Hello smart people,  I need your help.  I am trying to get my head around what we we mean when we say there was a shift in lay or popular piety, or spirituality, in the 13th century. Yes, I know this is the age of Francis and Dominic. Yes, I know that something has changed with penitential culture (but what has changed?); Yes, I know that the notion of imitatio christi has shifted to a greater focus on passion (although anyone who has seriously read the sources for the first crusade might dispute this), and of "affective" suffering.  I know there is an increase in lay literacy (and, by the way, what does this mean for lay understanding/participation/involvement in the liturgy? Does anyone know?)

I say this having read much of the literature and having myself written some of it. But it is so complicated, I'm hoping for anyone who has some good thoughts on this to share them.  What do you see as the characteristic features of the shift? How do we know this? How is it manifest?  And actually, as I type, I'm curious about anyone's thoughts on this idea of lay involvement in the liturgy.

I am (again) thinking about all of this in context with crusading.  I realize I have not deal with this adequately, which means I have not understood it adequately.  And as always, I appreciate so much the warm generosity of the intellectual community of this list.

Thanks

cecilia