Handling Sin: Confession in the Middle Ages - York Studies in Medieval Theology

Marc Notes: Papers delivered at a conference held Mar. 9, 1996, at King's Manor, York.; Includes bibliographical references and index. Review Quotes: Interesting, learned. MEDIUM AEVUMPublisher Marketing: Penance, confession and their texts (penitential and confessors' manuals) are important topics for an understanding of the middle ages, in relation to a wide range of issues, from medieval social thought to Chaucer's background. These essays treat a variety of different aspects of the topic: subjects include the frequency and character of early medieval penance; the summae and manuals for confessors, and the ways in which these texts (written by males for males) constructed women as sexual in nature; William of Auvergne's remarkable writing on penance; and the relevance of confessors' manuals for demographic history. JOHN BALDWIN's major study From the Ordeal to Confession', delivered as a Quodlibet lecture, traces the appearance in French romances of the themes of a penitent's contrition, the priest's job in listening, and the application of the spiritual conseil and penitence. PETER BILLER is Professor of Medieval History at the University of York; A. J. MINNIS is Douglas Tracy Smith Professor of English, Yale University. Contributors: PETER BILLER, ROB MEENS, ALEXANDER MURRAY, JACQUELINE MURRAY, LESLEY SMITH, MICHAEL HAREN, JOHN BALDWIN

Contributor Bio:  Biller, Peter Biller is Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of York. Contributor Bio:  Minnis, Alastair J Minnis is Professor of Medieval Literature a the University of York.