The Medieval Devil: A Reader (Readings in Medieval Civilizations and Cultures)

✍ Scribed by David R. Winter (editor)

• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Year: 2022
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 419
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

From his first appearances in scripture preventing Balaam from disobeying God’s will to his supposed role presiding over cannibalistic orgies in the middle of the fifteenth century, the devil has been a dynamic force underlying European society. The personification of shifting fears and anxieties over the ages, he has served to both critique and police societal boundaries. Perceptions of the devil have unwittingly fostered social cohesion as communities closed ranks against his diabolical incursions, allowing medieval people to project their anxieties onto outsiders and marginalized groups – often with horrendous consequences, some of which still linger. The Medieval Devil is a unique collection of primary sources that examines the development of medieval society through the lens of particular groups and how they perceived the devil. In exploring where and how Europeans discerned his presence, detected his machinations, and sought to counter his actions over the span of the period, readers will be afforded a new and important point of entry into European history. Each chapter begins with an introduction to familiarize readers with critical issues and to contextualize the primary sources against broader developments of the period. Documents include a series of questions for discussion and reflection. Twelve black-and-white illustrations allow readers to visualize the devil through medieval eyes. A short bibliography is also included.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Half-Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
ABBREVIATIONS
CHAPTER ONE: SOURCES FOR THE MEDIEVAL DEVIL
1. The Serpent and the Fall of Humanity
2. The Sons of God and the Giants
3. Satans as God’s Agents
4. The Fall of Lucifer?
5. God as the Creator of Evil?
6. Satan as Spy and Tester
7. The Demons of Ancient Greece
8. Rabbinical Teachings on the Devil
9. Satan Reappears
10. The Homicidal Liar
11. Fall of Lucifer Revisited
CHAPTER TWO: DEVELOPMENT OF A NARRATIVE
12. The Subversion of Humanity
13. Mastêmâ the Devil?
14. Interrogating Genesis
15. Eve’s Perspective of Humanity’s Fall
16. Gnostic Dualism
17. Did God Create Evil?
18. A Worldly Prince as the Devil?
19. Devil as Kidnapper
20. Sympathy for the Devil
21. A Perverse Power, Hostile to Truth
22. A Proto-demonology?
CHAPTER THREE: FORGING A COMMUNITY
23. The Problem of Idols
24. The Betrayal and Trial of Jesus
25. The Susceptibility of Women to the Devil
26. The Death of the Old Religion
27. The Problem of Magic
28. Survival of the Old Religion
29. Alexander Encounters Gog and Magog
30. Dealing with Unorthodox Views
31. Policing Practice
32. The Possibility of Demonic Night Flight?
33. A Sorceress and Her Demons
CHAPTER FOUR: THE EARLY MONASTIC DEVIL
34. A “Proto-monk” Is Assaulted by Demons in the Wilderness
35. Saint Martin of Tours Fights the Devil
36. Why Can Demons Do Such Great Things?
37. Bishop Narcissus Sees a Horrible Demon
38. Stable Hands Pray to the Devil
39. Demonic Stratagems in the Carolingian World
40. The Monastery as a Fortress against the Devil
41. Besieged by Demons
CHAPTER FIVE: THE DEVIL AND FEUDAL SOCIETY
42. The Demonic Pact of Saint Cyprian
43. The Pope Makes a Pact with the Devil
44. The Man of Sin
45. Demonic Vassalage
46. The Devil as Feudal Lord
47. The Life of Antichrist
48. The Devil’s Churchmen
49. Trial by Landscape
CHAPTER SIX: THE DEVIL’S DOMAIN
50. The Development of Hell
51. The Harrowing of Hell
52. The Geography of Hell
53. An Anglo-Saxon Monk Recounts a Vision of Hell
54. Hell at Sea
55. A Maiden Views Hell
56. An Urban Hell
57. Dante’s Vision of the Structure of Hell
CHAPTER SEVEN: VARIETIES OF POSSESSION AND EXORCISM
58. Biblical Possessions
59. Exorcisms by the Disciples
60. Two Early Forms of Exorcism
61. Dispossession by Person
62. Dispossession by Objects
63. Baptism
64. Formalizing Dispossession
65. Protection and Charms against Demonic Incursions
66. Breaking the Devil’s Hold
67. Divine Possession, Gender, and Politics
CHAPTER EIGHT: DEMONIZATIONS
68. The Origins of Islam
69. A Scholar Explains Islam
70. Clerical Sodomy
71. The Blood Libel
72. Diabolized History
73. Devil-Worshipping Heretics?
74. Rooting Out Heresy
75. Hordes from the East
76. Satan’s Knights?
77. A Panorama of Pain
CHAPTER NINE: THEORIZING THE DEVIL AND SOCIETY IN THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES
78. The Devil as Nullity
79. A Scholastic Theologian Wrestles with Demonic Bodies
80. The Devil Makes His Case
81. Contemplating the Devil’s Place in Nature
82. A Preacher’s Stories about the Devil
83. Demons in Monastic Training Manuals
84. Various Exempla Demons from the British Isles
85. An Anonymous Preacher Allegorizes Hell
CHAPTER TEN: EXPERIENCING THE DEVIL IN WORD AND IMAGE
86. The Miracle of Theophilus
87. An Alternative Creation Story
88. Demonic Horseplay
89. Antichrist Takes the Stage
90. Images of the Devil
CHAPTER ELEVEN: TOWARD THE EARLY MODERN AGE
91. Working with Demons
92. Magic, Demons, and Heresy
93. The Church of Antichrist
94. The Problem of Satan as an “Angel of Light”
95. Interrogators’ View of Joan of Arc
96. The Synagogue of Satan
97. Merging Traditions
98. Toward the Witch Hunts
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MODERN WORKS ON THE DEVIL
SOURCES
INDEX OF TOPICS
Series List