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This thesis analyses the relationship between Petrarch and his brother, the Carthusian monk, Gherardo, as described in the <i>De otio religioso</i> and the <i>Rerum familiarium libri. </i>I take Petrarch and his brother as literary constructs representative, respectively, of early humanistic poetics and traditional asceticism. This new methodological approach integrates certain areas of critical endeavour which have traditionally remained excluded from main-stream Petrarch studies. My reading of the <i>De otio</i> inverts current interpretations inasmuch as it sees the work not as praise of 'pre-humanistic monasticism', but rather as a denunciation of Carthusian <i>otium. </i>Such intellectual inertia does not lead the monks back to God but turns them into instruments of the devil. Petrarch tries to rectify this stance by teaching the Carthusians about <i>otium litteratum </i>(<i>imitatio,</i> classical learning which 'spices' Christian learning, <i>callidae iuncturae,</i> etc.) and by challenging the validity of certain values (e.g. the Carthusian definition of religion, happiness, etc.). My reading of the <i>Familiares </i>presents the sub-group concerning Gherardo (called the 'gerardine' letters or cycle) as yet another way of rectifying the situation. I interpret the Ventoux letter (<i>Fam.,</i> IV 1) as both a cryptic allegorisation of Gherardo's initial position, and a fictitious, anachronistic anticipation or summary of the aims of the gerardine sub-group. That is, in the Ventoux letter Gherardo is excluded from Petrarch's direct reading of St Augustine. The gerardine cycle then constitutes an <i>accessus ad Augustinum</i> whereby Petrarch teaches his brother about poetics, law, history, philosophy and theology. The <i>accessus </i>ends with the <i>Familiaris </i>XVIII 5 accompanying a copy of the <i>Confessions. </i>That is, the gerardine cycle closes when Gherardo is ready to read Augustine for himself. The gerardine cycle thus affords a glimpse into the structural strategies used by Petrarch in his <i>Familiares.</i>

This thesis offers a re-examination of the range of evidence pertaining to the ecclesiastical history of the Pictish kingdom of Fortriu from conversion to the early eighth century. The testimony of the main historical sources is examined critically, with particular attention to the ramifications for Adomnán’s <i>Vita Columbae</i> and Bede’s <i>Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum</i> as sources for this period of Pictish history. it is argued that the former text contains two distinct and significantly different views of the place of Iona in Pictish ecclesiastical culture in this period, and that both texts, taken together, may be interpreted as showing that in the last quarter of the seventh century such views underwent marked change that corresponded with contemporary changes in Iona’s relationship with the Verturian kings. An array of evidence is put forward to show that the Christianisation of Fortriu is likely to have begun in the late fifth century as a result of contact with British Christians south of the Forth, and that Iona’s role in this process was exaggerated in the source material upon which Adomnán and Bede depended for information. Evidence from medieval hagiography and church dedications is employed to suggest that Columban activity in Fortriu in the sixth and seventh centuries was limited as compared to the work of native churchmen with not demonstrable ties to Iona. The basis of Northumbrian claims after 664 to ecclesiastical jurisdiction in northern Britain is explored, and the likelihood that there were meaningful Anglian influences on Verturian ecclesiastical culture in this period is also discussed. The period of ‘Columban ascendancy’ in Fortriu alluded to by Bede is assigned here to the early eighth century and is envisioned as having been linked to the establishment of ‘Verturian hegemony’ in Pictavia.

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It is often assumed that medieval laypeople did not understand or follow the Latin church services they routinely attended. This thesis re-examines the role of the laity in medieval devotions and argues that careful attention to manuscripts reveals multi-layered levels of understanding and approaches to doctrine and the liturgy across lay and religious communities. It investigates the inter-relationship of literary text and its placement within the material manuscript, closely considering the ways in which word and image inform and illuminate each other. Sometimes these devotions take the form of Passion prayers adapted from the liturgy, such as the understudied vernacular translations of the early fourteenth-century hymn to the cross, Patris Sapiencia, and Anglo-Norman and English Mass Prayers. This thesis demonstrates that the placement of these prayers in medieval books reveals that they were intended actively to be read by the laity as they followed the vernacular alongside the Latin of medieval services. Other devotions take the form of lyric verse for private use. Placing these devotions in their proper contexts in laypeople’s medieval books reveals their theological depth, especially regarding lay understanding of and response to the doctrine of the atonement.

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact, which African Caribbean Settlers had on the British Seventh-day Adventist church from 1952-2001, and to determine what characterises Adventist mission in Britain and worldwide today. Before the arrival of African Caribbean settlers, the British SDA denomination experienced stagnation in membership. In spite of the efforts of both the church administration and local church pastors in organising evangelistic meetings to counteract such development, the membership was in decline by the early 1950's. It was this condition that African Caribbean immigrants found British Adventism when they arrived in the early 195Os. The research process incorporated several methods: historical documents, and interviews in the Caribbean, the USA and Britain. A survey administered to eight congregations in Britain was also used to determine the extent to which Adventism and its mission is understood and practiced in both Black and White, or Caribbean and English cultures. The research findings begin with the affirmation that the Africans forcibly removed from the continent of Africa to the Caribbean Islands in the 17th and 18th centuries had retained elements of their cultural and religious beliefs. They indicate that African elements of oral culture, family and community orientation were also carried over into Adventism in the Caribbean. Adventist teachings, philosophy and life-style were well placed to accommodate these elements. Together with the rapid growth of church membership, the development of educational establishments, healthcare facilities and other community training projects contributed to the mission of Adventism in the Caribbean. This concept of mission was transmitted to Britain with the arrival of African Caribbean immigrants from the 1950's. From their arrival, British Adventism began to experience a steady increase in membership. Furthermore, African Caribbean Adventists Christians continued to employ the philosophy and methods they were accustomed to in the Caribbean to strengthen Adventist mission programmes on these new shores. Similar results to what had been experienced in the Caribbean have been achieved in Britain. For example, the research identifies areas such as the development of new congregations, African styles of worship, the establishment of educational facilities such as nurseries, evening and weekend schools, infant and primary schools, adult training centres and day centres for the elderly and youth, and the overall drive to serve a multicultural community. From here it is evident that Adventism in Britain today is concerned about the needs of individuals as well as different groups in the wider society, and is finding ways of reaching out to them as part of the church's mission. This reflects the larger picture of a paradigm shift in global mission in the Adventist church internationally as well as in worldwide Christianity, especially of the Two-Thirds world. This paradigm shift in global mission is reflected in the type of projects local churches are actively engaged in, both in the Canbbean and Africa, as they are compelled to respond to the social, educational and economical needs of the community.

The following thesis is concerned with reconstructing the life of Eugippius of Lucullanum, abbot of the monastery of St Severinus. We must rely upon written sources for the majority of our information about Eugippius' career as biographer and abbot, and we have three texts from which we must reconstruct the details of his vocation. The texts are useful for a multitude of reasons, and have already been utilized by scholars working on diverse topics. They also reflect three distinct phases and interests of Eugippius' career. First chronologically is his Excerpta ex operibus sancti Augustini, a florilegium dedicated to the virgin Proba; second we have the Vita sancti Severini, Eugippius' most personal work, chronicling the life and miracles of his mentor, St Severinus; finally, we have a monastic regula that has only recently been ascribed to Eugippius; this rule contains extracts from a range of earlier authorities, from Augustine to Cassian to the Regula Magistri. All three sources are problematic, as they are fundamentally lacking in personal details, which makes reconstructing Eugippius' activities a complex and challenging task. For additional information, we must look to both the environment in which he was working, which involves examining the political situation in Italy following Theoderic's rise to power, as well as the religious tensions precipitated by the Acacian and Laurentian Schisms. Finally, it is also necessary to consult the works of Eugippius' circle of contacts, as often their personal details, letters, and written documents provide details that are omitted from Eugippius' own work.

This dissertation examines theological authority in the hymns and spirituals of American Protestantism within the period 1830-1930. It investigates the deuterocanonical status of hymns in hymnic-theological commentary, and demonstrates the functional canonicity of hymns in three case studies (children's hymnody, African American spirituals, and hymns of marginalized groups), and two representative areas of praxis (conversion and missions). This dissertation consults a variety of primary source materials, both elite and popular, including journals, biographies, conference minutes, academic addresses, theological works, hymn prefaces, domestic novels, newspapers, and poetry. These sources are used to situate the hymnal in the cultural context of American Protestantism and determine the status and role of hymnody. As the Bible is acclaimed the exclusive canonical text of Protestantism, consideration of the hymnal's theological authority in canonical terms is at odds with Protestant biblicism. As such, this dissertation's claim that the hymnal shared, to a significant degree, the Bible's place as a textual source of theological authority, is intellectually innovative. In identifying didactic and doctrinal themes in hymnals, primarily through systematic theology, this dissertation shows the role of hymns and spirituals in regulative theology and audible faith. Thus defended in this dissertation, is the hymnal's capacity to adjudicate on matters of faith and praxis. Of additional importance to this dissertation is its contribution toward hymnic theology, as well as demonstrating the hymnal's influence upon historical theology, liturgical theology, cultural theology, and evangelistic theology. This dissertation yields various insights for theology, especially the soteriological efficacy· of hymnody, the role of hymns in regulative theology, and the discussion of antiSemitism and black-liberation theology in African American spirituals. In applied theology and congregational studies the ramifications are critical, with the analysis of hymnic authority, the intersection of singing and doctrine (lex cantandi lex credendi), and the Bible and hymnal as mutually constitutive, all of paramount importance.

A substantial part of the Church of England ministry is provided by Readers, but little information is available about their past or present position in the church. This thesis addresses this absence of knowledge by the exploration of Reader history and its contemporary expression. History is examined using primary and secondary sources. The contemporary place of the Reader is researched through a survey of diocesan Reader Officers and by a longitudinal study of student Readers. Interviews with Readers and clergy from varied backgrounds provide a check on my findings. Reader ministry is identified as a resource used primarily in crises. When there is no obvious need, the church, unclear as to how to use Reader ministry, is ambivalent and expresses this in the uncertain place it accords to the Reader. I suggest that living in uncertainty is the natural environment for the church. From this I argue that the ambivalence of the church to Reader ministry may be a symptom of this uncertainty. The Reader therefore has to be trained for and function in an unpredictable context and the Reader’s effective actualization of this role provided and provides an essential contribution to the ministry of the Church of England. I conclude that the Reader represents a trained and available ministerial resource able to work and live with uncertainty and to respond when specific needs arise. Consequently the Reader may be described as holding a unique and vital place in the Church of England, essential for its wellbeing and for its future ministry. This fresh understanding of Reader ministry provides an opportunity for a reassessment within the church of the place at present ascribed to Readers, together with the identification of appropriate education and training patterns.

This thesis examines the history and activity of the Western religious orders in medieval Greece, from the time of their transplantation into Byzantine territories, following the Fourth Crusade, until the fifteenth century and the Ottoman conquest. Geographically it focuses on the areas conquered by the Latins during or after the Fourth Crusade, in other words, the lands of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. Due to the nature of the sources, particular attention is paid to the insular Venetian dominions and especially the island of Crete. The religious orders examined are the Benedictines, the Cistercians, the Franciscans, the Dominicans, the Crociferi, and the Augustinians as well as other orders, with a smaller involvement in medieval Greece, like the Servites, the Carmelites and the Canons Regular. Each of the thesis's chapters focuses on one particular Order (or group of Orders). By examining a variety of published and unpublished sources, I have attempted to investigate the history of the individual convents and eventually to form a comprehensive picture of the installation of these Orders in Greece. In particular, I have focused on the missionary and Unionist goals of the Orders in Greece, their structure and organisation, their interaction with the newly established Catholic Church and Latin laity of Greece, their relations with the indigenous population and their diplomatic and cultural achievements. Where the sources allow it, I have also tried to establish the financial standing of some of these religious houses and to investigate their sources of income and their land tenure. The conclusion of the thesis draws together the findings of my research and makes comparisons between the structure, activity and success of each of the Orders in Greece. Having shed some light on the monastic landscape of medieval Greece, I argue that, although Latin monasticism in Greece has been regarded as a relatively insignificant by-product of the Franko-Venetian occupation of Byzantine lands, the religious orders played significant social, cultural and political roles both within the Latin communities of Greece and in wider international relations between Byzantium and the West. They largely failed, however, to appeal to the Greek population and thus Latinise the indigenous Greek society, like they had done in other frontiers of Latin Christendom.