The impetus of religious reform between ca. 1380-1520, which expressed itself in a variety of Observant initiatives in many religious orders all over Europe, and also brought forth the Devotio ...moderna movement in the late medieval Low Countries, had considerable repercussions for the production of a wide range of religious texts, and the embrace of other forms of cultural production (scribal activities, liturgical innovations, art, music, religious architecture). At the same time, the very impetus of reform within late medieval religious orders and the wish to return to a more modest religious lifestyle in accordance with monastic and mendicant rules, and ultimately with the commands of Christ in the Gospel, made it difficult to wholeheartedly embrace the material consequences of learning, literary and artistic prowess, as the very pursuit of such pursuits ran against basic demands of evangelical poverty and humility. This volume explores how this tension was negotiated in various Observant and Devotio moderna contexts, and how communities connected with these movements instrumentalized various types of writing, learning, and other forms of cultural expression to further the cause of religious reform, defend it against order-internal and external criticism, to shape recognizable reform identities for themselves, and to transform religious life in society as a whole.
In this volume, Bert Roest discusses many issues pertaining to the organization of learning in the Franciscan order, and the ways in which this order engaged in pastoral and missionary activities in ...confrontation with the rise of Protestantism.
This volume deals with the transformative force of Observant reforms during the long fifteenth century, and with the massive literary output by Observant religious, leading to encompassing models of ...religious perfection that had an effect far into the sixteenth century.
The Observant reform of the religious orders remains one of the most important yet understudied religious movements of the later Middle Ages. This volume provides scholars with a current, synthetic ...introduction to the field, and suggests new avenues for future scholarship.
