preview

Annotated Bibliography Of Affective Piety

Decent Essays

Annotated Bibliography

Medieval spirituality emphasized the body as a way to access the divine. While visions and physical abrasions startle modern readers these features are a commonality of the time, especially among women. The detailed descriptions of mystics’ experiences frighten readers because the boundary between physical and spiritual is eliminated. Contemporary religiosity is characterized by pious behavior and emotional tranquility but during the medieval ages, the emphasis on pain became a distinguishing factor of those truly devout. This deep adoration of the Passion coupled with a desire for pain resulted in intense emotional responses and physical changes among mystics. The highly emotional devotion of Jesus’ most humanly moments defines affective piety. Although visions and physical manipulation occurred in both genders, the practice of affective piety almost exclusively refers to women. Atkinson and Bynum’s works argue the incentive behind said the practice was to gain eternal salvation for oneself or others; Kieckhefer, another source, builds upon this argument and adds the discomfort experienced allowed saints to forget one’s own troubles. Much of the insight provided from all four sources consider the reasons why women were the majority participants of affective piety, but little is mentioned about why people, regardless of gender, chose to experience physical discomfort. In a religion where God is characterized by love, the focus on pain is quite a peculiar way to understand God. In a world distanced from the stories in the bible, affective piety may have gained popularity as a way of placing oneself in these narratives and building commonality with God. I guess my argument is why would you want to experience pain? Kieckhefer offers some insight as he describes people's attaching more weight to love manifested in suffering than to love displayed in other ways but that still begs that questions, why is there such a focus on pain?

Atkinson, Clarissa W. “Mystic and pilgrim: the book and the world of Margery Kempe,” 129- 156. New York: Cornell University Press, 1985

Clarissa W. Atkinson adds context to the highly emotional form of devotion, affective piety, endured by many saints and

Get Access