The corrupter of boys : sodomy, scandal, and the medieval clergy / Dyan Elliott

Author:: Elliott, Dyan, 1954-
Additional Titles:: Sodomy, scandal, and the medieval clergy
Published:: Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2020]
Copyright Date:: ©2020
Physical Description:: viii, 378 pages ; 25 cm.

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Series:

Middle Ages series

Contents:

The Scandal of Clerical Sin -- The Trouble with Boys -- The Problem with Women -- Sodomy on the Cusp of the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries -- Confession, Scandal, and the "Sin Not Fit to be Named" -- Prologue -- The Monastery -- The Choir -- The Schools -- The Episcopal Curia -- Conclusion.

Summary:

"In the fourth century, clerics began to distinguish themselves from members of the laity by virtue of augmented claims to holiness. Because clerical celibacy was key to this distinction, religious authorities of all stripes-patristic authors, popes, theologians, canonists, monastic founders, and commentators-became progressively sensitive to sexual scandals that involved the clergy and developed sophisticated tactics for concealing or dispelling embarrassing lapses. The fear of scandal dictated certain lines of action and inaction, the consequences of which are painfully apparent today. This book discusses how the scandal-averse policies, which existed at every conceivable level of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, in conjunction with the requirement of clerical celibacy, resulted in the widespread sexual abuse of boys and male adolescents"--

Subject(s):

Genre(s):

History

ISBN:

9780812252521 (hardcover)
0812252527 (hardcover)

Bibliography Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 331-366) and index.

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