early and medieval christian heresy | university of oregon, spring 2015

Jan Hus and the Hussites

Published on: June 4, 2015 Author: smoholt@uoregon.edu Leave a comment

Through the structural system forming around Prague and Bohemia at large, it comes as little surprise that they would function as a center for heretical thought in the fourteenth and fifteenth century. Prague, being at the intersection of Italy and Germany made it an ideal location for merchants, and as a result, economic activity. As such,… Continue reading →

Jan Hus

Published on: June 4, 2015 Author: tmcmill4@uoregon.edu 1 Comment

The Roman Catholic churched played a political role that lead to a religious schism in Bohemia. There were two rivaling popes at the time that lead to disputes regarding piousness and political opinion. Another reason for the political upheaval and unrest in Bohemia was the political dispute between the Germans and the Czechs. Their rivalry… Continue reading →

Jan Hus background

Published on: June 3, 2015 Author: msherwoo

A few thoughts – I’m too burnt out from Tuesday to come up with anything coherent. Mengel, David “A Plague on Bohemia? Mapping the Black Death.” Past and Present 211 (2011): 3-34. The often-cited “fact” that Bohemia and southern Poland escaped the mid-14th century bubonic plague epidemic rests on shaky evidence, but total mortality was… Continue reading →

Marguerite & The Benguins

Published on: May 26, 2015 Author: mmaujean@uoregon.edu

The Benguin movement was closely tied to the Franciscan movement. The label referred to a religious group of women that were recognizable in that they wore dark cloaks with no shoes, and reportedly were often seen praying in a different posture than the other church members. Marguerite Porete was a dedicated Benguin from Northern France… Continue reading →

The Beguines and The Mirror of Simple Souls

Published on: May 26, 2015 Author: blibolt@uoregon.edu Leave a comment

The Beguines were lay religious women in the 12th and 13th centuries. They were devoted to living apostolic lives according to the scriptures, vowing to stay chaste and often live in voluntary poverty. The movement began in the Low Countries and quickly spread throughout Europe. Originally, like many of the heresies in the medieval period,… Continue reading →

Franciscan Order

Published on: May 26, 2015 Author: becherer@uoregon.edu

The radical Franciscan view point on what the apostolic living meant that an individual in this order could not own anything or accept anything that is considered material wealth because the Apostles and Jesus did not own anything in their eyes. Whereas the moderate Franciscan believes that an individual within the order can utilize gifts… Continue reading →

The Franciscans

Published on: May 25, 2015 Author: ahaselt2@uoregon.edu

Francis was upset at the Friars Minor for accepting a house as gift from the Sultan of Egypt that they converted. Upon learning this, an outraged Francis went to kick the friars out of the house in person, all the while pissed at the actions of the friars, telling them that accepting the house went… Continue reading →

Inquisition In the Early Medieval Church

Published on: May 21, 2015 Author: smoholt@uoregon.edu Leave a comment

When discussing the role of inquisition in the fight against heresy, intention becomes a topic of tricky distinction. While the general desire was that of rehabilitation as the inquisitors were tasked with herding lost sheep, the struggles for power cannot be denied. As heretics ultimately stood as a symbol of opposition towards the church, their… Continue reading →

Papal and Decrees

Published on: May 21, 2015 Author: tmcmill4@uoregon.edu

The main group of heretics, which posed a threat to the church, consisted of the Cathars, Albigensians, Manichaeans and Good Christians.Pope Innocent III spearheaded the first notable action against heretics; he said that any act of heresy would be considered treason. This decree would be known as Vergentis Ad abolendam. If you were found guilty… Continue reading →