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Observant Reforms and Cultural Production in Europe: Learning, Liturgy and Spiritual Practice - cover image
Radboud University Press

Observant Reforms and Cultural Production in Europe: Learning, Liturgy and Spiritual Practice

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TitleObservant Reforms and Cultural Production in Europe
SubtitleLearning, Liturgy and Spiritual Practice
ContributorPietro Delcorno(editor)
Bert Roest(editor)
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.54195/XFRB6134
Landing pagehttps://books.radbouduniversitypress.nl/index.php/rup/catalog/book/observant_reforms
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
PublisherRadboud University Press
Publication placeNijmegen
Published on2023-08-09
ISBN978-94-93296-08-4 (Paperback)
Short abstractThis volume explores the intensification of, and the transformations in literary engagement, scribal activities, and other forms of cultural production in the context of the spread of Observant reforms and the emergence of the 'Devotio moderna' in late medieval Europe. It charts the connections between the specific characteristics of this cultural production and the dynamics of religious reform and concomitant issues of order identity.
Long abstractThe impetus of religious reform between ca. 1380-1520, which expressed itself in a variety of Observant initiatives in many religious orders all over Europe, and also brought forth the 'Devotio moderna' movement in the late medieval Low Countries, had considerable repercussions for the production of a wide range of religious texts, and the embrace of other forms of cultural production (scribal activities, liturgical innovations, art, music, religious architecture). At the same time, the very impetus of reform within late medieval religious orders and the wish to return to a more modest religious lifestyle in accordance with monastic and mendicant rules, and ultimately with the commands of Christ in the Gospel, made it difficult to wholeheartedly embrace the material consequences of learning, literary and artistic prowess, as the very pursuit of such pursuits ran against basic demands of evangelical poverty and humility. This volume explores how this tension was negotiated in various Observant and 'Devotio moderna' contexts, and how communities connected with these movements instrumentalized various types of writing, learning, and other forms of cultural expression to further the cause of religious reform, defend it against order-internal and external criticism, to shape recognizable reform identities for themselves, and to transform religious life in society as a whole.
Print length304 pages
LanguageEnglish (Original)
Keywords
  • Observant Reforms
  • Devotio Moderna
  • Religious Orders
  • Manuscript Culture
  • Book Production
  • Liturgy
  • Church Music
  • Religious Architecture
  • Pastoral Care
  • Pastoralia
  • Cult of Saints
Contributors

Pietro Delcorno

(editor)
Dipartimento di Storia, Culture, Civiltà at Università di Bologna
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1556-3215

Pietro Delcorno studied theology and medieval history in Bologna and Nijmegen, and completed his PhD on late medieval exegesis and preaching in 2016 at Radboud University. Since 2021, he works as senior assistant professor at the University of Bologna and is visiting researcher at Radboud University Nijmegen. He is leading the project ‘Lenten Sermon Bestsellers: Shaping Society through Religious Communication in Late Medieval Europe (1470-1520)’, founded by a Veni Grant of the Dutch Research Council (NWO). His main research interests include medieval and early modern preaching, religious drama, and late medieval social history. His academic publications in the field include two monographs: Lazzaro e il ricco epulone: Metamorfosi di una parabola fra Quattro e Cinquecento (Bologna: Il Mulino, 2014) and in the Mirror of the Prodigal Son: The Pastoral Uses of a Biblical Narrative (1200-1550) (Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2018), as well as many articles on the Observant preachers, Italian confraternities, and Monti di Pietà.

Bert Roest

(editor)
Departement Geschiedenis, Kunstgeschiedenis en Oudheid (GKO) at Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6756-7752

Bert Roest studied intellectual history and medieval studies at the Universities of Groningen and Toronto, and completed his PhD at Groningen on the intellectual contexts of medieval Franciscan historiography in 1996. Since 2008 he works as a lecturer at Radboud University Nijmegen, and he holds a Status Only position as Associate Professor at the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto. His research focuses on the cultural and intellectual history of religious orders between the thirteenth and the seventeenth century. His publications comprise various monographs, such as 'A History of Franciscan Education' (Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2000); 'Franciscan Literature of Religious Instruction Before the Council of Trent' (Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2004); 'Order and Disorder: The Poor Clares Between Foundation and Reform' (Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2013), and 'Franciscan Learning, Preaching and Mission c. 1220-1650: Cum scientia sit donum Dei, armatura ad defendendam sanctam Fidem catholicam'…(Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2015), as well as many articles and essays on mendicant preaching, Observant religious and literary culture, and demonology. Together with Maarten van der Heijden, he maintains the Franciscan Authors Website ("https://applejack.science.ru.nl/franciscanauthors/" - https://applejack.science.ru.nl/franciscanauthors).