Ritual, Myth and Magic in Early Modern Europe - University of Reading
Ritual, Myth and Magic in Early Modern Europe - University of Reading
Ritual, Myth and Magic in Early Modern Europe - University of Reading
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8<br />
Essay Titles<br />
Autumn Term<br />
History <strong>and</strong> Hagiography<br />
How useful are the lives <strong>of</strong> the sa<strong>in</strong>ts to the historian <strong>of</strong> late medieval religion?<br />
Was late medieval <strong>Europe</strong> a society ‗saturated with sa<strong>in</strong>ts‘?<br />
The People <strong>of</strong> <strong>Europe</strong> <strong>and</strong> the <strong>Ritual</strong> Year<br />
Is the history <strong>of</strong> popular culture <strong>in</strong> the early modern period possible?<br />
To what extent were rituals responsible for group cohesion <strong>and</strong> the formation<br />
<strong>of</strong> community identity <strong>in</strong> early modern <strong>Europe</strong>?<br />
What impact did the Reformation have upon the rituals <strong>of</strong> the population?<br />
Popular Religion<br />
―Christendom <strong>in</strong> 1500 was a coherent cultural unit‖. (Monter) Is this an<br />
accurate assessment <strong>of</strong> Catholic church on the eve <strong>of</strong> the Reformation?<br />
How successful were Catholic <strong>and</strong> Protestant reformers <strong>in</strong> chang<strong>in</strong>g patterns<br />
<strong>of</strong> popular piety <strong>in</strong> the sixteenth century?<br />
Order <strong>and</strong> Disorder<br />
Why did early modern revolts take the form that they did?<br />
Was popular protest <strong>in</strong> early modern <strong>Europe</strong> planned or spontaneous?<br />
Times Omens <strong>and</strong> Portents<br />
Why did the people <strong>of</strong> early modern <strong>Europe</strong> see a prophetic significance <strong>in</strong><br />
natural irregularities?<br />
Why were prophets so popular <strong>and</strong> so feared <strong>in</strong> early modern <strong>Europe</strong>?<br />
Heaven <strong>and</strong> Hell<br />
What impact did the reformation have upon attitudes to the afterlife?<br />
Did Heaven or Hell loom larger <strong>in</strong> the beliefs <strong>and</strong> practices <strong>of</strong> the laity <strong>in</strong> the<br />
early modern period?<br />
‗A fond th<strong>in</strong>g va<strong>in</strong>ly <strong>in</strong>vented‘. Why did Protestants writers attack the Catholic<br />
doctr<strong>in</strong>e <strong>of</strong> purgatory?<br />
Death <strong>and</strong> the place <strong>of</strong> the dead<br />
How far did attitudes to death <strong>and</strong> dy<strong>in</strong>g change <strong>in</strong> the period 1450-1650?<br />
Account for the hostility <strong>of</strong> Protestant reformers to Catholic rituals <strong>and</strong><br />
practices surround<strong>in</strong>g death<br />
Ghosts<br />
―The Gospel hath chased away walk<strong>in</strong>g spirits.‖ How accurate was<br />
Archbishop S<strong>and</strong>ys‘ assessment <strong>of</strong> post-Reformation attitudes to ghosts?<br />
To what extent did belief <strong>in</strong> ghosts depend upon belief <strong>in</strong> the existence <strong>of</strong><br />
purgatory?
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