Monks, Miracles and Magic

Reformation Representations of the Medieval Church

Helen L. Parish

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781136522123
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: European History
• Index: History

Helen L. Parish presents an innovative new study of Reformation attitudes to medieval Christianity, revealing the process by which the medieval past was rewritten by Reformation propagandists. This fascinating account sheds light on how the myths and legends of the middle ages were reconstructed, reinterpreted, and formed into a historical base for the Protestant church in the sixteenth century.

Crossing the often artificial boundary between medieval and modern history, Parish draws upon a valuable selection of writings on the lives of the saints from both periods, and addresses ongoing debates over the relationship between religion and the supernatural in early modern Europe.

Setting key case studies in a broad conceptual framework, Monks, Miracles and Magic is essential reading for all those with an interest in the construction of the Protestant church, and its medieval past.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of plates
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction
• 2 ‘Broughte owte of deadly darkenes to lyvely lighte’: reconstructing the medieval past in Reformation England
• 3 ‘Lying histories fayning false miracles’: monks, miracles and magic in the medieval past
• 4 ‘Entique gargles of ydolatry’: saints, images and hagiography in Reformation polemic
• 5 ‘Lying Histories Fayning False Miracles’: Reformation lives of St Thomas Becket and St Dunstan
• 6 ‘Antichrist, & not the true successour of Peter’: popes, miracles and necromancy in Reformation polemic
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index