Writing before Accommodation

3.2. Social Accommodation in Madurai

3.3. The Literary Turn

3.4. Beyond Accommodation

4. The Making of an Archive

5. Chapter Outline and Threads across the Chapters

pt. 1 Spiritual Institutions

1. Spiritual Exercises for Tamil Saints

1. Being a Catechist: Preaching and Literature

2. Being a Catechist: Caste and Profession

3. Bringing the Spiritual Exercises to the Mission

4. Spiritual Retreats between Italy and India

5. Missionary Strategies and Tamil Locations

2. Tamil Manuals for Catholic Selves

1. Creating a Catholic Self: The Ndnamuyarci

2. Disciplining the Catholic Self: The Vetiyarolukkam

3. The Dangers of a Self in Transition

4. The Catholic Self and Its Other: The Vetavilakkam

5. Conclusions: Catholic Selves, Dangers and Discipline

pt. 2 Rhetorical Education

3. Catholic Poetics and Politics of Space

1. Jesuit Humanism and Devotion

2. Kaveri Delta Politics

3. A Mirror for a Tamil Christian King

4. The Elakkuricci School of Rhetoric

5. Elakkuricci as a Christian Matam

4. A Tamil Grammar of Persuasion

1. A Textbook of (Christian) Tamil: The Tonnulvilakkam

2. Amplificatio as Porul

3. The Grammar of Society

4. Ignorant Enemies

5. Conclusions: Tamil Poetry and the Grammar of Persuasion

pt. 3 Catholic Poetry in a Tamil World

5. Writing for Eighteenth-Century Catechists

1. Christian Epic and Tamil Perunkappiyam

2. Worldly Publics, Divine Patrons

3. Angelic Time and the Relocation of Devotion

4. Tamil Demons and Christian Wonder

5. Staged Conversions

5.1. The Temptations of Rebirth

5.2. The Devil Is a Woman

5.3. The Discernment of the Peys

6. Reading as an Eighteenth-Century Catechist

1. Paper and Palm-Leaf Trails

2. Catechist Dynasties

3. Saiva Neighbors and Rivals

4. Towards the Colonial Archive

5. Conclusions: Catholic Lay Identities in the Tongue duree.

Notes:

Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral) - University of Chicago, 2019.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Edwin B. Cole Memorial Fund.

Other Format:

Online version: Writing Tamil Catholicism

ISBN:

9789004511613

900451161X

OCLC:

1283949764