Paradigms of Penance

This article offers a cognitive approach to the study of the development of penance and penitentials. It focuses on the mid-sixth-century Irish Penitential of Finnian (Uuinniau), a monastic leader whose background in British as well as Irish monasticism equipped him with knowledge of the works of Basil and Cassian. Uuinniau extended the monastic practices of examination of thoughts and repeatable penance to the laity, producing a paradigm shift which meant that penance not only remedied sin but also stimulated belief in the Christian God.