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IMC 2016: Sessions

Session 1639: Contrition and Compunction in the Middle Ages, I

Thursday 7 July 2016, 11.15-12.45

Sponsor:Medieval & Ancient Research Centre (MARCUS), University of Sheffield
Organisers:Charlotte Steenbrugge, School of English, University of Sheffield
Graham Willliams, School of English, University of Sheffield
Moderator/Chair:Graham Willliams, School of English, University of Sheffield
Paper 1639-aThe Harlot's Tears: Compunction in Byzantine Hymns
(Language: English)
Andrew Mellas, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions / School of Letters, Art & Media, University of Sydney
Index terms: Byzantine Studies, Liturgy, Music
Paper 1639-bContrition in Early English Homilies
(Language: English)
Ayoush Sarmada Lazikani, Hertford College, University of Oxford
Index terms: Hagiography, Lay Piety, Sermons and Preaching
Paper 1639-cThe Inability to Feel Contrite in Medieval Drama
(Language: English)
Charlotte Steenbrugge, School of English, University of Sheffield
Index terms: Language and Literature - Dutch, Language and Literature - Middle English, Performance Arts - Drama
Abstract

The study of the history of emotions has proven a productive topic of investigation in recent years (e.g. compassion, passion, anger, and shame), but few have looked into contrition or compunction. This is especially significant for the Middle Ages, as this emotion played a key role in monastic and lay piety. Paper A explores how two Byzantine hymnographers dramatised compunction amidst the ritual of the liturgy. Paper B examines the centrality of contrition in the Lambeth and Trinity homilies. Paper C discusses dramatic portrayals of an inability to feel contrite.