RLM4810

A history of popular Christianity from the beginnings to the Enlightenment

Peter Howard

12 points -One 2-hour seminar per week -Second semester -Clayton -Prohibited combination: HYM4810

Objectives Students who successfully complete this course will have an understanding of the methodological and analytical problems associated with the study of a 'popular culture', and appreciate the richness and variety of religious practices as they have developed over the centuries. They will also grasp the ways in which the political and cultural map of Europe has been shaped at many levels by Christian devotions and thought.

Synopsis This subject is open to students of religion, history, and European studies. It examines assumptions about Catholic culture which inform contemporary understandings of Europe. What was the role of history writing in the development of an identifiably Christian culture? What were the boundaries between magic, superstition and orthodox religion? What was the meaning of martyrdom, the cult of the saints, shrines and pilgrimage? What was the relationship between institutional religion and popular piety, high culture and popular expressions of devotion? How did preaching and education by friars function in local contexts? To what extent did specifically Christian teachings shape the cultural milieu of early modern Europe? There will be a particular emphasis on recent micro-historical studies (Brown, Ginzburg, Davis, Trexler, Christian) which attempt to explore the religious cosmology of ordinary folk.

Assessment Research essay (7000 words): 60% -Examination (2 hours): 40%

Recommended texts

Brown P The rise of Christianity Blackwell, 1996
Delumeau J Catholicism between Luther and Voltaire: A new view of the Counter-Reformation Burns and Oates, 1977
Obelkevich J (ed.) Religion and the people 800-1700 U North Carolina P, 1979
von Greyerz K (ed.) Religion and society in early modern Europe 1500-1800 Allen and Unwin, 1984

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