A People's Church - by Agostino Paravicini Bagliani & Neslihan Ş & enocak (Paperback)

About the Book

"An introduction to Christian religious life and institutions in medieval Italy. Christian residents participated fully in religious life: joining confraternities of prayer, organizing the building of cathedrals and churches, participating in the election of their bishops and parish priests, and adorning their cities and countryside with sacred shrines"--

Book Synopsis

A People's Church brings together a distinguished international group of historians to provide a sweeping introduction to Christian religious life and institutions in medieval Italy. Each essay treats a single theme as broadly as possible, highlighting both the unique aspects of medieval Christianity on the Italian peninsula and the beliefs and practices it shared with other Christian societies. Because of its long tradition of communal self-governance, Christianity in medieval Italy, perhaps more than anywhere else, was truly a "people's church." At the same time, its exceptional urban wealth and literacy rates, along with its rich and varied intellectual and artistic culture, led to diverse forms of religious devotion and institutions.

Contributors: Maria Pia Alberzoni on heresy; Frances Andrews on urban religion; Cécile Caby on monasticism; Giovanna Casagrande on mendicants; George Dameron on Florence; Antonella Degl'Innocenti on saints; Marina Gazzini on lay confraternities; Maureen C. Miller on bishops; Agostino Paravicini Bagliani and Pietro Silanos on the papacy and Italian politics; Antonio Rigon on clerical confraternities; Neslihan Şenocak on the pievi and care of souls; Giovanni Vitolo on Naples.

Review Quotes

The chapter themes are intelligently and thoughtfully selected... the editors are to be commended for crafting such a tightknit and coherent volume.

-- "Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies"

About the Author

Agostino Paravicini Bagliani is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at the University of Lausanne and President of the International Societyof the Latin Middle Ages. He is the author or editor of more than thirty books, including The Pope's Body.

Neslihan Şenocak is Associate Professor of History at Columbia University. She is the author of The Poor and the Perfect and coeditor of Lateran IV.