The hermeneutics of distraction in early medieval England / Erica Weaver.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weaver, Erica, 1990- author.

Series:

Oxford studies in medieval literature and culture.

Oxford scholarship online.

Oxford studies in medieval literature and culture

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Monasticism and religious orders--England--History--Middle Ages, 600-1500.

Monasticism and religious orders.

Distraction (Psychology)--England--History--To 1500.

Distraction (Psychology).

Hermeneutics--Religious aspects--Christianity--History--To 1500.

Hermeneutics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, [2025]

Summary:

Distraction is now too easily considered a metonym for modern consciousness, but it was also a medieval concern, which posed a particular threat to religious life. Distraction opened the door to all other temptations, & most disturbingly of all for the monastic communities at the heart of this book it invalidated central devotional acts like reading, praying, & reciting the Psalms. Far from an innocuous sensation, distraction posed a significant spiritual danger. It also generated powerful countervailing responses in literature, pedagogy, & religious observance, profoundly shaping literary interpretation in the process. This text writes this cultural & intellectual history. It comes at the topic of distraction through the study of the affective practices of a particular community of writers & readers: the influential circle of Æthelwold (Bishop of Winchester, 963-984).

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource and publisher information; title from PDF title page (viewed on February 7, 2025).

ISBN:

0-19-892212-4

0-19-892210-8

OCLC:

1495129869