This present work of nine chapters portrays iconoclastic trends within Western Christianity from the early Middle Ages up to the time of the French Revolution. The primary intent of this work is an explanation of the important iconoclastic movements - their origins and their theoretical foundations and motives. Parallel to this, the book deals with the religious and theological justification of the iconographic cult and of the icon in sacred architecture both in the formal theological teachings of schools and universities and in the arena of popular pietism.
The areas of concentration are:...

The first comprehensive study of the Constance reforms since 1867, this volume offers new explanations for the frequently alleged failures of the reforms, while arguing that the successes were much greater than historians have generally acknowledged. The author analyses the specific reforms in light of the conflicting interests of reformers; then he probes the conceptual basis of the reforms employing methodology developed by Gerhart Ladner. An appendix offers a new edition of the central source for the deliberations -- the records of the Constance reform committee -- using three newly...

In this study the content and background of La Milletiere's irenism are analysed and compared to the irenism of Hugo Grotius, who strove for unity in this same period. The reactions which La Milletiere's books and pamphlets provoked are related to the rival groups within each confession: Jansenists versus Jesuits, the scholars of Saumur versus orthodox theologians like Rivet and Du Moulin and the ministers of Charenton. Richelieu's conciliatory religious policy was experienced by the oppressed French Calvinists as a major threat to the integrity of their doctrine. When one of their...

Baptism in the Theology of Martin Luther satisfies the need for a comprehensive survey, in English, of Martin Luther on baptism. The mature Luther was unstinting in praise of baptism. How does his vigorously expressed sacramental understanding sit with his earlier reformation insights? What is its impact upon justification, faith, conversion, the Church? The tensions and paradoxes are examined. Analysis of formal doctrine is complemented by a picture of baptism 'in action', culled mainly from the Lectures on Genesis. Central is baptism's 'present tense' -- its abiding force in...

Donne and the Politics of Conscience in Early Modern England examines the responses of John Donne and his contemporaries to post-Reformation debate about authority and interpretation. It argues that the legal and epistemological principles, as well as the narrative practices, of casuistry provided an important resource for those caught in the welter of conflicting laws and religions. The first two chapters explore the political, historical, and theological contexts of casuistry, locating Donne in debates about the limits of reason and the relativity of law and ethics. Chapter three...

qVeneration of the Host and of saintly relics can only be understood as closely interrelated aspects of medieval piety. This book offers a rich account of one of the most revealing dimensions of medieval belief and practice.

Tears and weeping are, at once, human universals and socially-constrained phenomena. This volume explores the interface between those two viewpoints by examining medical literature, sermons, and lyric poetry of the 16th and 17th centuries to see how dominant paradigms regarded who could, who must, and who must not weep. These paradigms shifted in some cases radically, during these centuries. Without a clear understanding of how the Renaissance 'read' tears, it is difficult to avoid using our own preconceptions -- often quite different and very misleading.
There are five chapters; one on...

This volumes contains studies on Nicholas of Cusa and his times. The first section is concerned with Cusanus' context, beginning with a historiographic essay by Francis Oakley on the impact of Brian Tierney's Foundations of the Conciliar Theory. Among the topics addressed are the long-term continuation of the Council of Basel (1431-1449) and the issues of ecclesiastical income which it addressed. The second part is concerned with Cusanus' thought on the Church, both in his conciliarist and papalist phases. Included is the first translation into English of Nicholas' Reformatio...