Ebook: Penance in Medieval Europe, 600–1200

Penance has traditionally been viewed exclusively as the domain of
church history but penance and confession also had important social
functions in medieval society. In this book, Rob Meens comprehensively
reassesses the evidence from Late Antiquity to the thirteenth
century, employing a broad range of sources, including letters, documentation
of saints’ lives, visions, liturgical texts, monastic rules and
conciliar legislation from across Europe. Recent discoveries have
unearthed fascinating new evidence, established new relationships
between key texts and given more attention to the manuscripts in
which penitential books are found. Many of these discoveries and new
approaches are revealed here for the first time to a general audience.
Providing a full and up-to-date overview of penitential literature during
the period, Meens sets the rituals of penance and confession in their
social contexts, offering the first introduction to this fundamental
feature of medieval religion and society for more than fifty years.