Voicing Dissent in Seventeenth-Century Spain: Inquisition, Social Criticism and Theology in the C... more Voicing Dissent in Seventeenth-Century Spain: Inquisition, Social Criticism and Theology in the Case of El Criticon. By Patricia W. Manning. [Medieval and Early Modern Roerian World, Vol. 37.] (Leiden; Boston: Brill. 2009- Pp- xvi, 323- $203-00. ISBN 978-9-004-17851-9.) Scholars of early-modern Spain have labored long and hard to dispel the notion of a monolithic, all-powerful Inquisition. Patricia Manning's Voicing Dissent in Seventeenth-Century Spain is a valuable contribution to that project. The book focuses on the Spanish Inquisition's censorship of texts and describes how such efforts were hampered by various procedural loopholes, scarcity of personnel, porous borders, and resistance by intellectual elites. Contrary to Jose Antonio Maravall's notion of baroque Spain as a "guided culture" that successfully enforced ideological conformity, Manning argues that slack in the inquisitional system allowed certain Spanish authors to critique the status quo. Baltasar Gracian's El Criticon (1651-57) serves as a case in point and as the book's central case study. Manning has combined a nuanced reading of this text with solid archival research to produce an impressive piece of scholarship. Before turning to El Criticon Manning devotes several chapters to the factors that made dissent possible in seventeenth-century Spain. She cites, for example, the divided jurisdiction between state and Inquisition, which created institutional inefficiencies and bureaucratic redundancies without providing sufficient manpower to effectively police ports or monitor booksellers. She also notes that the Inquisition's approval process for printed works was remarkably slipshod. In some cases authors (especially well-connected clergy such as the Jesuit Gracian) could count on friends and allies to review their books. In other cases, books sailed through the process without even being read, based on the reputation of the author. Authors who did not enjoy such preferential treatment were by no means passive in the face of inquisitional authority; Manning presents numerous episodes in which authors mounted spirited defenses of their works. Even if a book ended up being banned there were ways to circumvent the Inquisition's edict: special licenses were issued to theologians who needed access to prohibited works so as to combat the ideas contained therein; licenses also were granted to monastic orders for their libraries and to well-connected aristocrats for their private collections. If the books covered by these licenses were sold or transferred, the Inquisition found it almost impossible to track them down. Against this background of a surprisingly fractious Spanish republic of letters, Manning interprets Gracian's El Criticon as a book that refuses to fit neatly into the didactic canon to which it has traditionally been assigned. In her analysis, Gracian, instead of writing an advice manual for the edification of the Counter-Reformation faithful, used the literary devices of El Criticon as tools for social critique. …
... But before the body could be taken for burial, María's sister Isabel insisted on seeing ... more ... But before the body could be taken for burial, María's sister Isabel insisted on seeing it one last time. Isabel arrived in Saria the following morning in the company of her mother superior, the ecstatic mystic and visionary María Ángela Serafina. ...
Popular religion in late medieval and early modern Europe posited an invisible world densely popu... more Popular religion in late medieval and early modern Europe posited an invisible world densely populated with both personal spirits and impersonal forces that interacted constantly with the natural and social realms in ambiguous and unpredictable ways. This represented a stark contrast to elite theological discourse, which insisted on dividing the spirit world into a strict moral dichotomy of good and evil spirits, operating within a rigid causal taxonomy of natural, preternatural, and supernatural. During this period, deviations from this elite theological consensus were increasingly labeled “superstitious”. The cognitive science of religion postulates that beliefs about demons and spirits are constrained by the evolved cognitive architecture of our species, and in this article I show that the patterns of religious belief and practice targeted by the critics of superstition are compatible with key hypotheses in the cognitive science of religion.
Keitt analyzes Spanish contributions to the debate surrounding demonically inspired xenoglossy in... more Keitt analyzes Spanish contributions to the debate surrounding demonically inspired xenoglossy in early modern Europe. The devil’s linguistic prowess had long been one of his signature attributes, but during the early modern period natural philosophers engaged in a sustained debate over how, and if, the devil could teach the unlettered to speak Latin. The chapter argues that Spanish theorists crafted a sophisticated discourse that provided novel explanations for xenoglossy, drawing on Neoplatonism, neo-Galenism, Hippocratism, and traditional scholastic-Aristotelianism and details how this discourse facilitated the theological analysis of popular religious practices in anti-superstition treatises, manuals for exorcists, medical texts, and Inquisition trials.
David Graizbord's book examines the plight of "renegade conversos" in Spain and Portugal during t... more David Graizbord's book examines the plight of "renegade conversos" in Spain and Portugal during the long seventeenth century. Conversos, or "New Christians,"were baptized Christians of Jewish descent, and while a majority of them had been assimilated into Christian society (although to what degree remains a point of contention), a small minority of "renegades" chose to return to their ancestral faith, fleeing Christian Iberia and integrating themselves into Jewish communities abroad. A still smaller minority returned to the Iberian peninsula and often found themselves at the mercy of the Holy Office, and in some cases actively collaborated with inquisitional authorities as informers. Graizbord sets out to account for these unconventional behaviors and in the process provides an investigation into the vagaries of religious identity and a study of "cultural liminality."
The Sixteenth Century Journal: The Journal of Early Modern Studies, 2005
... For all the ink spilt on the role of the body in producing false revelations, a clear-cut pro... more ... For all the ink spilt on the role of the body in producing false revelations, a clear-cut pro fessional affiliation between physicians and inquisitors that would allow illness to be considered as a mitigating factor in trials for imposture never developed. ...
In 1688 Anglican divine William Wharton published a short tract entitled The Enthusiasm of the Ch... more In 1688 Anglican divine William Wharton published a short tract entitled The Enthusiasm of the Church of Rome demonstrated in some observations upon the life of Ignatius Loyola. Typical of the confessional propaganda of the day, Wharton's work contrasted the "rationality" of Protestantism with what he considered to be the superstition and obscurantism of the Catholic faith: It has been the peculiar happiness of the Church of England to create a right sense of Religion and Piety in all her Communicants, and secure to them the practice of a rational Devotion. She makes no pretensions to private Inspirations, and extraordinary Illuminations of the Holy Ghost; and all her Children are more apt to deride, than admire the follies of the Enthusiasts.... Not so the Church of Rome, which in all her Offices and publick Ceremonies promotes and foments it, hath on many occasions given publick applause and approbation to it, and oweth the greatest part of her peculiar Doctrines, and present prosperity to the Enthusiasm of her Followers. 1 The "enthusiasm" to which Wharton refers had become the object of intense controversy in late seventeenth-century England. The term enthusiasm in this context meant highly emotional, deeply embodied religious experience in
Margarete Buber-Neumann) to show their view on Tha¨lmann and on the propaganda aimed at them. Onl... more Margarete Buber-Neumann) to show their view on Tha¨lmann and on the propaganda aimed at them. Only in the conclusion does Lemmons admit that all 'the political propaganda of German communism, which relied so heavily on the antifascism myth and the Tha¨lmann legend, was ultimately a failure. Four decades of indoctrination did not bestow upon the people of the GDR what the party leadership would consider a proper socialist consciousness' (376). The reader unfamiliar with German history is perplexed that all these efforts and resources only led to decay as soon as the borders were open. An explanation would have been essential here after all the many pages on propaganda. This is the most extensive Tha¨lmann biography that exists in English. Whoever in the English-speaking world is interested in this particular political leader, whose importance rather grew after his imprisonment and especially after his death, should consult Lemmons' work. Its author spreads out an abundance of source material on the crucial texts, narratives and events concerning the invention of the Tha¨lmann myth before, and its deepened prolongation after, the Second World War. However, for the expert in German communism the book is often irritating. Besides some grave errors on important persons (e.g. 'Karl Brandler'), and the author's sometimes only cursory knowledge of the political landscape of Weimar Germany and the GDR as well as of the latest research on the politics of memory of both German states, it is, above all, the lack of an appropriate conceptual and methodological approach that raises doubts.
This essay examines the discourse on medicine and the Inquisition in nineteenth-century Spain. It... more This essay examines the discourse on medicine and the Inquisition in nineteenth-century Spain. It traces how liberal reformers selectively appropriated aspects of the history of Spanish medicine in the service of their contemporary political and scientific agendas, and how in doing so they contributed to the formation of new professional and national identities.
Preternature: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural, 2017
Popular religion in late medieval and early modern Europe posited an invisible world densely popu... more Popular religion in late medieval and early modern Europe posited an invisible world densely populated with both personal spirits and impersonal forces that interacted constantly with the natural and social realms in ambiguous and unpredictable ways. This represented a stark contrast to elite theological discourse, which insisted on dividing the spirit world into a strict moral dichotomy of good and evil spirits, operating within a rigid causal taxonomy of natural, preternatural, and supernatural. During this period, deviations from this elite theological consensus were increasingly labeled “superstitious.” The cognitive science of religion postulates that beliefs about demons and spirits are constrained by the evolved cognitive architecture of our species, and in this article I show that the patterns of religious belief and practice targeted by the critics of superstition are compatible wth key hypotheses in the cognitive science of religion.
Voicing Dissent in Seventeenth-Century Spain: Inquisition, Social Criticism and Theology in the C... more Voicing Dissent in Seventeenth-Century Spain: Inquisition, Social Criticism and Theology in the Case of El Criticon. By Patricia W. Manning. [Medieval and Early Modern Roerian World, Vol. 37.] (Leiden; Boston: Brill. 2009- Pp- xvi, 323- $203-00. ISBN 978-9-004-17851-9.) Scholars of early-modern Spain have labored long and hard to dispel the notion of a monolithic, all-powerful Inquisition. Patricia Manning's Voicing Dissent in Seventeenth-Century Spain is a valuable contribution to that project. The book focuses on the Spanish Inquisition's censorship of texts and describes how such efforts were hampered by various procedural loopholes, scarcity of personnel, porous borders, and resistance by intellectual elites. Contrary to Jose Antonio Maravall's notion of baroque Spain as a "guided culture" that successfully enforced ideological conformity, Manning argues that slack in the inquisitional system allowed certain Spanish authors to critique the status quo. Baltasar Gracian's El Criticon (1651-57) serves as a case in point and as the book's central case study. Manning has combined a nuanced reading of this text with solid archival research to produce an impressive piece of scholarship. Before turning to El Criticon Manning devotes several chapters to the factors that made dissent possible in seventeenth-century Spain. She cites, for example, the divided jurisdiction between state and Inquisition, which created institutional inefficiencies and bureaucratic redundancies without providing sufficient manpower to effectively police ports or monitor booksellers. She also notes that the Inquisition's approval process for printed works was remarkably slipshod. In some cases authors (especially well-connected clergy such as the Jesuit Gracian) could count on friends and allies to review their books. In other cases, books sailed through the process without even being read, based on the reputation of the author. Authors who did not enjoy such preferential treatment were by no means passive in the face of inquisitional authority; Manning presents numerous episodes in which authors mounted spirited defenses of their works. Even if a book ended up being banned there were ways to circumvent the Inquisition's edict: special licenses were issued to theologians who needed access to prohibited works so as to combat the ideas contained therein; licenses also were granted to monastic orders for their libraries and to well-connected aristocrats for their private collections. If the books covered by these licenses were sold or transferred, the Inquisition found it almost impossible to track them down. Against this background of a surprisingly fractious Spanish republic of letters, Manning interprets Gracian's El Criticon as a book that refuses to fit neatly into the didactic canon to which it has traditionally been assigned. In her analysis, Gracian, instead of writing an advice manual for the edification of the Counter-Reformation faithful, used the literary devices of El Criticon as tools for social critique. …
... But before the body could be taken for burial, María's sister Isabel insisted on seeing ... more ... But before the body could be taken for burial, María's sister Isabel insisted on seeing it one last time. Isabel arrived in Saria the following morning in the company of her mother superior, the ecstatic mystic and visionary María Ángela Serafina. ...
Popular religion in late medieval and early modern Europe posited an invisible world densely popu... more Popular religion in late medieval and early modern Europe posited an invisible world densely populated with both personal spirits and impersonal forces that interacted constantly with the natural and social realms in ambiguous and unpredictable ways. This represented a stark contrast to elite theological discourse, which insisted on dividing the spirit world into a strict moral dichotomy of good and evil spirits, operating within a rigid causal taxonomy of natural, preternatural, and supernatural. During this period, deviations from this elite theological consensus were increasingly labeled “superstitious”. The cognitive science of religion postulates that beliefs about demons and spirits are constrained by the evolved cognitive architecture of our species, and in this article I show that the patterns of religious belief and practice targeted by the critics of superstition are compatible with key hypotheses in the cognitive science of religion.
Keitt analyzes Spanish contributions to the debate surrounding demonically inspired xenoglossy in... more Keitt analyzes Spanish contributions to the debate surrounding demonically inspired xenoglossy in early modern Europe. The devil’s linguistic prowess had long been one of his signature attributes, but during the early modern period natural philosophers engaged in a sustained debate over how, and if, the devil could teach the unlettered to speak Latin. The chapter argues that Spanish theorists crafted a sophisticated discourse that provided novel explanations for xenoglossy, drawing on Neoplatonism, neo-Galenism, Hippocratism, and traditional scholastic-Aristotelianism and details how this discourse facilitated the theological analysis of popular religious practices in anti-superstition treatises, manuals for exorcists, medical texts, and Inquisition trials.
David Graizbord's book examines the plight of "renegade conversos" in Spain and Portugal during t... more David Graizbord's book examines the plight of "renegade conversos" in Spain and Portugal during the long seventeenth century. Conversos, or "New Christians,"were baptized Christians of Jewish descent, and while a majority of them had been assimilated into Christian society (although to what degree remains a point of contention), a small minority of "renegades" chose to return to their ancestral faith, fleeing Christian Iberia and integrating themselves into Jewish communities abroad. A still smaller minority returned to the Iberian peninsula and often found themselves at the mercy of the Holy Office, and in some cases actively collaborated with inquisitional authorities as informers. Graizbord sets out to account for these unconventional behaviors and in the process provides an investigation into the vagaries of religious identity and a study of "cultural liminality."
The Sixteenth Century Journal: The Journal of Early Modern Studies, 2005
... For all the ink spilt on the role of the body in producing false revelations, a clear-cut pro... more ... For all the ink spilt on the role of the body in producing false revelations, a clear-cut pro fessional affiliation between physicians and inquisitors that would allow illness to be considered as a mitigating factor in trials for imposture never developed. ...
In 1688 Anglican divine William Wharton published a short tract entitled The Enthusiasm of the Ch... more In 1688 Anglican divine William Wharton published a short tract entitled The Enthusiasm of the Church of Rome demonstrated in some observations upon the life of Ignatius Loyola. Typical of the confessional propaganda of the day, Wharton's work contrasted the "rationality" of Protestantism with what he considered to be the superstition and obscurantism of the Catholic faith: It has been the peculiar happiness of the Church of England to create a right sense of Religion and Piety in all her Communicants, and secure to them the practice of a rational Devotion. She makes no pretensions to private Inspirations, and extraordinary Illuminations of the Holy Ghost; and all her Children are more apt to deride, than admire the follies of the Enthusiasts.... Not so the Church of Rome, which in all her Offices and publick Ceremonies promotes and foments it, hath on many occasions given publick applause and approbation to it, and oweth the greatest part of her peculiar Doctrines, and present prosperity to the Enthusiasm of her Followers. 1 The "enthusiasm" to which Wharton refers had become the object of intense controversy in late seventeenth-century England. The term enthusiasm in this context meant highly emotional, deeply embodied religious experience in
Margarete Buber-Neumann) to show their view on Tha¨lmann and on the propaganda aimed at them. Onl... more Margarete Buber-Neumann) to show their view on Tha¨lmann and on the propaganda aimed at them. Only in the conclusion does Lemmons admit that all 'the political propaganda of German communism, which relied so heavily on the antifascism myth and the Tha¨lmann legend, was ultimately a failure. Four decades of indoctrination did not bestow upon the people of the GDR what the party leadership would consider a proper socialist consciousness' (376). The reader unfamiliar with German history is perplexed that all these efforts and resources only led to decay as soon as the borders were open. An explanation would have been essential here after all the many pages on propaganda. This is the most extensive Tha¨lmann biography that exists in English. Whoever in the English-speaking world is interested in this particular political leader, whose importance rather grew after his imprisonment and especially after his death, should consult Lemmons' work. Its author spreads out an abundance of source material on the crucial texts, narratives and events concerning the invention of the Tha¨lmann myth before, and its deepened prolongation after, the Second World War. However, for the expert in German communism the book is often irritating. Besides some grave errors on important persons (e.g. 'Karl Brandler'), and the author's sometimes only cursory knowledge of the political landscape of Weimar Germany and the GDR as well as of the latest research on the politics of memory of both German states, it is, above all, the lack of an appropriate conceptual and methodological approach that raises doubts.
This essay examines the discourse on medicine and the Inquisition in nineteenth-century Spain. It... more This essay examines the discourse on medicine and the Inquisition in nineteenth-century Spain. It traces how liberal reformers selectively appropriated aspects of the history of Spanish medicine in the service of their contemporary political and scientific agendas, and how in doing so they contributed to the formation of new professional and national identities.
Preternature: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural, 2017
Popular religion in late medieval and early modern Europe posited an invisible world densely popu... more Popular religion in late medieval and early modern Europe posited an invisible world densely populated with both personal spirits and impersonal forces that interacted constantly with the natural and social realms in ambiguous and unpredictable ways. This represented a stark contrast to elite theological discourse, which insisted on dividing the spirit world into a strict moral dichotomy of good and evil spirits, operating within a rigid causal taxonomy of natural, preternatural, and supernatural. During this period, deviations from this elite theological consensus were increasingly labeled “superstitious.” The cognitive science of religion postulates that beliefs about demons and spirits are constrained by the evolved cognitive architecture of our species, and in this article I show that the patterns of religious belief and practice targeted by the critics of superstition are compatible wth key hypotheses in the cognitive science of religion.
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