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The Concept of Purgatory in England

It is not the purpose of this dissertation to present a history of Purgatory; rather, it is to show through the history the influence of purgatorial doctrine on the English lay community and the need of that community for this doctrine. Having established the importance this doctrine held for so many in England, with an examination of the chantry institution in England, this study then examines how this doctrine was stripped away from the laity by political and religious reformers during the sixteenth century. Purgatorial belief was adversely affected when chantries were closed in execution of the chantry acts under Henry VIII and Edward VI. These chantries were vital to the laity and not moribund institutions. Purgatorial doctrine greatly influenced the development and concept of the medieval English community. Always seen to be tightly knit, this community had a transgenerational quality, a spiritual and congregational quality, and a quality extending beyond the grave. The Catholic Church was central to this definition of community, distributing apotropaic powers, enhancing the congregational aspects, and brokering the relationship with the dead. The elements of the Roman liturgy were essential to community cohesiveness, as were the material and ritual supports for this liturgy. The need of the community for purgatorial doctrine shaped and popularized this doctrine Next, an analysis of surviving and resurging elements of expiatory rites is explored; ritual, especially that surrounding death, as well as the relationship with the dead, were sorely missed when stripped away through political actions linked to Protestant belief. This deficiency of ritual aspects within the emerging Protestant religion became evident in further years as some of the same customs and rituals that were considered anathema by Protestants slowly crept back into the Protestant liturgy in an attempt to restore the relationship between the living and the dead. Strong evidence of this is provided through sixteenth to nineteenth century death eulogies, surviving rites of expiation, as well as lay essays and popular literature discussing the phenomenon called the Sin-Eater.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc30487
Date08 1900
CreatorsMachen, Chase E.
ContributorsStern, Laura Ikins, Golden, Richard M., Fuhrmann, Christopher, Campbell, Randolph B., 1940-, Upchurch, Robert, 1967-
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
Formatiii, 248 p., Text
RightsPublic, Copyright, Machen, Chase E., Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

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