Miracles, Convulsions, and Ecclesiastical Politics in Early Eighteenth-Century Paris

Kreiser, B. Robert

ISBN 10: 069105262X / ISBN 13: 9780691052625

Published by Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1978

About this Item

Account of a cult inspired by miracles observed by worshipers at the tomb of a revered Jansenist deacon, and its rlation to the religious controversies of the time. INSCRIBED by the author on the front endsheet: "To Ken Clark- With grateful appreciation for many years of generous support. Bob Kreiser." Hardcover, full blue cloth with gilt lettering. Light wear to boards; previous owner's name (not Clark) inside front cover; page edges & endsheets foxed; light edgewear to jacket; crease to front jacket flap. Text clean; xvii, blank, 485 pages with extensive (over 60 pages!) bibliography and index. Size: Large Octavo. Seller Inventory # 997356

Bibliographic Details

Title: Miracles, Convulsions, and Ecclesiastical ...

Publisher: Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ

Publication Date: 1978

Binding: Hard Cover

Condition: Good

Dust Jacket Condition: Good

Signed: Inscribed by the Author

Edition: First Edition.

About this title

Synopsis:

In the midst of the fierce controversies raging in France over the papal bull Unigenitus, worshipers at the tomb of a revered Jansenist deacon in Paris's Saint-Médard cemetery witnessed a variety of miraculous occurrences. These well-publicized events led to the emergence of a cult that came to affect and be affected by the most furious religious debate of the eighteenth-century. Professor Kreiser provides a full and objective account of the conflicts surrounding this unsanctioned cult, which remained a major cause célèbre in ecclesiastical politics for nearly a decade.

The author details the intricate relationships between Church and State and broadens our awareness of the political implications of popular religion during the ancien régime. His wide-ranging book is the first account of the Saint-Médard episode to deal with this affair in its multiple contexts. At stake was more than acceptance of the papal bull, whose political history the author discusses. Also involved, as he shows, were fundamental questions about the nature of miracles, conflicts between episcopal and priestly authority, the unwelcome intrusions of the papacy in the affairs of the Gallican Church, and struggles among the crown, the Parlement of Paris, and the French episcopate for control over ecclesiastical affairs.

Originally published in 1978.

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