A savage conversion'. Unbelief and demonic possession in Pierre de Bérulle's Traité des énergumènes (1599)
This paper deals with the connections between unbelief and demonic possession in early modern France. It suggests that the possessed functioned as physical evidence of some of Christianity's essential, invisible truths. The text will first highlight the way in which several 16th century French...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Université Catholique
[2018]
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| In: |
Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique
Year: 2018, Volume: 113, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 189-210 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This paper deals with the connections between unbelief and demonic possession in early modern France. It suggests that the possessed functioned as physical evidence of some of Christianity's essential, invisible truths. The text will first highlight the way in which several 16th century French Christian intellectuals regarded unbelief as a denial of divine Judgment, providence, hell, and the immortality of the soul. Then, it will relate this critique to the figure of Pierre de Bérulle and his Traité des énergumènes (1599), brandished against the unbelievers who, at least he thought, were ravaging France. Bérulle presents demonic possession as an experience capable of displaying the visible reality of immortality, divine retribution, and hell. One final remark will connect Bérulle's views on possession with Michel de Certeau's notion of fides. |
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| ISSN: | 2294-1088 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1484/J.RHE.5.115556 |