Why is the official narrative of the history of the Catholic Church so discordant with the archival sources of the Middle Ages? From the fifteenth century down to the present day, the Church has constructed an identity and a past at odds with what the records show-expanding the authority and power of the papacy in ways that have striking broader political implications.
This audacious and nuanced book explores how the Church has repeatedly invented and reinvented itself through a constant back-and-forth between narratives of the Middle Ages and modernity. Benedicte Sere excavates and traces this history through seven pivotal concepts in long-standing debates over papal power and the nature of the Church. Providing critical readings of the medieval sources on which later positions have been based, she chronicles how the Church has officially interpreted-and misinterpreted-its own past in order to serve the needs of the present and to create a narrative for posterity.
Drawing on a wide range of classic and recent works published in French, German, Italian, and English, this book offers a bold reinterpretation of Church history and historiography. Inventing the Church also speaks more broadly to questions concerning the interpretation of foundational documents, the uses of history, and the ways institutions interact with their own pasts.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
Was there a medieval Church? Is the modern Church based on it? Benedicte Sere convincingly answers "no" to both questions. Both Churches instead are imaginative constructions. How they came to be so is the story of this book. In the process, it probes our assumptions about the very nature of knowledge, tradition, and interpretation. -- Barbara H. Rosenwein, Professor Emerita, Loyola University Chicago Inventing the Church is a sophisticated and eye-opening exercise in historiographical analysis. Benedicte Sere begins with a deceptively simple question: why do histories of the medieval Church-including those by academics as well as those of the Church itself-deviate significantly from readily available archival and printed documents? Sere's answers are revelatory with respect to both the use of documentary evidence and the construction of historical narratives: that "strategies for constructing a memory" should not be disengaged from "knowledge itself." This is an invaluable lesson for our time. -- Alan Cooper, Elaine Ravich Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, The Jewish Theological Seminary Inventing the Church illuminates the crucial role of the past in debates over ecclesial politics. Benedicte Sere explores conflicts between writings on Church politics and the collisions of those writings with the sources, revealing the recent roots of seven key streams of thought. In so doing, she casts light on recent Church history as it is molded by ecclesial politics. -- Thomas Izbicki, Librarian Emeritus, Global Medieval Studies, Rutgers University
Reihe
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Für Beruf und Forschung
Für höhere Schule und Studium
Produkt-Hinweis
Maße
Höhe: 216 mm
Breite: 140 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-231-21839-9 (9780231218399)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Benedicte Sere is a member of the Institut Universitaire de France and an associate professor in medieval history at the University of Paris Nanterre. She is a visiting professor at Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Caroline Wazer is a translator and writer who holds a PhD in ancient Roman history from Columbia University.
Caroline Walker Bynum is University Professor Emerita at Columbia University and professor emerita of medieval European history at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Autor*in
Übersetzung
History Buff
Foreword to the English Translation, by Caroline Walker Bynum
Preface to the English Translation
Introduction
1. Conciliarism: From Historical Reality to Historiographical Crystallization
2. Constitutionalism: A Stake of Political Modernity?
3. Collegialism
4. Rethinking Reform: The History of Reform and Antireformism
5. Anti-Romanism and Its Hitherto Unrecognized Medieval Roots
6. Modernism's Challenge to the Middle Ages: Between Medieval Studies and Medievalism
7. Infallibilism: Anatomy of a Misinterpretation
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index of Names
