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A thoroughly revised, greatly expanded edition of the most important documentary history of European witchcraft ever published.
This essay collection studies the Apocalypse and the end of the world, as these themes occupied the minds of biblical scholars, theologians, and ordinary people in Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and Early Modernity. It opens with an innovative series of studies on “Gendering the Apocalypse,” devoted to the texts and contexts of the apocalyptic through the lens of gender. A second section of essays studies the more traditional problem of “Apocalyptic Theory and Exegesis,” with a focus on authors such as Augustine of Hippo and Joachim of Fiore. A final series of essays extends the thematic scope to “The Eschaton in Political, Liturgical, and Literary Contexts.” In these essays, scholars of history, theology, and literature create a dialogue that considers how fear of the end of the world, among the most pervasive emotions in human experience, underlies a great part of Western cultural production.
"Ultimately, I propose that considering internalization as embodiment is a critical methodological shift in understanding mystical methods in general, and especially for probing recollection mysticism in depth. The inner man as opposed to the outer man is a Pauline and Lutheran commonplace that is too frequently taken out of context, leading historians of the Renaissance in general, and of Spanish Renaissance religion in particular, to value references to internal (or mental) methods of spirituality as an improvement over external (or bodily) rituals. This book takes its cue from the recent 'cognitive turn' in medieval studies that complicates studies of the body in religion by focusing on t...
This volume makes available and accessible the writings of the crucial early period of Islamic mysticism during which Sufism developed as one of the world's major mystical traditions. The texts are accompanied by commentary on their historical, literary and philosophical context.
The focus of this volume is on ministry to the sick and dying in the later Middle Ages, especially providing them with the sacraments. Medieval writers linked illness to sin and its forgiveness. The priest, as physician of souls, was expected to heal the soul, preparing it for the hereafter. His ministry might also effect healing of bodies, when that healing did not endanger the soul. This book treats how a priest prepared to visit sick persons and went to them in procession with the Eucharist and oil of the sick. The priest was to comfort the patient and, if death was imminent, prepare the soul for the hereafter. Canon law, theology, and ritual sources are employed. Three sacraments, penanc...
Expecting the End of the World in Medieval Europe: An Interdisciplinary Study examines the phenomenon of medieval eschatology from a global perspective, both geographically and intellectually. The collected contributions analyze texts, authors, social movements, and cultural representations covering a wide period, from the 6th to the 16th century, in geographically liminal spaces where Catholic, Byzantine, Islamic, and Jewish cultures converged. The book is organized in eleven chapters which reflect and explore the following arguments: the study of specific eschatological episodes in medieval Europe and their interpretations; the analysis of apocalyptic visionaries, apocalyptic authors, and ...
Debate over the usefulness of the confessionalization thesis, as a way of understanding the Reformation's impact on later Sixteenth-Century Europe, has distracted attention from the experiences of people in the early years of reform. Based on interrogations recorded in Augshurg, Germany, in the first half of the sixteenth century, the compelling portraits of individual believers presented in this book provide a rare insight into the lives of ordinary people during one of the most controversial periods in religious history. Speaking about their faith and encounters with others in their own words, they rephrase the debate in terms of contemporary experiences. The resulting study challenges previous assumptions about the importance of belief in constructing religious identities and reveals the potential for accommodation amidst conflict.
This masterful work by Dr. Laurie Olsen uncovers the behind-the-scenes story of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium VIII based on unpublished records from the Vatican Apostolic Archives, including internal memoranda, private notes, never-before-heard audio recordings of closed-door sessions, and more. This monumental achievement of archival research provides a window into what really happened at Vatican II—the council’s inner workings and maneuvers to steer Lumen Gentium VIII in a direction that would profoundly affect marian devotion and the study of mariology from that moment on.
In times of crises, be it about climate change, the pandemic corona virus, or democratic struggles, there is an unwaning interest worldwide in the end of times and related themes such as apocalypticism, messianism, and utopianism. This concerns scholarship and society alike, and is by no means limited to the religious field. The present volume collates essays from specialists in the study of apocalyptic and eschatological subjects. With its interdisciplinary approach, it is designed to overcome the existing Euro-centrism and incorporate a broader perspective to the topic of end time expectations in the Christian Middle Ages as well as in East Asia and Africa. Contributors include: Gaelle Bosseman, Wolfram Brandes, Matthias Gebauer, Jürgen Gebhardt, Vincent Goossaert, Klaus Herbers, Matthias Kaup, Bernardo Bertholin Kerr, Thomas Krümpel, Richard Landes, Zhao Lu, Rolf Scheuermann, and Julia Eva Wannenmacher.
The American Historical Association's Committee on Women Historians commissioned some of the pioneering figures in women's history to prepare essays in their respective areas of expertise. This volume, the first in a series of three, collects their efforts. Women's History in Global Perspective, Volume 1 addresses the comparative themes that the editors and contributors see as central to understanding women's history around the world. Later volumes will be concerned with issues that have shaped the history of women in particular regions. The authors of these essays, including Margaret Strobel, Alice Kessler-Harris, and Mrinalini Sinha, provide general overviews of the theory and practice of women's and gender history and analyze family history, nationalism, and work. The collection is rounded out by essays on religion, race, ethnicity, and the different varieties of feminism. Incorporating essays from top scholars ranging over an abundance of regions, dates, and methodologies, the three volumes of Women's History in Global Perspective constitute an invaluable resource for anyone interested in a comprehensive overview on the latest in feminist scholarship.