Holy Instruction, Demonic Deceit, and the Body: A Translation of Jean Gerson's Sermon on Angels (Collatio de Angelis)
Jean Gerson (1363–1429), theologian and chancellor of the University of Paris, is well known for his writings on the "discernment of spirits." Gerson's Sermon on Angels (1392), translated here, provides his earliest thoughts on judging the supernatural. In it, Gerson explains how ange...
| Published in: | Journal of medieval religious cultures |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Penn State Univ. Press
2022
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| In: |
Journal of medieval religious cultures
Year: 2022, Volume: 48, Issue: 2, Pages: 147-177 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality KAF Church history 1300-1500; late Middle Ages NBH Angelology; demonology |
| Further subjects: | B
angels and demons
B Discernment of spirits B visions and prophesy B Jean Gerson B University of Paris |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Jean Gerson (1363–1429), theologian and chancellor of the University of Paris, is well known for his writings on the "discernment of spirits." Gerson's Sermon on Angels (1392), translated here, provides his earliest thoughts on judging the supernatural. In it, Gerson explains how angels instruct and demons seduce the cognitive faculties of men and women. The related challenges of authenticating true religious visions and exposing demonic or naturalistic fakes led Gerson to doubt some would-be visionaries and even question the role of visionary evidence in canonization trials. While these doubts are also articulated in his later, better-known treatises on discernment, he describes how he came to those conclusions here, in an exploration of the physiology of visions and demonic deception. Gerson's sermon highlights the delicate role that cognition plays in assessing supernatural experiences and helps to explain the criticisms of ascetic practices included in his later treatises on spiritual discernment. |
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| ISSN: | 2153-9650 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of medieval religious cultures
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