RT Article
T1 From Minority to Maturity: The Evolution of Later Lollardy
JF Socio-historical examination of religion and ministry
VO 3
IS 2
SP 325
OP 352
A1 Stansfield-Cudworth, R. E.
LA English
YR 2021
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1808784243
AB Though English supporters of the Oxford theologian John Wycliffe (d.1384)—known as "Lollards"—had been drawn from academic and noble/gentry circles during the later-fourteenth and early-fifteenth centuries, persecution, equation of heresy with sedition, and the failure of Sir John Oldcastle’s Rebellion (1414) ensured overt abandonment of Lollard ideas. Consequently, post-1414 ("later") Lollardy in England has been characterized as an amorphous, introverted network—appealing to those of lesser socio-economic status—being unworthy of description as a sect because of its deficiency of organization. However, the movement’s consistency and infrastructure are reappraised by considering its heterogeneity in terms of society (demography, literacy, and socio-economic status), interactions (modes of dissemination), and motivation, participation, and organization (appreciating the dynamics of religious movements). From a comparative perspective, Lollardy’s acephalous, reticulate infrastructure—similarly to that of Waldensianism and other movements—may have proved beneficial by facilitating adaptability during persecution thereby ensuring Lollardy’s survival until the Reformation.
DO 10.33929/sherm.2021.vol3.no2.07