During the Renaissance, most nonclassical literature had a religious component, either overt or allegorical. This section discusses overtly Catholic literature, including devotional treatises, books of prayer, religious drama, and preaching. Devotional literature was based in a firm medieval tradition of such works, with the addition of the ars moriendi (art of dying) treatises in response to the apocalyptic disasters of plague and war during the 14th and early 15th centuries. Many of these publications were illustrated with gruesome woodcuts, and the skeletons of the Dance of Death were a popular image in prints. In general, the 15th-century books of devotion concentrated on personal meditation and spirituality, and 16th-century examples added activities involving charitable acts. Devotional literature had something for everyone, from the urban merchant who could temporarily escape the bustle of the city by reading (or by listening to someone read) the meditations of a desert hermit, to the cloistered nun who experienced mystical ecstasy through a text such as Teresa of Avila’s Castillo interior (Inner castle, 1588). The two most popular devotional figures were Christ and the Virgin, and the Passion (the torment and death of Jesus) dominated many treatises encouraging the imitation of Christ. For Catholics, the Sacred Heart and the Five Wounds were especially powerful. Numerous woodcut examples of these images were produced, and most Catholic homes, however modest, displayed them in a woodcut or small painting. Marian devotion (dedication to the Virgin Mary) often focused on the Immaculate Conception, which refers not to the conception of Christ by Mary but to the conception of Mary by her mother, Ann through divine intervention. This close connection between the Virgin and her mother resulted in depictions of Ann and her young daughter, many of which show the child holding a book and evidently learning to read. The veneration of Ann, especially in northern Europe, helped to encourage literacy among women.
Books of prayers were meant for individual devotion as opposed to liturgical works and vocal prayers shared by a congregation. By far the most popular type for Catholics were the books of hours, produced during the Renaissance in both manuscript and printed formats. Ranging from luxurious productions copied by hand and illuminated on large sheets of vellum to tiny “girdle books” attached to one’s belt, books of hours were used several times each day. Each of the eight canonical Hours of the Virgin was associated with a particular image from her life, usually beginning with the Annunciation for matins (early morning) and ending with the Coronation (late evening). These images were visual reminders of the importance of the Virgin to devout Catholics.
Religious drama was performed both inside and outside the church setting. Civic religious plays were popular throughout Europe, often patronized by wealthy sponsors such as confraternities as well as individuals. Beginning as early as the mid-14th century, religious drama treated the Passion, the miracles of the saints, and the battle between virtue and vice or Satan’s struggle to control the soul. Passion plays, also called mystery plays, involved the participation of the entire town and usually lasted several days. These multimedia events, performed outdoors, could focus on an event in the life of Christ or a saint or summarize the entire spiritual life of humankind. They were elaborate, expensive undertakings, with decorative allegorical costumes and musical accompaniment. The most ornate religious dramas were performed during Holy Week (Easter week) and on a patron saint’s day. Morality plays depicting the struggle between vice and virtue became increasingly popular during the 16th century, when church authorities began to prohibit Passion plays and miracle plays. A new category of religious drama developed during the 16th century as humanistic writers created Latin drama concerning the saints and biblical figures. Especially in Jesuit and Benedictine grammar schools these plays were performed into the 18th century.
Renaissance preachers had several resources to aid them as they prepared their sermons. Both Catholics and Protestants used homiletic collections, such as commonplace books concerning the vices and virtues, books of exemplary lives, and the Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine, as well as preaching manuals. The manuals benefited from humanistic works on classical eloquence, as preaching was considered the sacred form of eloquent speech. Humanists also edited collections of homi-
Handbook to Life in Renaissance Europe
Lies and sermons from church fathers, making some available for the first time and improving others. Renaissance preaching also took advantage of corrected biblical texts in their exposition of the Scriptures. The church councils addressed the problem of corrupted preaching, especially the Fifth Lateran Council, which threatened excommunication of rabble-rousers who preached apocalyptic messages. Bishops were charged with responsibility for preachers in their diocese and were instructed to monitor their public activities. Preaching experienced a revival during the 16th century, when some bishops themselves became famous as preachers.
World History
