Heresy and Inquisition in the Middle Ages: The Beguines of Medieval Swidnica: The Interrogation of the 'Daughters of Odelindis' in 1332

Pawel Kras,Tomasz Galuszka

ISBN 10: 1914049128 / ISBN 13: 9781914049125

Published by York Medieval Press, 2023

About this Item

This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside.This book has hardback covers. In good all round condition. No dust jacket. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item,700grams, ISBN:9781914049125.

Seller Inventory # 5791600

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Heresy and Inquisition in the Middle Ages: The Beguines of Medieval Swidnica: The Interrogation of the 'Daughters of Odelindis' in 1332
• Publisher: York Medieval Press
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1914049128
• ISBN 13: 9781914049125
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good
• Weight: 700 grams
• Seller catalogs:
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About this title

Synopsis

Documents recording the interrogation of sixteen women and the nature of their unusual spiritual practices, now available in a full edition and, for the first time, a full English translation.

In September 1332, in the town of Świdnica, an important economic and communication centre of what was then Silesia, a group of sixteen women stood before the Dominican inquisitor, John of Schwenkenfeld, to testify about the local community of beguines, who called themselves the Hooded Sisters or the Daughters of Odelindis. We are fortunate that the original records of this heresy interrogation have survived, preserved as a notarial instrument drawn up shortly afterwards, eventually transferred to the Papal Curia, and now kept in the Vatican Library. The documents provide unique insights into the everyday life and spirituality of this group of lay women, as they attempted to adopt the ideals of vita apostolica. They lived in the strict poverty they thought necessary for spiritual perfection, and took part in austere ascetic practices, including regular flagellation and a strict diet regime, aiming to mortify sinful flesh and help them achieve mystical union with God.

Using this evidence, the authors of this book piece together a sense of who these interrogated beguines were and the nature of their spiritual practices. Were they pious illiterates, or self-trained theologians, keenly interested in debates around the doctrine of such intellectuals as Master Eckhart, John Duns Scotus and Thomas Aquinas? The book also addresses the nature of their interrogation and the conduct of Friar John of Schwenkenfeld. And it contains a full edition and, for the first time, a full English translation of the documents themselves.

About the Authors

Paweł Kras is Associate Professor at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin and Director of the Centre for Medieval Studies in Lublin; his main area of study is the systems of the Inquisition in Medieval Europe.

Tomasz Gałuszka is Associate Professor at the Papal University of John Paul II in Krakow and Director of the Dominican Historical Institute; his research focuses on Henry Harrer`s Tractatus contra beghardos, the Dominicans and early fourteenth-century heresy in Lesser Poland.