Entre polémique et affaire pastorale : Prédication des indulgences en France de 1550 à 1650.

Date

2020

Advisors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

ISSN

1634-0450

DOI

Volume Title

Publisher

Revue Études Épistémè

Type

Article

Peer reviewed

Yes

Abstract

The Reformation in Germany was sparked – inadvertently – by the preaching of Johan Teztel on indulgences. Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses opened up a new polemic on the nature and significance of pardons that found a response throughout the western Church. In the following century, preaching about indulgences mirrored contemporary debates about religious authority, good works and salvation. In France, while Protestant polemic condemned indulgences across the period, from the mid-sixteenth century, Catholic preachers adopted pardons as a sign of orthodoxy and as a useful practice for the faithful. After the Council of Trent upheld the practice of indulgences in 1563, the Roman Jubilees of 1575 and 1600 popularised plenary pardons across Europe, including France. This revival was aided by the re-adoption of traditional devotions in the militant Catholicism of the League Wars, when preaching recommending indulgences increased. Polemical uses of indulgences continued into the first quarter of the seventeenth century, but with the quietening down of religious conflict after 1630, sermons adopted a more pastoral tone. Preachers turned to recommending indulgences as a spiritual work, a means of interior as much as exterior reform. In this presentation, I will examine preaching on indulgences in France over the period 1550 to 1650 and place it in the evolution of devotional practices, from anti-Protestant polemic to Catholic pastoral care.

Description

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.

Keywords

Indulgences, preaching, Reformation, Church, death

Citation

Tingle, E. (2020) Entre polémique et affaire pastorale : Prédication des indulgences en France de 1550 à 1650. Revue Études Épistémè

Rights

Research Institute