Texte remanié de: Habilitation à diriger des recherches--Nancy--Université, 1998. / Bibliogr. p. 329-354.

Le Corrector sive Medicus est un pénitentiel rédigé par Burchard, évêque de Worms (1000-1025). Il s’agit d’un manuel destiné à guider les confesseurs lors de l’administration du sacrement de pénitence. Intégré dans le Decretum, l’œuvre majeure de Burchard, il compte parmis les pénitentiels les plus illustres. Il contient notamment un questionnaire très élaboré sur les péchés commis par les fidèles. Les 194 questions du Corrector sive Medicus constituent l’objet d’étude de ce mémoire. Entre le VIIe et le XIIe siècle, les pénitentiels forment une longue tradition littéraire où les textes se répètent constamment. Le questionnaire du Corrector sive Medicus se distingue du fait qu’il est rédigé en grande partie par Burchard lui-même. Les détails précis sur les survivances païennes et la religion populaire que l’évêque introduit dans son pénitentiel permettent, comme aucune autre source de la période, une analyse ethno-historique de la culture germanique. La première partie du mémoire est consacrée à la présentation du Corrector sive Medicus : j’y décris d’abord le contexte historique et biographique de l’œuvre, puis discute d’une herméneutique littéraire, pour enfin proposer une synthèse diachronique des traditions germaniques. La deuxième partie offre, pour la première fois en français, la traduction intégrale du questionnaire de Burchard, accompagnée de commentaires sur différents sujets ou problèmes soulevés par le texte, notamment ceux qui concernent la culture germanique. Finalement sont placés en annexe quelques documents qui témoignent, tout comme le Corrector sive Medicus, d’un syncrétisme religieux profondément enraciné dans les mœurs des Germains. / The Corrector sive Medicus is a penitential written by Burchard, the bishop of Worms (1000-1025). It is a book used by confessors to guide them when they must administer the Sacrament of Penance. It has been fully integrated into Burchard's greatest work, the Decretum, and is amongst the most complete of the known penitentials. It is mainly composed of an elaborate set of questions about the sins committed by the Church's followers. This thesis' subject matter regards the Corrector sive Medicus' 194 questions. Between the seventh and the twelfth century, penitentials were a literary tradition where texts were continuously reused. The Corrector sive Medicus' series of questions distinguishes itself from this because it mainly originates from Burchard himself. He introduces in his penitential precise details about pagan survivals and the popular religion that allow, more than any literary source of the time, an ethnohistorical analysis of Germanic culture. The first section of this thesis is dedicated to presenting the Corrector sive Medicus. I first describe the historical and biographical context surrounding its creation, then explain my method of analysis for the penitential, and finally propose a diachronic summary of Germanic traditions. The second section offers, for the first time in French, a complete translation of Burchard's series of questions, as well as comments pertaining to different themes or problems raised by it, most notably those concerning Germanic culture. Finally, some documents are appended to this thesis that show, similarly to the Corrector sive Medicus, a deeply rooted religious syncretism.

Le Corrector sive Medicus est un pénitentiel rédigé par Burchard, évêque de Worms (1000-1025). Il s’agit d’un manuel destiné à guider les confesseurs lors de l’administration du sacrement de pénitence. Intégré dans le Decretum, l’œuvre majeure de Burchard, il compte parmis les pénitentiels les plus illustres. Il contient notamment un questionnaire très élaboré sur les péchés commis par les fidèles. Les 194 questions du Corrector sive Medicus constituent l’objet d’étude de ce mémoire. Entre le VIIe et le XIIe siècle, les pénitentiels forment une longue tradition littéraire où les textes se répètent constamment. Le questionnaire du Corrector sive Medicus se distingue du fait qu’il est rédigé en grande partie par Burchard lui-même. Les détails précis sur les survivances païennes et la religion populaire que l’évêque introduit dans son pénitentiel permettent, comme aucune autre source de la période, une analyse ethno-historique de la culture germanique. La première partie du mémoire est consacrée à la présentation du Corrector sive Medicus : j’y décris d’abord le contexte historique et biographique de l’œuvre, puis discute d’une herméneutique littéraire, pour enfin proposer une synthèse diachronique des traditions germaniques. La deuxième partie offre, pour la première fois en français, la traduction intégrale du questionnaire de Burchard, accompagnée de commentaires sur différents sujets ou problèmes soulevés par le texte, notamment ceux qui concernent la culture germanique. Finalement sont placés en annexe quelques documents qui témoignent, tout comme le Corrector sive Medicus, d’un syncrétisme religieux profondément enraciné dans les mœurs des Germains. / The Corrector sive Medicus is a penitential written by Burchard, the bishop of Worms (1000-1025). It is a book used by confessors to guide them when they must administer the Sacrament of Penance. It has been fully integrated into Burchard's greatest work, the Decretum, and is amongst the most complete of the known penitentials. It is mainly composed of an elaborate set of questions about the sins committed by the Church's followers. This thesis' subject matter regards the Corrector sive Medicus' 194 questions. Between the seventh and the twelfth century, penitentials were a literary tradition where texts were continuously reused. The Corrector sive Medicus' series of questions distinguishes itself from this because it mainly originates from Burchard himself. He introduces in his penitential precise details about pagan survivals and the popular religion that allow, more than any literary source of the time, an ethnohistorical analysis of Germanic culture. The first section of this thesis is dedicated to presenting the Corrector sive Medicus. I first describe the historical and biographical context surrounding its creation, then explain my method of analysis for the penitential, and finally propose a diachronic summary of Germanic traditions. The second section offers, for the first time in French, a complete translation of Burchard's series of questions, as well as comments pertaining to different themes or problems raised by it, most notably those concerning Germanic culture. Finally, some documents are appended to this thesis that show, similarly to the Corrector sive Medicus, a deeply rooted religious syncretism.

This thesis examines the relationship between Western eschatological traditions and Bishop Burchard of Worms' extended exegesis on the subject of ‘speculative theology’ within Decretum, Liber Vicesimus (c. 1012-1025). Its purpose is to explore the influence of eschatological theology upon the composition of canon law and its relationship with the administration of pastoral care in the early eleventh century. This will be achieved by investigating the authorities Burchard employed, and the unique ways in which he structured his interpretation of the subject. Chapter one reviews the scholarship on early medieval eschatological exegesis, canon law, and penance, alongside that on Burchard of Worms. Chapter two provides an overview of the history of early medieval western eschatological exegesis (c. 33-1050) and the general conditions that contemporary ecclesiastics would have experienced in relation to the study and construction of eschatological texts. Chapter three considers the historical context for the composition of the Decretum and the manuscript traditions of the Liber Vicesimus. Chapters four, five, and six, extensively analyse the structures and contents of the Liber Vicesimus: Burchard and his team of compilers are shown to have drawn extensively and developed their interpretation of eschatology from Gregory the Greats’ exegetical works, as well as identifying other unique influences. Consequently the thesis demonstrates how Gregory’s exegetical works played a central role in building the textual foundations which shaped the theological parameters governing the eschatological thoughts, beliefs, and writings, of many ecclesiastics during this period. The thesis concludes that Gregory’s work provided churchmen with an authoritative moral framework and rhetoric for the discussion of eschatological phenomena that could be utilised in a variety of ways. It also suggests new ways in which historians should interpret the written traditions that shaped the structure and content of orthodox eschatological texts in this period.