John Wycliffe Research Articles

Bonhoeffer's America: A Land Without Reformation by Joel Looper

Reviewed by: Bonhoeffer's America: A Land Without Reformation by Joel Looper H. Gaylon Barker Bonhoeffer's America: A Land Without Reformation. By Joel Looper. Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2021. 260 pp. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was both attracted to and disappointed in America. His attraction led him to make two trips to America in the 1930s; one in 1930–31 to study at Union Theological Seminary in New York and the other briefly in 1939, when he sought refuge [End Page 105] from the war. In both instances, he was "bitterly disappointed" (16) because "there is no theology here" (17). When viewed through his European Lutheran eyes, America "lacked the gospel" (27). The one bright spot was Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem; while the churches Bonhoeffer attended in New York preached virtually everything except "the gospel of Jesus Christ" (17), at Abyssinian he found that the gospel was "truly preached and received with great welcome and visible emotion" (137). Bonhoeffer's experiences in and reflections on American church life and theology are the subject of Looper's study. The subtitle refers to Bonhoeffer's 1939 essay, "Protestantism without Reformation," which pronounced Bonhoeffer's verdict on American Christianity that it was not really Protestant. Looper examines Bonhoeffer's experiences in America and his responses through a detailed analysis of his written reports and identifies the sources for Bonhoeffer's critique. The first is traced to the work of Thomas Cuming Hall that located the origins and characteristics of American Christianity in the theology of John Wycliffe and the 15th century English pre-Reformation Lollard movement with its emphasis on individualism and conscience (or "the inner light"). When transplanted to America, it brought a "non-ecclesial, antidogmatic, inward-looking theology" (74) and adopted an attitude of tolerance that "involved jettisoning of the question of truth" (82). The second influence shaping Bonhoeffer's response was his use of Luther's "two kingdom" thinking. Drawing on Luther's insights, America, because of its "enthusiastic spiritualism [schwärmerishe Spiritualismus]," had conflated the two kingdoms, collapsing the "church into the world" (112). What was needed was for the church to "simply continue being the church because the world will most certainly continue to be the world" (119). Like Luther, "Bonhoeffer wanted the church to invade the world with the gospel rather than keeping the Word to itself" (190). Looper places Bonhoeffer's reflections in the context of 1930s American theology, contrasting them with the theology of his professors at Union Seminary. For example, the author discusses Bonhoeffer's use of Luther to critique Reinhold Niebuhr, in whom Bonhoeffer found "the person and work of Jesus Christ is missing" (57). In addition, Looper examines the history of Abyssinian Baptist [End Page 106] Church and its roots in American slavery to show how Bonhoeffer's experiences there continued to shape both his involvement in the resistance (his concern for the plight of the Jews) and his later theology. While Bonhoeffer is likely to have missed something in American church life, is what he saw valid? Consider the "radical individualism" that has come to embody American identity; if it indeed has roots in the Lollard movement and its abandonment of the church as institution in favor of following one's own conscience, many would agree that "individualistic religiosity" in American Christianity misses "the point of the gospel" (195). When Bonhoeffer envisioned the church of the future in some of his final writings, it is a church shaped by the gospel and two kingdoms teaching, the very things absent in the American church. This work, which takes seriously Bonhoeffer's reading of the American theological tradition, is a welcome addition to the secondary work on Bonhoeffer's theology. In addition, because of the scope of Looper's analysis, this work should be of interest to anyone who is concerned about the impulses that shaped America's version of Christianity that continue to have an impact on public life in the twenty-first century. As a side note, readers of Lutheran Quarterly might find Looper's analysis of Bonhoeffer's use of Luther's two kingdoms thinking for framing his evaluation of American Christianity an added bonus. H. Gaylon Barker Molloy...

Способы выражения модальности в среднеанглийском и ранненовоанглийском языке (на материале Библии Джона Виклифа и Библии короля Якова)

The study aims to describe ways of modality expression by peripheral modal verbs in John Wycliffe’s Bible and the King James Bible. The paper describes modality types, identifies ways of modality expression in Middle English and Early Modern English, defines the notion of peripheral modal verbs, as well as characterises the ways in which they express modality in the diachronic aspect. The work is novel in that it is the first to characterise linguistic means and ways of conveying modal meanings by peripheral modal verbs, using the language of the Bible, which makes it possible to trace language variability in a relatively unchanged text. As a result, it has been proved that Early Modern English peripheral modal verbs correspond to the modal verb “schal” or a verb in the subjunctive mood with certain shifts in meaning in Middle English.

From Minority to Maturity: The Evolution of Later Lollardy

Though English supporters of the Oxford theologian John Wycliffe (d.1384)—known as “Lollards”—had been drawn from academic and noble/gentry circles during the later-fourteenth and early-fifteenth centuries, persecution, equation of heresy with sedition, and the failure of Sir John Oldcastle’s Rebellion (1414) ensured overt abandonment of Lollard ideas. Consequently, post-1414 (“later”) Lollardy in England has been characterized as an amorphous, introverted network—appealing to those of lesser socio-economic status—being unworthy of description as a sect because of its deficiency of organization. However, the movement’s consistency and infrastructure are reappraised by considering its heterogeneity in terms of society (demography, literacy, and socio-economic status), interactions (modes of dissemination), and motivation, participation, and organization (appreciating the dynamics of religious movements). From a comparative perspective, Lollardy’s acephalous, reticulate infrastructure—similarly to that of Waldensianism and other movements—may have proved beneficial by facilitating adaptability during persecution thereby ensuring Lollardy’s survival until the Reformation.

Life and Work of Prague Master Simon of Tišnov

The Bohemian Reformation is a widely researched topic. However, not enough attention is given to all participants during the course events. The aim of this article is to introduce the life and literary work of the little-known University of Prague Master, Simon of Tišnov (ca. 1370–1432), a medieval scholar with roots in the Moravian town called Tišnov, a defender of John Wycliffe’s philosophy, an ardent supporter of the Bohemian reformation movement and, eventually, an objector, or rather an opponent, of those who followed the teachings of John Wycliffe and John Hus. The article is focused on Simon’s very first publication, viz. the Defensio of John Wycliffe’s treatise De probationibus propositionum which is also known under the title Logicae continuatio.

So-called “Lollardsʼs Catechism”. The translation of part from middle English to Russian with commentary and introduction article

Publication of the Russian translation of part of so-called “Lollardsʼs Catechism”, which was written by anonymous author in 14th century England. The title “Lollardsʼs Catechism” was given by first editors in the early 20th century, because the text wasnʼt originally entitled. The text is an expanded version of official Catechism, written by ordered archbishop of York John de Thoresby (died 1373). In comparison with the original, anonymous author focused on the ethos of clergy. For some time, researchers believed that the author of the text was John Wycliffe (1320-1384), but now this point of view isn’t shared by scientists. The rhetoric presented in the text gives the reasons to believe that the text was written by one of the wandering preachers, who may have belonged to the Lollards, who were especially active in England in the second half of the 14th century.

EVOLUTION OF THE FORMATION OF THE DISCRIMINATION CONCEPT IN THE ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL PERIODS

Introduction. The article considers the question of the formation of inequality in legal regulation, highlighting different periods of historical development of society. It is noted that the term «discrimination» as such was not described by philosophers of the ancient period, but it is noted that inequality existed at all times, as indicated by historical and legal experience. It is the theory of non-discrimination formed within the framework of natural law theory, the principles of equality and justice, so for the modern study of the topic is important its historical and genetic analysis of the origins of discussing the issue in the early stages of state and legal thought. Relevance. The definition of discrimination and the phenomenon of inequality as such remains popular at any historical time in various socio-political circumstances, as it can be traced at all stages of society. Only some of its forms were considered and the ideas of equality and justice for all people were traced, which makes it difficult to form a unified view of the concept of discrimination and at the same time determines the relevance of this article. The purpose of the article is the features of the philosophical and legal thought of the Ancient and Middle Ages periods, concerning inequality in society and discrimination. Research methods. Solving research problems requires a solid methodological basis. General philosophical methods were used - logical, systemic, special-scientific, historical-genetic and formal-logical. The content of the main results of the article. The term «discrimination» was not described by philosophers of the ancient period, but the phenomenon of inequality existed at all times. Plato in his reasoning described the «ideal» state, distinguishing three classes, Aristotle – divided society into rich, middle and poor classes. The ideas of equality of citizens were described by Cicero (equal opportunities, except for property status), Seneca (ideas of spiritual freedom and equality), Epictetus (natural law principle), Aurelius Augustine, etc. Bogomilism (one of the first great heretical movements), the heresy of the Cathars, the Waldenses, the Albigensians, as well as the bourgeois and peasant-plebeian heresies are considered. The teachings of John Wycliffe on refuting the canonical doctrine of the Catholic Church, the utopian theories of Thomas More and Tommaso Campanella are considered. Conclusions. The concept of discrimination was formed and considered gradually. Inequality between people was observed in the ancient world, because the legal status of a citizen depended in ancient policies on a particular type, size of land or income that a person received from him. Therefore, inequality between different strata of society originated in ancient times, as exemplified by the prohibition of interclass marriages. During the Middle Ages, the phenomenon of discrimination continued its formation on the principle of equality, due to restrictions on the rights of certain social groups and by perpetuating certain types of inequality.

The Etymology of Old Occitan trobar and trobador

The Old Occitan verb trobar meant 'to find' or 'to compose (verses).' The verb and its derivative trobador are usually explained as reflexes of a Latin *tropare 'to make a trope,' which has not been attested. This article offers attestation of tropare in John Wycliffe (fourteenth century), for whom it means 'to interpret figuratively' (rightly or wrongly), and argues that this late evidence continues early usage. The pejorative alternative continues in early troubadours for whom trobar meant 'to compose foolishly' and trobador meant 'foolish poet.' The second meaning of trobar, 'to find,' is here traced to Latin tropaeum 'trophy,' whence Occitan troba 'a find, trove,' whence trobar. The two meanings of the verb come from two etyma. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the connotation of trobador rose dramatically from its humble beginning, and it became the honorable epithet it is today.

From Late Woronicz to Early Wittgenstein: The Reception of "Pieśń o Wiklefie" ("A Song About Wycliffe) and of John Wycliffe in Nineteenht-Century Poland

The article is interested in following the history of the reception of the exceptional example of fifteenth-century poetry in Polish Pieśn o Wiklefie by Jedrzej Galka of Dobczyn in the period between the discovery of the text in 1815 and the beginning of the First World War. The author discusses the reception of Pieśn o Wiklefie in later works of the Enlightenment poets as well as in texts by Mickiewicz and Norwid (the latter was friends with the poet Antoni Czajkowski, whose father first published Pieśn o Wiklefie). The article concludes with a discussion of the intellectual contacts between the logician Michal Dziewicki – one of the publishers of Wycliffe’s works – and Wittgenstein, who served in the military in Cracow.

How can the Reformation’s focus on faithfulness to Scripture inspire us for mission?

Since the 16th century Protestant Reformation, the issue of divine inspiration and authority of the Bible has stood at the centre of Reformed faith. The question asked then, which is still with us, is whether the Bible is sufficient and complete as a revelation from God? Conflicts that arose during the Reformation still brew today, albeit with different players and contexts. Furthermore, how does the faithfulness to Scripture by reformers, such as William Tyndale and Martin Luther, and pre-Reformer, John Wycliffe, influence the church’s involvement and influence in God’s mission today?

Jan Hus Between Time and Eternity: Reconsidering a Medieval Heretic by Thomas A. Fudge

Reviewed by: Jan Hus Between Time and Eternity: Reconsidering a Medieval Heretic by Thomas A. Fudge Carole M. Cusack Fudge, Thomas A., Jan Hus Between Time and Eternity: Reconsidering a Medieval Heretic, Lanham, Lexington Books, 2016; cloth; pp. xii, 277; R.R.P. US $99.00, £65.00; ISBN 9781498527507. Thomas A. Fudge's collection of essays on Jan Hus is neither a biographical nor a conventional historical study. Rather, Fudge seeks to address issues in Hus's life and martyrdom, and in the reception of Hus that are generally not considered. Part I, 'Priest and Reformer in Prague', contains chapters on possible influence on women's spirituality in Bohemia, Hus's sex life (he had no active sex life but did write on sex, for example, accusing Czech priests of living immoral lives, and in a commentary on the Ten Commandments), and apocalyptic dimensions of his thought. Fudge cleverly mines textual evidence (Hus's own writings, those of his predecessors, like John Wycliffe, and contemporaries) to illuminate his subject. The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were tumultuous with regard to religious dissent and eschatological expectations, and Hus was no exception; he expected the end of times, and martyrdom made him an inspiration to 'those left to struggle in "the night of Antichrist" in the shadow of eternity' (p. 70). The second part, 'Martyr at Constance', contains four investigations by Fudge. Chapter 4, 'Hus on Trial', considers the ways that different parties at Hus' trial regarded him. His accusers ranged from 'detached' Jan Železný to Štěpán Páleč, who was a friend of Hus but deemed him as 'proud, arrogant, truculent, and unable to absorb any critique without recourse to defamatory threats' (p. 85). This study makes clear that there were nuances between Hus's opponents, and that some were genuinely enemies where others were not. The next chapter takes up the theme of heresy that dominated the trial at Constance, situating Jan Hus in the late medieval context of heresy hunting. The chapter 'Friendship and Faith: The Prisoner and the Knight', which addresses the relationship between Hus and Lord Jan Chlum, is one of the most intriguing and moving in the book. A sizeable correspondence between Hus and Chlum survives (an 'Appendix' deals with it), and Chlum challenged Pope John XXIII on Hus's behalf after he was arrested (a guarantee of safe conduct had been given by the pontiff). The final chapter in this part, '"The Other Sheep": Reflections on Heresy by a Suspected Heretic', analyses Hus's [End Page 198] writings on simony and other divergent theological views, and probes the idea that he believed that separating 'the wheat and the tares' was too dangerous, too difficult, and that there were 'other sheep' (p. 153). Part III, 'Legacy to the World', is comprised of three chapters that consider the afterlife of Hus. The first argues that he was not a significant presence (as inspiration or rallying point) of the later Hussite Crusade, and questions whether that might be in part because he was radically opposed to violence and killing. The second considers Hus in the light of heretical predecessors and subsequent Reformation heroes like Martin Luther. The six-hundredth anniversary of Hus's death at Constance in 1414 was the occasion that sparked many of Fudge's essays, and a half-millennium has passed since Luther's 'Ninety-five Theses or Disputations on the Power of Indulgences' were nailed to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral, the start of the Reformation, which changed Christianity irrevocably. Chapter 10, 'The Seven Last Words of Jan Hus', situates the words Hus uttered as he left the prison and walked to the stake, and leaves readers in no doubt of the great faith Hus possessed, and his absolute trust in God. Fudge's final chapter, 'Politicizing the Legend of Jan Hus: Problems and Perspectives', is a historiographical study that reveals fault-lines and fissures in Hus scholarship that persist to the present day. This is a lively and readable study, filled with surprises (unusual subjects of research, original methods to get close to Hus's ideas and context, and new conclusions). It will be of interest to scholars of late medieval...

Popes convict dead Pope Twice! The unbelievable Cadaver Synod.

In 897, the 9-month-old corpse of the late Pope Formosus stood trial by the reigning pontiff, Stephen VII. Stephen VII convicted Formosus, sentenced the cadaveric Pope to have three fingers of his right hand amputated and then had him buried in a common grave. This posthumous trial raised theological and sacramental debates and created an outrage in Rome that became the cause of Stephen VII's swift downfall. Pope Formosus joins other notable historical figures such as St. Thomas Becket and John Wycliffe who were tried and punished after death.

Miloslav Kaňák jako církevní historik, husitolog a znalec života i díla anglického reformátora Jana Viklefa

Miloslav Kaňak (1917-1985) was a Professor at the Jan Hus Czechoslovak Theological Faculty of Prague. M. Kaňak was appointed head of the department of history there in 1950 and worked there until 1981. He pursued his interest in five areas: general history, the period of the National Revival in Bohemia, the Modernist movement of Czech Catholic clergymen, the beginnings of the contemporary Czechoslovak Independent Hussite Church as well as the history of the Medieval Hussite period with special attention to its roots. The paper also pays deeper attention not only to the circumstances of the origin, but also the content of Kanak's monograph on the English reformer John Wycliffe. The main result of Kanak's study of this issue was the book: John Wycliffe: The Life and Work of the English Hus Predecessor which was published in Prague in 1973. The book includes an interpretation of the life and writings of Wycliffe and deals with the reception of Wycliffe's doctrine in Bohemia. The author also discusses the Lollard Movement in England.

La disputa al concilio di Basilea tra Giovanni da Ragusa e Giovanni da Rokycana

The study is aimed to sketch the dispute which took place on the Council of Basle between the representatives of Czech Church and Roman Catholic Church, namely between John of Rokycany and Ivan of Dubrovnik. The theme of the discussion was mainly the question of communion under both kinds for the laity, which could be regarded just as a disciplinary matter. In: reality, both disputers show that there are ecclesiological consequences: How should the Church be understood? What is Jesus’s relation to this church? The dispute thus reflected the Church reform initiated by John Wycliffe and advanced by John Hus. The question of communion under both kinds for laity provided an opportunity to rethink the nature of the Church, the role of authority in it and the relation between the Church and Eucharist. This would, however, presuppose a certain way of perceiving the Eucharist (a sacrament or a sacrifice?), which both theologians present to justify their notion of the Church. In: order to resolve these questions, it was necessary to face a methodological problem: How to interpret the Bible and who is the supreme authority to offer an authentic interpretation? According to John of Rokycany, it is the Church while Ivan of Dubrovnik claims that it is the authority of the Church. The dispute is thus an example of the relation between the mysteries which theology should pursue.

Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty

The young Roger Williams was apprenticed as a shorthand scribe by the privy councillor Sir Edward Coke, who then sponsored Williams's further education. According to John M. Barry, witnessing Coke's appeals to common law in Charles I's Star Chamber (a court that held trials in closed sessions and without juries or other elements of due process) was formative for Williams as a political thinker, leading to his “deep understanding of state power, of individual rights, and of the law” (pp. 6, 58–59). An ambitious survey of the contexts for Williams's ideas, Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul traces religious reform back to John Wycliffe, legal culture back to Henry de Bracton, and New World exploration back to John Cabot. Williams is the main subject of only about half the chapters, and we learn little about his family life or pastoral ministry to colonists or natives. Barry is most interested in Williams as a political figure. The book's most compelling sections are vivid portrayals of Williams in London lobbying energetically with the Earl of Warwick and Oliver Cromwell to defend Rhode Island's charter, or in Narragansett territory interceding with the sachem Miantonomi.

After Critical Legal History: Scope, Scale, Structure

This review outlines a course for US legal historical writing distinct from the ascendant mode of the past 30 years, generally known as critical legal history or critical historicism. Critical legal history (CLH) is premised on the conventional historical strategy of exploring the nature of an object by situating it in an appropriate context and examining the conjunction between object and context. In CLH's case, the object is law and the context is polity, economy, or society, or more usually a realm of action that is a mixture of all three. CLH is also premised on the further, theoretical, contention that whatever the realm of action in relation to which law is situated, the outcome is the same: indeterminacy marked by contingency, alternative possibilities, paths not taken. In this regard, CLH shares in the general turn in the qualitative social sciences and humanities toward complexity. The results of this contextualizing or relational approach have been empirically rich but are inevitably marked by an abandonment of authoritative causal explanation (metatheory) for thick description. This review lays out an alternative to CLH's parsing of relations between law and what is extrinsic to it, by exploring the explanatory potential of allegory, by which what are imagined as distinct become the same. Allegory is strikingly visual in conception—figurative, emblematic. John Wycliffe called it “ghostly understanding.” I explore the potential of allegory along three optical dimensions—scope (appearance), scale (perspective), and structure (constellation)—that together produce what Walter Benjamin called “the dialectical image,” a nonrelational theory of representation with striking historical applications.

John Wycliffe and the Prebend of Aust

John Wycliffe and the Prebend of Aust

Could the Gospel Harmony Oon of Foure Represent an Intermediate Version of the Wycliffite Bible?

Notwithstanding the exhaustive work of Conrad Lindberg,1 the most complete edition of the Wycliffite Bible gospel manuscripts remains that published in 1850 in four quarto volumes and edited by Jos...

The Image of the Biblical Job, a History: Volume 3, Job in the Modern World (review)

Reviewed by: The Image of the Biblical Job, a History: Volume 3, Job in the Modern World Martin Shuster Stephen J. Vicchio. The Image of the Biblical Job, a History: Volume 3, Job in the Modern World. Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2006. 247 pages. This book, the final volume in a three-volume monograph, represents, as Stephen Vicchio tells us in his introduction, the culmination of more than thirty years of work on the Biblical Book of Job. The first two volumes, Job in the Ancient World and Job in the Medieval World, appeared earlier this year. Beginning with Near Eastern parallels and/or precursors to the Book of Job and moving all the way through the late nineteenth century readings of the book, these three volumes represent the most sustained and most extensive treatment of the history and impact of the Book of Job in any language. Due to the difficulty of the source material (the Hebrew text of Job is not only some of the most difficult Hebrew ever written, but is also, with the conceivable exception of Hosea, some of the most corrupt) and the Herculean amount of secondary materials to be mastered, one suspects that this will remain the case for quite some time to come. The book of Job is, among other things, largely a book about the problem of evil—the philosophical and theological problem that Leibniz famously popularized in his book Essais de Théodicée sur la bonté de Dieu, la liberté de l'homme et l'origine du mal. In one sense, then, in addition to being a history of interpretations of Job, Vicchio's book also offers insight into the various responses to the problem that have been proposed by different thinkers. For that reason, Vicchio is careful, in the first volume, to establish a solid and compelling theoretical and philosophical framework. There, he exhaustively reviews the philosophical solutions given to the problem of evil, lumping [End Page 1278] them all into either deontological or teleological responses. By the former he understands those "that look backward in time to discover the cause of innocent suffering" (e.g., 'Original Sin' or 'Free Will'), while by the latter he understands those "that look forward" (e.g. 'Divine Plan') (I: 3). In addition to the variety of philosophical responses, Vicchio also outlines several "images" of Job that have been employed through the ages: the Saintly Job, the Iconoclastic Job, the Wrestler for God, and the Christ Job. Vicchio proceeds through his massive analysis by asking two questions of each Job interpretation: first, what is the philosophical solution presented and second, what is the image of Job employed. These questions lead Vicchio on a systematic historical journey of incredible breadth and scope. The third volume, Job in the Modern World, begins with the early seventeenth century and proceeds to the late nineteenth century. Taking seriously the maxim that "all translation is interpretation," Vicchio begins with an elaborate account of Job's translation into English, as commissioned by King James in 1604. Vicchio is to be commended here for his analysis, which in addition to mentioning the standard figures of such an account like John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, and Henry VIII (for his commissioning of the important Great Bible), he also mentions lesser-known or often-overlooked figures like Bede and Hugh Broughton. Vicchio then proceeds to discuss interpretations of Job in seventeenth-century philosophy. Here he includes discussions of Burton, Quarles, Hobbes, Spinoza, and Pascal. What is most interesting about this chapter is the way in which the stated claims of these philosophers (e.g. to discuss Job in a historically-conscious manner or to focus on Job as a historical figure) often deteriorate into mere proof-texts for their own particular philosophies (whether it be Hobbes's political thought, with God as the Divine King or Pascal's Christian proto-existentialism, with the authors of Job as being aware of Jesus the Christ). Following this discussion, Vicchio dedicates a whole chapter to the relationship between John Milton and Job and another chapter to the views of Job during the Enlightenment. The former is interesting largely for two reasons: first, the compelling connection that Vicchio...

Superior Spirituality Versus Popular Piety in Late-Medieval England

When K. B. McFarlane wrote his biography of John Wycliffe he was surprised to find that the hero who emerged was not Wycliffe himself but his implacable opponent, William Courtenay, the archbishop of Canterbury from 1381 to 1396. ‘Justice has never been done to Courtenay’s high qualities, above all to the skill and magnanimity with which he led his order through the crisis that now threatened it’, he wrote admiringly, adding by way of explanation that, ‘Since the reformation his has been the unpopular side.’ The impression McFarlane gave is that there were two ecclesiastical camps in late fourteenth-century England: heretical and orthodox. The fabric of English church life was fractured then, for ever, by the beliefs and work of Wycliffe and his adherents; was not McFarlane’s biography entitled John Wycliffe and the Beginnings of English Nonconformity? Yet McFarlane’s assessment of heresy was that this was far from being a monolithic movement; indeed, in a private letter he wrote, ‘Wycliffe was merely an extremist in a widespread reform movement.’

Ford Madox Brown's Protestant Medievalism: Chaucer and Wycliffe

The appeal of the Middle Ages in the nineteenth century has countless manifestations and as many explanations. A simple view of Victorian medievalism as nostalgic wish for Merrie England and escapism, hilariously challenged by Kingsley Amis in his academic novel Lucky Jim (1954), has generally been replaced with widespread recognition of it as a social language composed of myths, legends, rituals, and symbols that was appropriated by Victorians both to criticize and to affirm their own times (Dellheim 39, cf. Yates 59-70). The Victorian age, at least outwardly, was profoundly religious, albeit science had raised questions. (1) Serious disputes about religion included the complex relation of religion and art, not least because Protestantism strongly supported national identity. Indeed the Catholic Emancipation Act, which removed most of the restrictions placed on Roman Catholics as part of the Reformation, was passed only in 1829. Thus fundamental issue is why and how strongly Protestant society could deploy language and symbols from the Catholic Middle Ages. Because literature is more likely than painting to be read for ambiguity, more ready understanding of Protestant medievalism may come from focus on visual representations of Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340-1400) and John Wycliffe (1328-1384) in historical painting, itself designed to glorify national achievement and genre seriously rearticulated by the Victorians and often closely tied to literature. Since sympathy with Victorian medievalism is at variance with high praise of treatment of contemporary by Ford Madox Brown (1821-93), it is useful to introduce this discussion of his Chaucer and Wycliffe portraits with few broad points. The end of the twentieth century has favored either the ignoring of history, or its deconstruction, or political agenda that contemporary paintings advance. (2) Kenneth Bendiner's five chapters in The Art of Ford Madox Brown (1998), for example, are Archaism, Humor, Realism, Aestheticism, A Social Conscience. With each topic Bendiner shows Whiggish progression toward the excellence of the later paintings in which Brown's archaism ebbed as his realism grew; he finds in the Chaucer painting humor that gives realist bent, undercutting the pomp or fantasy of the subjects and discerns questioning that is fiercely critical of the nationalism shown in his paintings. Bendiner notes how in Wycliffe Reading His Translation marginal note of incongruity disturbs the ideal, and the Manchester murals show strong point of view at odds with the main subject, of which Wycliffe's Protestantism is part (21, 59, 99, 31, 27). Another indication of changed responses is Terri Hardin's caption: This painting reflects incipient socialism. Celebrated English reformer John Wycliffe was, through his beliefs and work, champion of the people against the abuse of the church. The illustration lacks Gothic framework with the rondels of Catholicism and Protestantism (204). While favoring social conscience, Bendiner acknowledges that Brown was something of nationalist whose attraction to themes from English literature and history persisted long after such widespread fads of the first half of the 19th century had faded. His entire career was devoted to British heroes, British history, British poetry, British theater, and British life (98). As Lucy Feiden Rabin discerns, paintings provide an evolving concept of the hero: The simple correspondence Brown saw between contemporary human behavior and legendary events of the past led to new image of the modern hero ... the slowly formed concept of the down-to-earth hero based on observations of living human beings ... periods, costumes, individualized ... created images of reality out of the eclectic formal elements of the painting, and the painting itself expressed the idea of the continuity of mankind's experience. …