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This thesis will focus on the history of the Sienese ‘Poor Brigade’, and their founder, Giovanni Colombini. It will analyse events from the origins of the Brigade in 1355 down to 1470. During this period, Poor Brigade underwent a process of ‘institutionalization’ at the hands of the Church hierarchy. One of the main signs of this was a change of name: the Poor Brigade became the ‘Gesuati’. This transformation developed over the course of the century or so under discussion, and was concluded in the work of a Gesuato, Antonio Bettini. My research will present the passage from the Poor Brigade to the Gesuati as the paradigmatic example of the new ‘techniques of hegemony’ used by the institutional hierarchy of the medieval church to ‘domesticate’ the radical charisma of leaders such as Colombini. In my view the Church applied these ‘hegemonic strategies’ to the Gesuati, transforming their identity to control the content of the credo of Colombini, which was potentially dangerous for the existence of ecclesiastical power itself. My work builds on a small but careful body of scholarship on the Gesuati, which dcouments their formation and development, but, in my view, misunderstands its significance. To establish a new view of the nature of the transformation from Poor Brigade to Gesuati, I have proceeded as follows. Having surveyed the primary sources and secondary literature, the thesis analyzes the content of the mysticísm of Colombini. His teaching is then compared to the main theological and devotional movements in the thirteenth and fourteenth century, underlining the differences and the similarities. Finally, the thesis turns to analyze the hegemonic strategies through which the Church hierarchy transformed the ‘Poor Brigade’ into the Gesuati. Bringing into the discussion theories of modern and contemporary philosophy, I will show how the late medieval Church anticipated many applications of contemporary political power.

This work is concerned with the comparative study of three minster churches, those of Beverley, Ripon and Southwell, in the period 1066-c1300. It will seek to establish the course of their institutional development in the period, the role they played within the Archdiocese of York, and the effects of change in this period on their institutional identities both individually and collectively. As a study of non-cathedral institutions after the Conquest, it will also necessarily touch upon the relationship between central and local power, the dynamics of institutional change, and the mechanisms employed for the extension of archiepiscopal authority. [From introduction].

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This study examines how the two strands which made up Presbyterianism in Scotland in the years between 1830 and 1914 coped with the challenges presented to them by the urban crisis which arose in the 1830s and 1840s. The huge increase in the urban population which experienced the effects of cyclical trade depressions and consequent unemployment posed an unprecedented problem to a system of poor relief unable to cope. That system of poor relief was initially provided through voluntary contributions made by the Kirk Session and Heritors of the Church of Scotland. Even after poor relief became the responsibility of Parochial Boards, these Boards were largely composed of office-bearers in the Church. The study covers the years from around 1830 to the outbreak of the First World War. 1830 was chosen because by then the effect of industrial change was beginning to be felt and from then onwards accelerated considerably, most especially in Paisley where traditional weaving soon began to decline. The immigrant population, drawn to Glasgow by the prospect of work, had settled into the subdivided tenements and partitioned town houses which were to cause social problems for the rest of the century. The population of Glasgow grew from around 274,000 in 1830 to 761,000 by the turn of the century, and the Churches found themselves having to address the social problems which grew along with the size of the city. This study ends with the outbreak of the First World War, by which time the beginnings of the welfare state had been established and the energies of the Church of Scotland and the United free Church of Scotland began to be focussed on the process which was to lead to their union in 1929. 2 The study concentrates largely on the west of Scotland because most of the larger studies of the ecclesiastical history of the period have concentrated on Edinburgh and made use of Edinburgh sources. This study is an attempt to redress the balance, but also to recognise that it was in the west of Scotland, first in Paisley with the collapse of the weaving industry and then in Glasgow with the housing crisis which the increase in population through immigration brought about. This study follows two methods. Because its central argument is that Robert Flint’s book Christ’s Kingdom upon Earth, published in 1865, was of crucial importance in the development of a social theology in the Presbyterian Churches of the 19th century, this is an example of historical theology within the history of ideas, and so the research which reflects this aspect of the study has been based on the examination and critical assessment of theological publications, pamphlets, sermons and speeches of the period, all of which provide a rich vein of material on which the conclusions can be based. Because the effect of Robert Flint’s understanding of the Kingdom of God was found initially in the work of those most closely influenced by him, and then later on the context which the theological matrix of the Kingdom of God provided for debates within particularly the United Free Church, this study examines the narrative of the Church’s engagement with society over the period under review, and has involved the study of original church and municipal sources.

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Direct access to the Bible was the exception rather than the rule in medieval Europe. Limitations imposed by cost, sacrality and degrees of literacy determined people's ability to own or consult the Bible. The multitude of events and objects, which offered mediated access to the Bible, stand at the core of the dissertation. From liturgy and sermons to church murals and ornate Gospel Books, a mediated biblical world-view was presented to medieval audiences. A close analysis of these media reveals that, although relying on the Bible as a source of authority, its language and narrative were altered in an attempt to make it palatable and effective to medieval audiences. Analyses of specific test cases, such as Palm Sunday processions and Advent sermons, reveal a constant clerical effort of displaying the Bible and its narratives in visual, vernacular and performative ways. The Bible can never be divorced from its physical form and shape. Through an extensive survey of biblical manuscripts, their layout and additions, an inner-biblical hierarchy unfolds, in which the book of Psalms took precedence. This reflects not only the reception of the Psalms, but also the place of these manuscripts at the junction between preaching and liturgy. Attitudes towards biblical manuscripts, and especially gospel books, supply additional evidence for use and provenance of Bibles. An examination of veneration of the Bible in civic and ecclesiastical rituals, from the Ordinary of the Mass to oaths in courts of law, leads to a reevaluation of Bibles and gospel books. The dissertation leads to a new understanding of the Bible within the late medieval sacrede conomy. It shows how ritual behaviour, content and appearancew ere intertwined to present a complex notion of the Bible, which has endured until modernity.

This thesis attempts to trace the history of Barking Abbey from the Conquest to the Dissolution. In some respects it has proved a disappointing study, for though Barking was among the greatest and wealthiest nunneries of mediaeval England, many of its records have perished. There is no chronicle to tell its history, nor cartulary to show how its lands were acquired. Even the Valor Ecciesiasticus, which one takes for granted in the study of English monasticism, is lost for the county of Essex. A considerable section of the thesis deals with the estates of the house and their administration. My chief source of evidence for this has been the court rolls of ten Essex manors, covering, though with many serious gaps, the years 1279 to 1539. These, together with a thirteenth century Domesdaye of Ingatestone and Bulphan, and a few compoti of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, have been used to show the methods employed by the abbess and her council to exploit the abbey lands, in accordance with prevailing economic tendencies. The revenues from the estates were allocated to obedientiaries. By the sixteenth century, the main funds were administered by a treasury, from which four defective account books have survived. The cellaress and the office of pensions handled substantial revenues, as their surviving account books show. Like most mediaeval monasteries, Barking owned a number of appropriated churches. It has been possible to trace the careers of a few of their vicars, especially when these owed their benefice to the king, for as a royal foundation Barking experienced in this, as in other demands, the effects of royal patronage. The abbey's relations with the outside world, and its franchisal rights have been discussed. A fifteenth century ordinal throws considerable light on the liturgical life of the house. While the subject calls for treatment by a specialist, I could not completely ignore it. Finally, the surrender of the abbey and the consequent dispersal of the nuns and of their estates have been treated.

This thesis is a study of the disposal by the Crown of the monastic property in the city of London and its suburbs which came into royal possession at the dissolution of the houses concerned. The period covered extends from 1532, the year in which the first London house was dissolved, to the death of Henry VIII in 1547, by which date the bulk of the property had been alienated; but occasional reference is made to subsequent transactions. The property studied comprises that of both monasteries situated in London and. those elsewhere in England, and while attention is focussed upon land and buildings used for secular purposes the disposal of monastic sites and of spiritual income receives some notice. The results of the investigation are presented in two parts, one particular and the other general. Part I, a detailed study of the first house to be dissolved, the priory of Holy Trinity, Aldgate, includes, besides four chapters dealing with the Crown's management and disposal of its property, three others furnishing a background to its surrender and examining the surrender itself. In these some light is thrown upon the circumstances and motives of the episode, including the roles of Cromwell and Audley. Part II begins with a survey of all monastic property in the area and an estimate of its annual value. Succeeding chapters examine three aspects of the processes of disposals the purchase of large quantities of the property by operators on a large scale, and, where known, its subsequent handling by them; the transfer, by gift or lease, of many smaller parcels to servants and officers of the Crown; and the impact of such transactions upon a single London parish, that of St. Mary le Bow.