The Landscape of Pastoral Care in Thirteenth-Century England, by William H. Campbell

Abstract

For many years, scholars of the medieval English church and of medieval religion more broadly have viewed the thirteenth century as a crucial period. The Fourth Lateran Council of 1215, bringing together many of the new developments already occurring in theology, canon law and lay religious practice, sought (among other things) to improve the education of the clergy and the pastoral care of the laity, with rulings on clerical education and confession. In the wake of this a series of bishops, friars and scholars with a ‘reforming’ agenda sought to regulate the behaviour and education of the clergy and thereby improve the pastoral care offered to lay people. Various aspects of this ‘reform’ movement have attracted much study in recent years: scholars working on preaching and on pastoral manuals, which were written to educate clergy and friars in hearing confessions and conducting pastoral care, have been especially active. Prior to...