Friday, September 14, 2007

Peasant Fires

• On p. 32, our author writes, "We don't really know what peasants thought--any peasant. They are largely a silent, brooding mass of humanity." Comment. What efforts does Wunderli make to peek behind this "brooding mass"?
• What is the "culture of poverty" in which peasants lived? What were their vulnerabilities, and what were their coping mechanisms?
• What about the "cult of poverty"? What does this mean, exactly, and what role did it play in late medieval society?
• What role did the Black Death play in the circumstances surrounding late 15th-century peasant revolts? Follow this section very carefully. What does Wunderli mean by a "vicious fatlism"? (p. 55).
• What is the origin of the practice of granting indulgences? What is the theological basis for it?

Erasmus A Pilgrimage for Religion's Sake

Erasmus (1469-1535) was one of the most famous intellectuals of his time in Europe, if not the most famous. He became a monk at 15 (an Augustinian canon, in the same order as Luther, in fact), but left the monastery several years later to study at the University of Paris, and never returned. As a young adult, he fell in love with the literature of ancient Greece and Rome, and identified with the movement we call humanism. Humanists were men of letters (and a very few women), who believed that a revival of study of the classics of the ancient world could lead to a revival in individual virtue and civic life. They focused on two features of this literature in particular: the excellence of the prose in which it was written, and the quality of its ethical philosophy. They believed that simply being exposed to beautiful language was edifying in itself, and that exhortations to the good life were effective only insofar as they were persuasive. The study of rhetoric was thus terribly important to them.

As he matured, Erasmus began to believe that the smae principles that apply to study of pagan literature also apply to scripture: that scripture is edifying because of the power of its language and the sublimity of its message, which people must learn to appreciate without all of the confusing interpretations of the philosophers and theologians of the universities. Thus he rejected the approach to learning taught at Paris, and worked on his own to learn Greek and enhance his education. He collected manuscripts of the Greek New Testament and published a critical edition, believing that in the original language the New Testament was purer and more authentic than in the Latin translation, called the Vulgate, in which it had been transmitted for centuries. He also translated the Greek into Latin to offer an alternative reading, complete with detailed notes to allow scholars to follow his reasoning. This caused great controversy, and no end of trouble for Erasmus, who spent a lot of time writing defenses of his translation.

In addition to biblical scholarship, Erasmus endorsed a reform of Christendom from within, writing pious treatises on the Christian faith in which he upheld a spiritual relationship with God in preference to the elaborate ceremonies that characterized so much of late medieval piety. He wrote a series of colloquies, or dialogues, as an educational tool to help young people learn their Latin in a format that was both pleasurable and edifying. These colloquies frequently became a vehicle for him to present his critiques of pracitices such as magnificent funerals, extensive intercessory prayers, and in this case, pilgrimages.

Think about the following as you read:

• Pay attention to the humor of this piece. What details strike you as especially funny?
• What are Ogygius's motives in going on the pilgrimage?
• How do the clergy come across?
• Describe the cult of relics as it is depicted here.
• What do you believe is the message of this colloquy?
• Finally, compare Erasmus's depiction of pilgrimage here with Wunderli's explanation of the motives for pilgrimage on pp. 59-62, especially his comment that "At a pilgrimage shrine a breach had opened in the veil that separates heaven and earth, a tear in the fabric that would not be closed" (60).

Laurel Carrington carringt@stolaf.edu
Most recent update: September 12, 2007

Disclaimer