IMC 2025: Sessions

Session 319: Faith-Full Learning, III: Faith-Full Learning in the Church

Monday 7 July 2025, 16:30-18:00

Sponsor:	Centre for Medieval & Renaissance Studies, Saint Louis University, Missouri / Medieval & Renaissance Studies, University of Nebraska Omaha
Organisers:	Martina Saltamacchia, Department of History, University of Nebraska Omaha Damian Smith, Department of History, Saint Louis University, Missouri
Moderator/Chair:	Damian Smith, Department of History, Saint Louis University, Missouri
Paper 319-a	'...if I were to write to you with proper zeal': Faith and Education in the Letter Collection of 13th-Century England (Language: English) Andrew Reeves, Department of History, Middle Georgia State University Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Education, Religious Life, Theology
Paper 319-b	Following the Crosses: The Lay Response to Exhortations, Preaching, and Processionals from the Mid-12th Century to 1216 (Language: English) Brenda M. Bolton, University of London Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Education, Lay Piety, Sermons and Preaching
Paper 319-c	'Thomas is the best healer of the virtuous sick': The Medical Miracles of St Thomas of Canterbury (Language: English) Anne J. Duggan, Department of History, King's College London Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Education, Medicine, Religious Life
Abstract	In the medieval world, faith was not just a matter of personal belief or abstract ideal—it was a fundamental part of life that influenced how people learned, worked, and made decisions. This session, echoing Bonaventure’s claim that faith illuminates all things, explores how religious practices and beliefs shaped the everyday lives of people from all walks of life. For merchants and scholars, lawyers and doctors, faith informed how individuals approached their daily tasks and responsibilities. Far from being confined within monasteries and churches, faith-full learning played a role in guiding the ethics of trade, the schedule of university students, and the practice of physicians. By considering how deeply woven faith was into the fabric of daily life and the practical knowledge of people, this session aims to broaden our understanding of what medieval learning encompassed. Through a series of case studies, the session contributes to the IMC 2025 theme, Worlds of Learning, by shedding light on the essential role of faith-full learning in medieval intellectual and practical pursuits.