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 |
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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-a | The Harlot's Tears: Compunction in Byzantine Hymns (Language: English) Index terms: Byzantine Studies, Liturgy, Music |
Paper 1639-b | Contrition in Early English Homilies (Language: English) Index terms: Hagiography, Lay Piety, Sermons and Preaching |
Paper 1639-c | The Inability to Feel Contrite in Medieval Drama (Language: English) 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. |