Religious Practices and Everyday Life in the Long Fifteenth Century 1350-1570: Interpreting Changes and Changes of Interpretation (New Communities of Interpretation, 2)

The essays in this book bring to light and analyse the continuities and shifts in daily religious practices across Europe--from Portugal to Hungary and from Italy to the British Isles--in the transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. While some of these changes, such as the increasing use of rosaries and the resort to Ars Moriendi, were the consequence of the rise of a more personal and interiorized faith, other changes had different causes. These included the spreading of the Reformation over Europe, the expulsion or compulsory conversion of the Jews in the Iberian Peninsula, and the conquest of large portions of eastern Christianity by the Turks--all of which forced people, who suddenly found that they had become religious minorities, to adopt new ways of living and new strategies for expressing their religiosity. By recovering and analysing the cultural dynamics and connections between religious power, knowledge, culture, and practices, this collection reconsiders and enriches our understanding of one of the most critical phases of Europe's cultural history. At the same time, it challenges existing narratives of the development of (early) modern identities that still, all too often, dominate the self-understanding of contemporary European society. Front Matter 1 Adéla Ebersonová. Religious Practices of the Canons Regular of St Augustine in the Czech Lands 23 David Carrillo-Rangel, Blanca GarÍ, and Núria Jornet-Benito. The Devotional Book in Context and Use 49 Gilberto Coralejo Moiteiro. Literacy, Books, and the Community 77 Monika Saczyńska-Vercamer. Change and Continuity in Lay Devotion as Evidenced by Prayer Beads in Medieval Poland and Central Europe 101 Erminia Ardissino. A Daily Devotion of the Long Fifteenth Century 129 Jan Dienstbier. The Prayer Book of George of Poděbrady and Books of Private Devotion in Post-Hussite Bohemia 151 Ian Johnson. The ‘Goostly Chaffare’ of Reginald Pecock 175 Dalia Marija Stančiene. The Reformation and the First Book in the Lithuanian Language 201 Joost Robbe. ‘The Kingdom of Heaven cannot be denied to you justly because you have fought correctly’ 217 Delphine Mercuzot. Caxton and the Reception of the Artes moriendi 241 Daniela Rywiková. Death Multiplied 273 Nikola Samardžić. De praeparatione ad mortem 305 Vladimir Abramović and Haris Dajč. The Phenomenon of Crypto-Christianity in the Balkans during the Sixteenth Century 323 Marcell Sebők. Traditions and Transitions 335 Melina Rokai. Continuity and Discontinuity in Everyday Religious Life in Southern Hungary before 1526 in the Light of Supplications to the Holy See 355 Géraldine Veysseyre. Books and Objects Supporting Quotidian Devotion 377 Back Matter 403 The essays in this book bring to light and analyse the continuities and shifts in daily religious practices across Europe - from Portugal to Hungary and from Italy to the British Isles - in the transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. While some of these changes, such as the increasing use of rosaries and the resort to Ars Moriendi, were the consequence of the rise of a more personal and interiorized faith, other changes had different causes. These included the spreading of the Reformation over Europe, the expulsion or compulsory conversion of the Jews in the Iberian Peninsula, and the conquest of large portions of eastern Christianity by the Turks - all of which forced people, who suddenly found that they had become religious minorities, to adopt new ways of living and new strategies for expressing their religiosity.00By recovering and analysing the cultural dynamics and connections between religious power, knowledge, culture, and practices, this collection reconsiders and enriches our understanding of one of the most critical phases of Europe?s cultural history. At the same time, it challenges existing narratives of the development of (early) modern identities that still, all too often, dominate the self-understanding of contemporary European society