Wycliffite Spirituality (Classics of Western Spirituality) (Classics of Western Spirituality (Paperback))

Both In Its Own Time And Subsequently, The Lollard Or Wycliffite Movement Of Religious Reform In Late Medieval England Has Been Described In Predominantly Negative Terms: Historians, Theologians, And Literary Scholars Have Emphasized The Ways In Which Wycliffites And Their Supporters Rejected The Doctrines Of The Institutional Church, Argued Against Such Practices And Structures As Permanent Endowment And The Papacy, And Constructed Themselves As A Remnant Of True Christians Persecuted By Antichrist. Luckily, However, There Are Other Sources Of Evidence For The Spiritual And Devotional Practices Of Wycliffites And Their Communities. On The One Hand, Some Particularly Attentive Bishops Preserved In Their Registers Many Otherwise Inaccessible Details Of The Ways In Which Heresy Defendants Practiced Their Faith. On The Other Hand, Recent Scholarship Has Made It Indisputable That Any Serious Study Of This Late Medieval Heresy Must Engage Critically And Extensively With The Texts Written By Those Condemned As Heretics. This New Volume In The Classics Of Western Spirituality Series Is A Collection Of Modern English Translations Of Wycliffite Texts And Heresy Trial Records Which Disclose That, Far From Practicing A Wholly Negative Christianity, Wycliffites Were As Keenly Interested In The Spiritual Life As Many Of Their Contemporaries. While Wycliffite Spirituality, Like That Of Many A Persecuted Christian Group, Placed High Value On The Confession Of Faith And Readiness To Endure Persecution Or Even Martyrdom, They Did Not Think Of Themselves As Heretics Who Had Rejected Christianity. Indeed, They Engaged Closely With Contemporary Pastoral And Spiritual Movements, And Their Attempts To Provide An Alternative Spirituality Were Better Developed And More Coherent Than Scholarship Has Yet Acknowledged. Sermon 29 -- The Six Yokes -- On Love -- On The Divine Commandments (selections) -- On The Lord's Prayer -- A Short Rule Of Life -- Five Questions On Love -- The Two Ways -- On Holy Prayers -- Of Wedded Men And Wives (selections) -- The Our Father -- The Ten Commandments (selections) -- Sermon 57 -- Commentary On Psalm 87 -- The Seven Works Of Mercy -- A Form Of Confession -- A Dialogue Between A Wise Man And A Fool -- A Commendation Of Holy Writ -- The Lantern Of Light (selections) -- The City Of Saints -- A Dialogue Between Jon And Richard (selections) -- Sermons From Sidney Sussex 74 (selections) -- The Sermon Of Dead Men (selections) -- Heresy Trials In Norwich Diocese, 1428-31 -- Heresy Trials In Winchester Diocese, 1511-13. Edited And Translated By J. Patrick Hornbeck Ii, Stephen E. Lahey, Fiona Somerset. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. In one series, the original writings of the universally acknowledged teachers of the Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish, and Islamic traditions have been critically selected, translated, and introduced by internationally recognized scholars and spiritual leaders. Until now, the mainstream historiography of Wycliffism has largely ignored the positive spirituality that Wycliffite dissenters associated with their faith. Even anthologies of Wycliffite writings have focused on their key polemical tenets rather than their spirituality. Wycliffite Spirituality offers a new, refreshing approach with a collection of texts showing that Wycliffites were as keenly interested in the spiritual life as many of their contemporaries and that Wycliffites reflected at length on such questions as how best to live a virtuous active life in the world, how most appropriately to approach God in prayer, how to understand traditional prayers such as the Our Father and Ave Maria, and how to live up to Christ's expectations for ministers and others in the church. WyclifÆs writings on spirituality, the English texts composed by his followers, and records from heresy trials that disclose information about suspects' spiritual practices and devotional lives reveal that late medieval dissenters practiced a vibrant Christianity deserving of further study. Book jacket. Dating from the late medieval period in England, this collection of modern English translations of Wyclifs writings, Wycliffite texts, and the records of heresy trials discloses that, far from practicing a wholly negative Christianity, Wycliffites were as keenly interested in the spiritual life as many of their contemporaries.