Milk and Miracles: Heteroglossia and Dissent in Venetian Religious Art after the Council of Trent

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-319
Author(s):  
Jutta Sperling
Keyword(s):  
Religious Art ◽  
Council Of Trent ◽  
Counter Reformation ◽  
Religious Imagery ◽  
Wet Nurse

This essay investigates Benedetto Caliari's Nativity of the Virgin (1576) with its provocative and unorthodox depiction of a bare-breasted wet-nurse in the context of both Protestant and Catholic criticism of “indecent” religious imagery. Reformers on both sides drew a connection between the Virgin Mary's ostentatious display of her lactating breasts and her presumed, derided, or hoped-for miracle-working capacities or intercessory powers. In post-Tridentine Venice, several artists, including Tintoretto and Veronese, all of whom were connected to the Scuola de’ Mercanti that commissioned Caliari's painting, employed religious breastfeeding imagery in a wide array of iconographies in order to express dissent with the Counter-Reformation church's emphasis on orthodoxy. In contrast to writers, artists were able to claim a certain degree of nonconformity and freedom from prosecution. In light of Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of heteroglossia, it is argued that religious lactation imagery after Trent produced irony, parody, doubt, and dissent.

Some Painters and the Counter-Reformation before 1600

1972 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 103-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellis Waterhouse
Keyword(s):  
Religious Art ◽  
Council Of Trent ◽  
General Terms ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Counter Reformation ◽  
To Come

It was not until the twenty-fifth and last session of the Council of Trent, in 1563, that the assembled Fathers made reference to the arts, and that only in very general terms: ‘The Council forbids placing in churches any image which illustrates false doctrine and can mis-lead the simple … it forbids placing in any church even if it is not subject to diocesan visitation, any unusual image, unless it has been approved by the bishop’. The Council recommended the retention of images in churches, but otherwise its decree was purely negative. It did not contemplate using religious art as one of the weapons of controversy in its war against Protestantism. That was to come later.

Culture and the Spanish Civil War - A Fascist View: 1936-1939

1965 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 557-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kessel Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Spanish Civil War ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Scientific Investigation ◽  
Intellectual Freedom ◽  
Council Of Trent ◽  
Spanish Inquisition ◽  
Counter Reformation ◽  
Foreign Ideas ◽  
The Church

Almost from the inception of the Spanish Inquisition which sought to stifle scientific investigation and philosophical speculation while rejecting foreign ideologies, contrary currents existed in Spain. The liberal humanistic movement headed by Erasmus preached intellectual freedom and a defense of interior religión. This ideology never disappeared in Spain in spite of the formation of the Company of Jesus by Ignacio de Loyola and the efforts of Spanish theologians who promoted the Counter Reformation at the Council of Trent. Under Felipe II foreign ideas were forbidden as heretical and interpretations independent of the Church were stifled. Nevertheless, criticism of the status quo continued. Reginaldo González Montano wrote the first attack on the Inquisition, Sanctae Inquisitioms Hispanicae in 1567.

Jesuits in Colonial Latin America

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermo Wilde
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Society Of Jesus ◽  
Colonial Latin America ◽  
Council Of Trent ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Counter Reformation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Jesuit Order

The Jesuits have impacted the history of colonial Latin America as have few other religious orders. Founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola and a group of companions, the Society of Jesus defined its profile from the beginning as an order devoted to apostolic activity, especially through missions, and education, which led it to promote new forms of preaching and teaching. Its expansion in the world coincides with the Catholic Counter-Reformation fostered by the Council of Trent (1545–1563), in which the Jesuits had a decisive participation. The growth and expansion of the order in Latin America was rapid and continuous. The first Jesuits arrived in Brazil in 1549, in Peru in 1568, and in Mexico in 1572, and they soon became involved in the main religious, social, economic, and political activities of each region. They founded numerous colleges and residences in the most important cities and dozens of missions, or reducciones, villages among the indigenous populations living on the so-called borderlands of the colonial domains of Spain and Portugal. The several Jesuit establishments in Latin America were territorially organized into provinces, which maintained constant and fluid communication with the headquarters of the order in Rome, where its highest authority, the superior general, resided. Demands by local governments, an increase in the number of operarios, and an expansion of the political and ecclesiastical jurisdictions led to the establishment of new Jesuit provinces in the 17th century, most especially that of Paraguay, which became one of the most famous in Latin America. Each province was staffed by both priests and coadjutor brothers (lay Jesuits who had not completed their training) from different European countries, mainly Spain, as well as Creoles and mestizos born in America. Both internally and externally, the writing of documents of different types served as a central instrument of communication and government of the various Jesuit establishments. This abundance of documents produced is why the corpus of research of the Jesuit order in Latin America is profuse.

A Tridentine Response

2020 ◽  
pp. 104-131
Author(s):  
Kenneth Austin
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Council Of Trent ◽  
Catholic Reformation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Counter Reformation ◽  
The Catholic Church

This chapter analyzes “Counter Reformation,” a terminology that implies the developments within the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century and beyond of reactions to the Protestant challenge. It explains how historians generally prefer the term “Catholic Reformation” over Counter Reformation as it is more neutral and better able to accommodate the range of initiatives witnessed in the period. It also points out reform efforts that predate the Protestant challenge, in which a new ethos developed within the Catholic Church in the middle of the sixteenth century. The chapter talks about the fathers of the Council of Trent, who sought to address a wide range of issues relating to belief and practice. It looks at the “Tridentine” decrees that were implemented alongside various papal initiatives and efforts at the local level.

The Scottish Counter-Reformation Before 1560

1945 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Stanford Reid
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Council Of Trent ◽  
Counter Reformation

When one speaks of the Counter-Reformation in Scotland, we usually think of it as something which appeared after 1560. To do that, however, is to regard the Scottish Counter-Reformation as principally post-Reformation, and also as inspired entirely by the Council of Trent. Such an interpretation fails to take into account the very determined efforts made by the Scottish church itself to stay the spread of heretical doctrines before 1560. It fails to realize that while aided considerably by the Tridentine decisions, the Scottish Counter-Reformation was largely a native movement which had its own views of the proper methods of dealing with the growing canker in the body ecclesiastic. Thus in order to have a due appreciation of the background of the Scottish Reformation and all that it entailed, it is necessary that we should have some understanding of the forces opposing Protestant reform in Scotland before 1560. Such a background this article will endeavour to give.

The Protestant Reformation in Counter-Reformation Italy, c. 1550–1660: An Overview of New Evidence

2014 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-589
Author(s):  
Simone Maghenzani
Keyword(s):  
Protestant Reformation ◽  
Iron Curtain ◽  
Council Of Trent ◽  
Wars Of Religion ◽  
Practical Advice ◽  
Critical Junctures ◽  
French Wars Of Religion ◽  
Counter Reformation ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Key Questions

This article aims to open up and overview some key questions surrounding the Italian Reformation. It argues that the Italian Reformation cannot be viewed as a closed book after the conclusion of the Council of Trent; instead there emerged new forms of engagement between Italy and Protestantism, both within and outside the peninsula. In particular, this article considers Protestant propaganda: the efforts by communities of exiles, especially the Genevan Italian congregation, in printing materials to send into Italy, and also sending personnel at critical junctures, all extremely sensitive to political and religious contexts. The French Wars of Religion provided an immediate model for what could be attempted in Italy, and so addressed sometimes delicate issues such as nicodemism and martyrdom, while also providing practical advice and support to Protestants in Italy. As such, this article shows that Italy was not partitioned by some religious “Iron Curtain” from the rest of Europe, but rather was still viewed as a potential battleground for international Calvinism.

scholarly journals From reformation to counter-reformation to further reformation: A picture of the anti-Roman background of the Heidelberg Catechism

2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Van Alten
Keyword(s):  
Lord's Supper ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
The Other ◽  
Council Of Trent ◽  
Counter Reformation ◽  
The Way

The anti-Roman sentiment of the Heidelberg Catechism is well-documented. In its contents the Catechism often seeks to combat Roman doctrine. However, this anti-Roman sentiment did not have its origin from textbooks and it was not merely an academic exercise. It was first and foremost a reaction to the ecclesiastical context of that time. At the same time that Elector Frederick III commissioned the writing of the Heidelberg Catechism, the Council of Trent was meeting on the other side of the Alpine mountains. Remarkably, this meeting had only recently decided to write a catechism of its own. It is very likely that the decision-makers in Heidelberg were aware of what was happening in Trent, and reacted accordingly. Underlying the decision to commission and write the Heidelberg Catechism was the acknowledgment of the importance of catechetical teaching. In several documents, which are closely related to the Heidelberg Catechism, the importance of catechetical teaching is highlighted. Interestingly, however, these documents also contrast the reformed principal of catechetical teaching with the Roman sacrament of confirmation. Whereas catechetical teaching leads children on the way from their baptism to the Lord’s Supper, the sacrament of confirmation takes away the urgency for any form of catechetical teaching.Daar is reeds baie geskryf oor die anti-Roomse sentiment wat uit die Heidelbergse Kategismus spreek. Inhoudelik voer die Kategismus dikwels ’n stryd met die Roomse leer. Die oorsprong van hierdie anti-Roomse sentiment kom egter nie net uit handboeke nie en dit was ook nie bloot ’n akademiese oefening nie. Dit was eerstens veral ’n reaksie op die kerklike konteks van daardie tyd. Dieselfde tyd toe Keurvors Frederick III opdrag gegee het vir die opstel van die Heidelbergse Kategismus, het die Konsilie van Trente aan die oorkant van die Alpe vergader. Dit is merkwaardig dat hierdie vergadering kort voor dit besluit het om op sy eie ’n kategismus op te stel. Die besluitnemers in Heidelberg was heel waarskynlik volkome bewus van wat in Trente gebeur het en het dienooreenkomstig opgetree. Onderliggend aan die besluit om opdrag te gee tot die opstel van die Heidelbergse Kategismus, was die besef van die belangrikheid van kategese. In verskeie dokumente wat nóú aan die Heidelbergse Kategismus verwant is, word die belangrikheid van kategese beklemtoon. Dit is egter interessant dat hierdie dokumente ook die kontras tussen die gereformeerde beginsel van kategetiese onderrig en die Roomse sakrament van die vormsel aantoon. Terwyl kategetiese onderrig kinders vanaf hulle doop tot by die nagmaal begelei, misken die sakrament van die vormsel die noodsaaklikheid van enige vorm van kategetiese onderrig.

Re-Imaging The Marian Catholic Church

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-364
Author(s):  
William Wizeman
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
The Other ◽  
English Reformation ◽  
Council Of Trent ◽  
Late Professor ◽  
Religious Texts ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Counter Reformation ◽  
Reformation England ◽  
Mary Tudor

The late Professor Geoffrey Dickens in his book, The English Reformation, condemned the Marian church for ‘failing to discover’ the verve and creativity of the Counter-Reformation; on the other hand, Dr Lucy Wooding has praised the Marian church for its adherence to the views of the great religious reformer Erasmus and its insularity from the counter-reforming Catholicism of Europe in her book Rethinking Catholicism in Reformation England. However, by studying the Latin and English catechetical, homiletic, devotional and controversial religious texts printed during the Catholic renewal in England in the reign of Mary Tudor (1553–58) and the decrees of Cardinal Reginald Pole's Legatine Synod in London (1555–56), a very different picture emerges. Rooted in the writings of St John Fisher—which also influenced the pivotal decrees of the Council of Trent (1545–63) on justification and the Eucharist—Marian authors presented a theological synthesis that concurred with Trent's determinations. This article will focus on three pivotal Reformation controversies: the intrepretation of scripture, justification, and the Eucharist.

Notes On Persons's “Memorial for the Reformation Of England” (1596)

1959 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.H Clancy
Keyword(s):  
Council Of Trent ◽  
Counter Reformation ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
The Face ◽  
Imperfect Knowledge ◽  
The Church ◽  
Insight Into

The late Harold Laski, in a letter to O. W. Holmes, characterized Persons’s Jesuit’s Memorial as “the most cold-blooded plot for exterminating opponents known outside St. Bartholomew.” On the face of it, this tends to confirm the suspicion which was expressed by Holmes in this very correspondence, and which reviewers have voiced since the letters were published, that Laski often wrote about books of which he had a very imperfect knowledge. And yet there is a sense in which the Jesuit’s Memorial is cold blooded, iust as the whole Counter-Reformation was in a certain sense cold-blooded. Whenever the Church is faced with a new challenge she must tighten up her lines of discipline and ruthlessly prune certain: venerable practices and customs or at least establish an order of priority among them. Many view with distaste the mentality engendered by the Council of Trent. It would be well, however, to try and see what the Counter-Reformation was trying to do before we condemn it. And for a real insight into the Counter Reformation spirit few books can equal the Jesuit’s Memorial.

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