In these lively and incisive essays André Vauchez explores the religious beliefs and devotional practices of laypeople in medieval Europe and grapples with some of the most difficult issues in medieval history: the nature of popular devotion, the role of religion in civic life, the sociology of religious attitudes and practices, and the relationship between the intersecting spheres of lay and clerical culture.
“The translation is on the whole elegant, capturing Vauchez’s own luminous prose with considerable grace. The result is a text which makes the work of this major scholar accessible to beginning student and more seasoned researcher alike.The Laity in the Middle Agesis an invaluable witness to the work of [a] scholar who has done so much to awaken us to the complexities of the religious experience of the laity in the Middle Ages.” —Catholic Historical Review
“A fundamental work for historians of Christianity.” —Religious Studies Review
"This is not a volume on the general tenor of lay spirituality during specific centuries of medieval church life. It is basically a volume on particular and individual manifestations of intense holiness by specific lay Christians. The 'case histories' are both valuable and delightful reading." —Theological Studies
ANDRÉ VAUCHEZis the former director of the French School in Rome and member of the Academy of Inscriptions and Letters, , master of studies at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, and professor of medieval history at the University of Rouen (1980–1982) and at the University of Paris X Nanterre (1983–1995). He was awarded the Balzan Prize for Medieval History in 2013.
DANIEL E. BORNSTEINis professor of history and religious studies and Stella K. Darrow Professor of Catholicló4
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