medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Predestination would certainly not have been regarded as heretical in 14th
century England--I have just been working on this! Good timing! William
Langland (1332-86), author of THE VISION OF PIERS PLOWMAN has generally been
seen as a "reformer" in the general sense of that term, but ultimately an
orthodox (small 'O') catholic. In Passus X, lines 374-75, he says, "...that I
man maad was, and my name yentred In the legende of lif longe er I were, Or
ellis unwriten for som wikkednesse, as Holy Writ witnesseth..." [I was made a
man, and my name was entered into the Book of Life long before I was. Or else,
it was not written for some wickedness as scripture witnesses.] The question
regarding Langland is whether or not he was semi-Pelagian, but it seems that
however he believed salvation was acquired, it was determined long before he
was born. This view appears to have not gotten him in trouble.
As for the Lollards, I cannot find a long passage on predestination,
but there are some references in the context of discussions on other matters
which seem to indicate a belief in predestination. A good one is in a sermon on
the prodigal son, "God oure fadir seeth us afer, long bifore that we commen to
him, for by mercy that he hath he moveth us to do thus." [God our Father looks
after us long before we come to him, because he moves us to come to him through
mercy.](Selections from English Wycliffite Writings, University of Toronto
Press, p. 54.)
Remember that the Lollards were against indulgences, pilgrimages, and prayers
for the dead, a stance which concievably predestination can be viewed as
supporting. The condemnations of the Lollards do not mention predestination as
a heresy. If the Lollards were more specific in supporting predestination, it
was either accepted as orthodox or their other views were seen as more
dangerous.
Does this help?
V.K.Inman, M.Div, Th.M. M.A.
University of Pennsylvania
Quoting Cursor Mundi <[log in to unmask]>:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
>
>
> Greetings
>
> I was wondering if anyone could direct me towards any books or primary texts
> which detail the Lollard view of Predestination.
>
> >From what I have looked at so far, I can't really tell if the Lollards
> believed in this concept, or whether it would regarded as heretical in 14th
> century England.
>
> Thank you.
>
>
>
>
>
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