medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Linda--
Your question is not the simplest one to answer, both because private
confession was never recorded and because there is a great deal of
prescriptive literature which may or may not be descriptive. There is
some written evidence of laypeople's preparations for confession,
though this is primarily from later centuries. My generic answer is
that typically a priest would use the guide to find likely sins based
on the penitent's station (class, occupation, gender, age, etc,), and
cover only a few, or perhaps one example for each of the Seven Sins
(or Ten Commandments).
For a general overview, I would suggest *Handling Sin: Confession in
the Middle Ages,* edited by Peter Biller and A.J. Minnis, (York
Studies in Medieval Theology II, York: York Medieval Press, 1998).
Peter Biller's introduction (pp. 3-33) does a good job of surveying
the scholarship (through its publication date), focusing on the 12th
and 13th centuries.
There also may be help for you in scholarship which covers related
texts to yours and in that which covers the geographical area where
your text was used.
Hope that helps.
--Jonathan
"Olson, Linda" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> This summer, it took me most of a day to transcribe a medieval guide to
> preparing oneself for confession. It made me wonder how long it took for
> one to confess in the 13th century! For example, did the priest actually
> examine the penitent on all sub-branches of each branch of all sins? Any
> ideas or sources I can consult? Thanking you in advance,
> Linda
>
>
> Linda S. Olson, Ph.D.
> Coordinator of French, Dept. of World Languages & Literatures &
> Study-Abroad Coordinator, International Programs.
> Southern Connecticut State University
> 501 Crescent St. New Haven, CT 06515
> Engleman Hall, Room B-129
> 203.392.6975
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