Medieval Religion: A Sourcebook

Abstract

Bringing together a wide range of sources in translation from western Christendom, which are balanced by the inclusion of texts dealing with the Eastern Church, Judaism and Islam, this new anthology on medieval religion looks to emphasise the all-pervasive quality of the Church within the activities of western Europe while at the same time underlining the diversity of Christian principles and practice in the middle ages. The editors have arranged their selected sources thematically under the headings of saints, monks and nuns, the hierarchical Church, pilgrimage, magic and heresy, devotion and the sacraments, theology, mysticism, the Eastern Church, and Judaism and Islam. The sources, which are reproduced from previous translations—some of which, it must be said, are somewhat dated—are prefaced by very brief introductions, though each chapter concludes with suggestions for further reading that includes quite recent historiography. There are also 20 plates revealing different aspects of devotion and practice, largely from English churches and monasteries.