Later Medieval Christianity c

Later Medieval Christianity, c The practice of Christianity changed in the later middle ages due to a variety of factors, including the growth of towns, the spread of universities and church reform (liturgy, hierarchy and organization). From about 1100 on, the popular practice of Western Christianity is characterized by: (1)A growing unease with the worldly concerns of the church (ie., taxation, landholding, politics); (2)A new emphasis on the suffering Jesus and the compassionate Mary; (3)A diversification and intensification of lay participation in orthodox religion; (4)A spread of mysticism, esp. among women. Enthroned Virgin and Child, c , Paris. Now at the Cloisters.

The Dominicans  St. Dominic ( )  Order of Friars Preachers: small group of followers of Dominic devoted to preaching and poverty  Sent by Pope Innocent III to combat heresy (both directly and by example) and Order established in 1216; it then grew rapidly  Dominicans assume prominent roles as inquisitors and university faculty St. Dominic, from a fifteenth-century fresco by Fra Angelico, at the Museo di San Marco, Florence

St. Francis of Assisi  St. Francis: 1181/ ; one of the most famous saints of the Catholic Church  Son of wealthy merchant, but after a religious conversion, he lived a life of extreme poverty and austere simplicity  Order of Friars Minor ( little brothers ): order approved by Innocent III in 1210 to counterbalance heretical movements  Movement grew very rapidly, but Order faced severe organizational challenges and divisions which amplify after Francis’ death  Francis: “Preach the Gospel at all times; when absolutely necessary, use words.” Fresco of Francis at Assisi by Cimabue (c ), the earliest known depiction of the saint. Basilica of St. Francis.

Women in the Mendicant Orders  Women were in the mendicant orders, but their relationship with the ideals of preaching and engagement with the world was difficult.  1213: Dominic founded female chapter of his order; the nuns were cloistered and did not preach, but assisted order in book production;  by 1340s, women were 10% of the Order.  St. Clare of Assisi: inspired by Francis, sets up a convent for women and wrote her own rule;  like Dominican nuns, “Poor Clares” advocated imitatio Christi and spiritual poverty, but were also cloistered and did not preach or wander Fresco of St. Clare from the basilica of St. Francis, Assisi by Simone Martini ( )

Suffering Christ, Compassionate Mary  What is imitatio Christi ?  Christ: Late antique “triumphant king” to Carolingian-era “terrifying judge” to twelfth- and thirteenth-century merciful, suffering lord  Mary: ideal of virgin chastity to “Our Lady”; increased devotion to her as grieving mother, friend, protector, healer, intercessor  New celebrations for both (Stations of the Cross, Eucharist feast, praying the Rosary) Central panel from the Thornham Parva retable, probably for the Dominican priory of Thetford, Norfolk in 14 th century, now at Thornham Parva, Suffolk

Margery Kempe: a remarkable life  Written in the 1430s  Townswoman, wife, mother, pious Christian  Written with conventions of medieval female sacred biography  First autobiography written by a woman in Europe? It’s complicated…

Next Class  Mark Pegg, “The Death of One Cistercian”  The Inquisition Record of Jacques Fournier, “Baruch the Jew”, both on the class blog.