Nottingham Medieval Studies

The scant available evidence about Arnobius Junior’s life suggests that he was a prominent figure in the Christian circles of mid-fifth century Rome, well connected to the Roman church and the ascetic, aristocratic milieus of the Vrbs. Yet, at some point of his career Arnobius’ critical stance with regards to Augustine’s views on predestination exposed him to accusations of heresy (Pelagianism). To clear himself of these charges, Arnobius composed the Praedestinatus. In this work, the author relied upon his knowledge of Christian heresiological literature to present his theological antagonists as the members of a ‘Predestinarian sect’. This article analyses the rhetorical devices used by Arnobius to hereticise his opponents.

This chapter investigates the heresiological techniques employed by the Valentinians, one of the most popular forms of early Christian theology, later refuted by so called ‘Church Fathers’. The chapter begins with a critical review of the history of the concept of early Christian heresy as well as the category ‘Valentinianism’. It is here argued that Valentinian heresiological techniques did not differ in any significant way from those of their orthodox contemporaries. The heresy of the heretics should, just as for orthodox writers, chiefly be understood as a way to highlight differences and similarities alike, in order to create a sustainable group identity.

The Paulicians came to prominence within the East Roman (or Byzantine) Empire during the ninth century, not only as a dissident religious movement, but also as a regional military power. They have conventionally been understood as a continuation of Armenian adoptionism, as the beginning of a distinctly medieval dualism, and/or as a product of the iconoclast controversy. By contrast, this paper will examine Paulician self-defence within the context of the persecutions conducted by Michael I (811-13) and Leo V (813-20). It will examine the Didaskalie, arguing that this source demonstrates that Paulicians reacted to these persecutions by casting themselves as the spiritual heirs of the Christians who were persecuted in the Acts of the Apostles. This reappropriation of Acts was a crucial factor in the short-term expansion of the movement.

According to the data from the relevant sources, Bogomilism appeared in the middle of the tenth century and it existed on the historical stage until the fifteenth, adapting its activity to social, political, religious and ideological circumstances. The first period relates to the priest Bogomil, who managed to coordinate his followers into a complete realization of Bogomilism as a movement and as a teaching. The biggest upsurge in Bogomilism is seen during the Кomnenos era (1081-1185) in Macedonia and the Balkans, and also throughout the Byzantine Empire, including the capital, Constantinople, itself. In the period between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries Bogomilism penetrated even the monasteries on Mount Athos. Bogomil self-defense during this five-century period was in principle based on pacifism, the ability to adjust their activity to specific social and political processes and presenting themselves as representative of official Christianity.

Heretics adopted different strategies to defend themselves. This article explores how heretics used the formal machinery of the inquisition in South West France. The inquisition was in considerable part under the control of the French Crown, which had an interest in mitigating any too harsh actions by the inquisition. Evidence for this, and for the consensus-building which was a feature of inquisition work after 1305, can be found in Bernard Gui’s Sentences and Practica. The inquisition was a body which could at times be responsive to public pressure.

Talk was an important aspect of social life in the predominantly oral societies of the Middle Ages. In thirteenth-century Languedoc, inquisitors looking for heretics were interested in the talk of the communities under scrutiny, and hence the records of their investigations contain a lot of references to information related to oral communication. This article examines entries from thirteenth-century inquisition records, now extant in Toulouse MS 609 and the Doat-collection, which illuminate the functions and significance of talk and communication in on-going attempts to physically evade the inquisitors. Despite the epistemological problems related to the analysis of these textual representations of the deponents’ recollections under interrogation, a careful interpretation of inquisition records shows that while oral communication was a central part of the activities of the Good Men and their lay supporters, and could often facilitate escape from imminent arrests, talk was always at least potentially a double-edged sword: the spread of sensitive information was difficult to control, and it was not always clear who could be trusted with it. Examining references to communication in relation to avoidance of inquisitors enables us to read deeper into the intricacies of the social aspects of religious dissidence in thirteenth-century Languedoc.

This article examines how Marguerite Porete defended her ideas in her mystical treatise The Mirror of Simple Souls, which along with its author was condemned as heretical in 1310. Most scholarship has focussed on the final sixteen chapters of the Mirror as evidence of Marguerite’s self-defence. This article shows that Marguerite was concerned with defending her ideas throughout the course of composing the Mirror, and not merely while writing the final chapters. By focussing on two key concepts in the Mirror which were singled out at her trial in Paris, this article demonstrates how Marguerite repeatedly presented these concepts in ways which were meant to shield them from criticism. The article then examines the reactions of two later readers of the Mirror to these defences, exploring their successes and failures and the vastly different ways in which they could be interpreted.

This article considers how writings that address the pursuit of heresy in England might have prepared their readers for heretical self-defense, and it surveys the emotional scripts of the Lanterne of Light, Wordes of Poule, Letter of Richard Wyche, and Testimony of William Thorpe, suggesting many lollard writings offer training in feeling as much as argument. This essay closely examines the advice on self-defense in the Sixteen Points, proposing that it aims to teach readers the simple strategy of denying anything they do not know to be true. However, teaching readers to doubt, as in the Dialogue between Reson and Gabbyng, is as important as teaching them to deny. The article finishes with the longest lollard defensive text, the Thirty-Seven Conclusions, showing how it uses doubt to construct its arguments, and even defend Wyclif himself.

This article explores the importance of the social relationships of a group of suspected lollards in Bristol in 1414. Building on the work of Hudson and Kelly, who both suggest that this group managed to purge themselves despite being lollards, the article reconstructs social connections and considers how these may have aided the group’s purgation. It considers the evidence of heresy trials found in Bishop Bubwith’s register and the social relationships present in last wills and testaments. The use of Social Network Analysis to evaluate these social networks allows wider conclusions to be drawn about the effectiveness of purgation and lollards’ self-defence through their social connections in the early fifteenth century.

Phil Bradford and Alison K. McHardy, Proctors for Parliament: Clergy, Community and Politics, c. 1228-1539 (The National Archives, Series SC 10): Volume I: c. 1248-1377, and Volume II: 1377-1539. Woodbridge, The Boydell Press, for the Canterbury & York Society, volumes 107-108 (2017-2018)