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<p>This project examines the medieval practice of the sacrament of penance and the innovative ways in which medieval literature engaged with the pastoral project of the Catholic church to provide the penitent with a way to deal with sin. Drawing from medieval literature, religious writing and theological sources, this project begins by illustrating the extent to which each of these didactic texts produces a "model of confession" that reaffirms the teachings of the church. However, approaching these texts with careful attention to language and to the grammar of sin and penance, I show that each of these undeniably orthodox works departs from traditional accounts of the sacrament of penance in significant ways. I suggest that such departures point to moments of theological exploration. My dissertation thus interrogates the category of orthodoxy, showing it to be more capacious and exploratory than is generally recognized. Further, I suggest that the vernacular penitential literature of the late medieval period, motivated by pastoral considerations, actively engages with academic and clerical theological debates surrounding the heavily contested sacrament of penance. </p><p>Chapter one examines <italic>Jacob's Well<italic>, a fifteenth-century vernacular penitential treatise. I argue that the narrative exempla often work against the instruction offered within each chapter, compelling the reader to consider theological problems not addressed within the doctrinal material. These resistances, I suggest, are intentional and not only suggest certain limitations in traditional penitential manuals, but encourage a more conscientious penitential practice and a better understanding of church doctrine. In chapter two I consider the <italic>Showings<italic> of Julian of Norwich. I show how Julian critiques the church's penitential system and offers an alternative form of confession and penance that holds the sinner accountable for sins while reassuring the penitent of God's love and forgiveness. Chapter three compares two fifteenth-century morality plays, <italic>Mankind<italic> and the <italic>Castle of Perseverance<italic>. Through a reading of the treatment of mercy in both plays, I suggest that the Castle's departures from traditional accounts of sacramental confession allow the author to explore the scope of God's mercy and experiment with the idea of universal salvation while still promoting orthodox instruction. I conclude this dissertation with Thomas Hoccleve's poem "Lerne to Die," one of the earliest treatments of the Ars moriendi theme. Examining some of the differences between sacramental confession and deathbed confession, I show how the absence of the sacrament in this dramatic account of unprepared death emphasizes the power of God's grace and limitations of human effort. However, Hoccleve ultimately reaffirms the necessity of final confession by the end of the poem.</p> / Dissertation

Title Analytical Survey of Czech Manuals for Penitents Issued after 1990 Abstract The thesis is based on a description and analysis of the manuals for penitents that were issued in the Czech Republic after 1990. These manuals (confessional mirrors) are designed as aids in the preparation for the Sacrament of Penance. Since 1990 the religious literature may be freely published in our country and the focus of the thesis is put on the manuals published since then. To assess the materials competently, the thesis at first deals with the theology of the Sacrament of Penance as such. The central part of the thesis presents different aids for penitents, comes with their basic description and with the evaluation of their handiness (for which group of penitents or for which occasion is the manual fit). This analysis will be followed by the description and evaluation of the manuals for confessors that provide a practical aid for the improvement of the priestly service. The different ways of practical fitness of these tools will be assessed. The main aim of the thesis consists in providing an insight into different manuals for penitents and to facilitate the orientation among them to help with the choice of a fitting tool in concrete cases. Another goal of the thesis is to facilitate the orientation among the manuals...

The dissertation describes development of the preparation of children for reception of the first Communion and the first confession. In particular time periods of our history the church passed its teaching and faith on in a lot of various ways. The first Christians educated the newcomers in catechism. In the Middle Ages begins the development of catechesis and primarily of preaching, which should educate both children and adults. There isn{\crq}t still much time devoted to children and their preparations for reception of the sacraments; children cannot receive the sacrament until they reach an older age. Change in a bestowal of the sacraments is brought by a decree Quam singulari promulgated in 1910 by Pius X. It{\crq}s a decree on the age at which children are to be admitted to first Communion and it still influences the pursuance of preparing the new communicants for the reception of the sacraments. In my work I described, with the help of an available literature, the course of the preparations of the new communicants from the promulgation of the decree until now. I am also stating the methodic materials used by those, who lead those preparations.

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