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'The Right Ordering of Souls'
The Parish of All Saints' Bristol on the Eve of the Reformation
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2018
About this book
The relationship between people and parish in the late medieval ages illuminated by this study of a remarkable survival from the period.
In the two centuries preceding the Reformation in England, economic, political and spiritual conditions combined with constructive effect. Endemic plague prompted a demonstrative piety and, in a world enjoying rising disposable incomes, this linked with current teachings - especially the doctrine of Purgatory - to sustain a remarkable devotional generosity. Moreover, political conditions, and particularly war with France, persuaded the government to summonits subjects' assistance, including responses encouraged in England's many parishes. As a result, the wealthier classes invested in and worked for their neighbourhood churches with a degree of largesse - witnessed in parish buildings in many localities - hardly equalled since.
Buildings apart, the scarcity of pre-Reformation parish records means, however, that the resonances of this response, and the manner in which parishioners organised their worship, are ordinarily lost to us. This book, using the remarkable survival of records for one parish - All Saints', Bristol, in the later fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries - scrutinises the investment that the faithful made. Ifnot necessarily typical, it is undeniably revealing, going further than any previous study to expose and explain parishioners' priorities, practices and achievements in the late Middle Ages. In so doing, it also charts a world that would soon vanish.
Dr CLIVE BURGESS holds a Senior Lectureship in late medieval history at Royal Holloway, University of London.
In the two centuries preceding the Reformation in England, economic, political and spiritual conditions combined with constructive effect. Endemic plague prompted a demonstrative piety and, in a world enjoying rising disposable incomes, this linked with current teachings - especially the doctrine of Purgatory - to sustain a remarkable devotional generosity. Moreover, political conditions, and particularly war with France, persuaded the government to summonits subjects' assistance, including responses encouraged in England's many parishes. As a result, the wealthier classes invested in and worked for their neighbourhood churches with a degree of largesse - witnessed in parish buildings in many localities - hardly equalled since.
Buildings apart, the scarcity of pre-Reformation parish records means, however, that the resonances of this response, and the manner in which parishioners organised their worship, are ordinarily lost to us. This book, using the remarkable survival of records for one parish - All Saints', Bristol, in the later fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries - scrutinises the investment that the faithful made. Ifnot necessarily typical, it is undeniably revealing, going further than any previous study to expose and explain parishioners' priorities, practices and achievements in the late Middle Ages. In so doing, it also charts a world that would soon vanish.
Dr CLIVE BURGESS holds a Senior Lectureship in late medieval history at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Author / Editor information
Contributor: Clive Burgess
Dr CLIVE BURGESS held a Senior Lectureship in late medieval history at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
vii -
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List of illustrations
ix -
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Acknowledgements
xi -
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Abbreviations
xiv -
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Notes
xvi -
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Maps
xviii - Part I. For the increase of the divine service
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Introduction
1 -
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1 ‘God is in none land so well served’: Placing the late medieval English parish
5 - Part II. All Saints’, Bristol, and its parishioners
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57 -
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2 ‘To be showed and declared’: Circumstances and sources
59 -
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3 ‘According to the usage there’: Reading testamentary evidence
83 -
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4 ‘Since his decease’: The widows’ might
119 -
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5 ‘God amend them’: The parish wronged
163 - Part III. Commemorating the dead
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Introduction
191 -
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6 ‘In possession for the profit of the church’: Securing commemoration in the parish
193 -
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7 ‘For all future time’: The Halleways’ Chantry
223 - Part IV. Leaders and administrators
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Introduction
259 -
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8 ‘He procured, moved and stirred’: Clergy as mentors
261 -
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9 ‘Well willed men’: Leaders, managers and parishioners
282 - Part V. Ordering the parish
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Introduction
329 -
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10 ‘Was but single and no thing of beauty’: Enhancing the parish church
331 -
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11 ‘To the laud and the loving of Almighty God’: Increasing divine service in All Saints’
383 -
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Conclusion ‘What else, I ask you, is a city than a great monastery?’
413 -
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Appendices
425 -
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Bibliography
431 -
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Glossary
446 -
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Index
453
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
February 28, 2024
eBook ISBN:
9781787442276
Original publisher:
Boydell Press
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9781787442276
Keywords for this book
Late medieval ages; All Saints' Bristol; Reformation; devotional generosity; parish records; parishioners; medieval history; religious practices; Late medieval; Parish; Bristol; Plague; Devotional generosity; Church investment; Historical records; Worship practices; Middle Ages
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
