Pagan Survivals, Superstitions and Popular Cultures in Early Medieval Pastoral Literature
Bernadette Filotas PAGAN SURVIVALS, SUPERSTITIONS AND POPULAR CULTURES IN EARLY MEDIEVAL PASTORAL LITERATURE Is medieval pastoral literature an accurate reflection of actual beliefs and practices in the early medieval West or simply of literary conventions in- herited by clerical writers? How and to what extent did Christianity and traditional pre-Christian beliefs and practices come into conflict, influence each other, and merge in popular culture? This comprehensive study examines early medieval popular culture as it appears in ecclesiastical and secular law, sermons, penitentials and other pastoral works – a selective, skewed, but still illuminating record of the be- liefs and practices of ordinary Christians. Concentrating on the five cen- turies from c. 500 to c. 1000, Pagan Survivals, Superstitions and Popular Cultures in Early Medieval Pastoral Literature presents the evidence for folk religious beliefs and piety, attitudes to nature and death, festivals, magic, drinking and alimentary customs. As such it provides a precious glimpse of the mu- tual adaptation of Christianity and traditional cultures at an important period of cultural and religious transition. Studies and Texts 151 Pagan Survivals, Superstitions and Popular Cultures in Early Medieval Pastoral Literature by Bernadette Filotas Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Aid to Scholarly Publications Programme, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION Filotas, Bernadette, 1941- Pagan survivals, superstitions and popular cultures in early medieval pastoral literature / by Bernadette Filotas.
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