The Call to Read

Kirsty Campbell

Description

The Call to Read is the first full-length study to situate the surviving oeuvre of Reginald Pecock in the context of current scholarship on English vernacular theology of the late medieval period. Kirsty Campbell examines the important and innovative contribution Pecock made to late medieval debates about the roles of the Bible, the Church, the faculty of reason, and practices of devotion in fostering a vital, productive, and stable Christian community.

Campbell argues that Pecock's fascinating attempt to educate the laity is more than an effort to supply religious reading material: it is an attempt to establish and unite a community of readers around his books, to influence and thus change the ways they understand their faith, the world, and their place in it. The aim of Pecock's educational project is to harness the power of texts to effect religious change. Combining traditional approaches with innovative thinking on moral philosophy, devotional exercises, and theological doctrine, Pecock's works of religious instruction are his attempt to reform a Christian community threatened by heresy through reshaping meaningful Christian practices and forms of belief. Campbell's book will be of interest to scholars and students of medieval literature and culture, especially those interested in fifteenth-century religious history and culture.

Sujets

• Literary Criticism
• Books
• Medieval
• Idioma inglés
• Idioma galés
• Edad Media
• Reginald Pecock
• Middle Ages
• Irish
• English
• European
• Welsh
• Scottish
• Reading
• Musique irlandaise
• Anglais

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 15 novembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268076917
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

The Call to Read

The Call to Read

Reginald Pecock’s Books and Textual Communities

K I R S T Y C A M P B E L L

University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, Indiana

Copyright © 2010 by University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 www.undpress.nd.edu

All Rights Reserved

Manufactured in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Campbell, Kirsty, 1977– The call to read : Reginald Pecock's books and textual communities / by Kirsty Campbell. p. cm. Basedontheauthor'sthesis(doctoral)—UniversityofToronto.Includes bibliographicalreferences(p.)andindex. ISBN-13:978-0-268-02306-5(pbk.:alk.paper) ISBN-10:0-268-02306-9(pbk.:alk.paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-268-07691-7 9 (web pdf) 1. Pecock,Reginald,1395?–1460?2.Theology—England—History— Middle Ages, 600–1500. 3. Christian literature, English (Middle)—History and criticism. 4. England—Church history—1066–1485. I. Title. BX4705.P4C36 2010 282.092—dc22 2010024327

∞The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

To those who have believed in me—

my wonderful husband, Eric;

my supportive parents, Helen and Iain;

and my amazing mentor Suzanne

one

two

three

four

five

six

seven

Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations

Contents

Introduction: Reginald Pecock’s Books and His Textual Community

Pecock’s Audience

The Religious Education of the Laity

Theological Training and the Mixed Life

Ritual Reading and Meditative Reading

The Book of Reason

The Bible

Lay-Cleric Relations in the Textual Community

Conclusion: Understanding Pecock’s Cultural Practice

Appendix A Appendix B Notes Bibliography Index

ix xi

1

27

61

85

110

148

181

217

244

259 261 263 284 306

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my gratitude to a number of institutions and individuals who supported me as I wrote this book. The project took root during my doctoral studies at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Medieval Studies. It began as a dissertation under the supervision of Suzanne Akbari, an exceedingly generous teacher, inspiring mentor, and intelligent scholar. The study took new shape through the sup- port of James Simpson, who provided stimulating discussion and op- portunities for me to present my work to other scholars. I am grateful to Ruth Harvey, a generous scholar whose wise counsel has shaped my work in many ways. I would also like to thank Brian Stock, Alexandra Gillespie, and Will Robins, without whose support and encourage- ment this book would never have been written. I wish to thank the Centre for Medieval Studies and the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto for supporting my re- search through fellowships, travel scholarships, and a postdoctoral teaching fellowship. I am particularly grateful for the unrivaled re- sources at the Pontifical Institute for Medieval Studies Library at the University of Toronto. I would also like to acknowledge my gratitude to my warm and supportive colleagues at Yeshiva College, who have brought new insights and fresh perspective to my scholarship. I am grateful to those who have given me the opportunity to present my ideas about Pecock at international workshops and con- ferences. I wish especially to thank Steve Partridge, Erik Kwakkel, Alastair Minnis, James Simpson, Fiona Somerset, Stephen Lahey, and Joseph Grossi. Audience members, fellow presenters, and organizers at

ix