medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>I find it very intriguing that such individuals were identified as such in
necrologies. Could this indicate that the monks (like my students) consider
such conversions a bit insincere?
Why ? If you believe in the progression DEATH - JUDGEMENT - HELL - HEAVEN
[the four last things] then it seems reasonable to do all that is necesary,
and that you have time for, to avoid Hell and gain Heaven. I think the
mediaeval fear of Hell was utterly sincere.
Also, since there was no concept of retirement (the age of the present Pope
and the Queen of England are modern cases in point) retiring to a monastery
was one way (if you had survived to be "past it") of getting out from under
the feet of the younger generation and letting them get on with the job
while you prayed for them.
And if you believe prayer works, and if you remember that the very frail,
old and infirm can pray even when they can do little else, and that this
service was valued by the family to which they belonged, then becoming a
religious ad succurrendum might be seen as a very positive act: saving your
own soul and conferring spiritual benefit on your family while at the same
time solving the mother-in-law problem.
Isn't there a lovely poem from the Renaissance in which an old man says to
his lover
"Lady, allow this aged man his right
To be your bedesman who was once your knight." ??
Brenda MC
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