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List of contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Contributors
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction, Graham Williams (University of Sheffield, UK) and Charlotte Steenbrugge (University of Sheffield, UK)
1. Crying out with the Compunction of the Prodigal Son: Byzantine Hymns, Liturgical Emotions and Icons of Repentance, Andrew Mellas (St Andrew's Theological College, Australia)
2. Repenting in their Own Words: Old English Vocabulary for Compunction, Contrition, and Penitence, Daria Izdebska (Liverpool Hope University, UK)
3. A Concept with Relevance? Compunction in Old Norse-Icelandic Literature, Roland Scheel (University of Gottingen, Germany)
4. William of Auvergne and Compunction: Describing the World through Metaphors, Béatrice Delaurenti
5. Sea-Water in Flame: Compunction in the Lambeth and Trinity Homilies, Ayoush Lazikani (University of Oxford, UK)
6. The Expressions of Remorse in Old and Middle French Literature, Corinne Denoyelle (University of Grenoble-Alpes, France) and translated by Emily Reed
7. Peter’s Three Tears, Véronique Plesch (Colby College, USA)
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Graham Williams is Senior Lecturer in the History of English at the University of Sheffield, UK.
Charlotte Steenbrugge is Vice-Chancellor Fellow at the School of English, University of Sheffield, UK.
Summary
Compunction was one of the most important emotions for medieval Christianity; in fact, through its confessional function, compunction became the primary means for an affective sinner to gain redemption. Cultures of Compunction in the Medieval World explores how such emotion could be expressed, experienced and performed in medieval European society.
Using a range of disciplinary approaches – including history, philosophy, art history, literary studies, performance studies and linguistics – this book examines how and why emotions which now form the bedrock of modern western culture were idealized in the Middle Ages. By bringing together expertise across disciplines and medieval languages, this important book demonstrates the ubiquity and impact of compunction for medieval life and makes wider connections between devotional, secular and quotidian areas of experience.
Foreword
Explores how emotion could be expressed, experienced and performed in the middle ages using a range of disciplinary approaches.
Additional text
This fascinating re-examination of the strategies by which compunction is understood and expressed in the medieval arts provides comprehensive exploration of its subject that will appeal to anyone with an interest in emotions scholarship, whatever their discipline.
