Handbook for Curates: A Late Medieval Manual on Pastoral Ministry

409 Pages·2011·1.41 MB·English

by  Guido of Monte Rochen

Handbook for Curates
Medieval TexTs in TranslaTion
ediTorial direcTor
thomas f. X. noble
University of Notre Dame
ediTorial Board
Paul dutton
Simon Fraser University
Geoffrey koziol
University of California at Berkeley
Carol Lansing
University of California at Santa Barbara
barbara H. rosenwein
Loyola University of Chicago
Guido of Monte Rochen
Handbook
for Curates
a Late Medieval Manual on Pastoral Ministry
Translated by Anne T. Thayer, with an introduction
by Anne T. Thayer and Katharine J. Lualdi
The Catholic University of America Press
Washington, D.C.
Copyright © 2011
the Catholic university of america Press
all rights reserved
the paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
american national standards for Information science—Permanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi Z39.48-1984.
∞
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data
uido, de Monte rocherii, 14th cent.
G
[Manipulus curatorum. english]
Handbook for curates : a late medieval manual on pastoral ministry /
Guido of Monte rochen ; translated by anne t. thayer ; with an
introduction by anne t. thayer and katharine J. Lualdi.
p. cm. — (Medieval texts in translation)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
isBn 978-0-8132-1869-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Pastoral theology—
Catholic Church--early works to 1800. 2. Catholic Church—
doctrines—early works to 1800. I. thayer, anne t.
II. Lualdi, katharine J. III. title.
Bx1913.G8313 2011
253.088’28209023—dc22
2011012794
Contents
foreword vii
by Thomas Tentler
acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
HandBook for curaTes
author’s Letter 3
Prologue 5
Part I: the sacraments and their administration 9
tract 1, on the sacraments in General 9
tract 2, on baptism 15
tract 3, on Confirmation 35
tract 4, on the sacrament of the eucharist 43
tract 5, on the sacrament of orders 108
tract 6, on the sacrament of extreme unction 118
tract 7, on the sacrament of Marriage 123
Part II: the sacrament of Penance 157
Prologue 157
tract 1, on Penance in General 159
tract 2, on Contrition 164
tract 3, on Confession 181
tract 4, on satisfaction 244
Part III: basic Catechesis 271
Chapter 1, on the articles of the faith 272
Chapter 2, on the Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer 280
vi conTenTs
Chapter 3, on the ten Commandments of the Law 293
Chapter 4, on the Gifts of the blessed 305
table of the book Called 307
Handbook for Curates
appendix: authors and sources Cited in the 315
Handbook for Curates
selected bibliography 325
General Index 329
Index of scripture 347
foreword
Thomas Tentler
to anyone interested in late medieval and early modern religion,
from beginning undergraduates to specialists in the field, this trans-
lation of Guido of Monte rochen’s
Manipulus curatorum (Handbook
is a gift of great value. the extraordinary popularity of
for Curates)
this pastoral guide in the centuries before the reformation is am-
ply demonstrated in the editors’ lucid introduction. I urge everyone
to begin by reading that introduction because it is an indispens-
able preparation for appreciating and, yes, enjoying this important
book.
I first encountered Guido over forty years ago, in the north Li-
brary of the british Museum, looking for material on the theory
and practice of confession on the eve of the reformation. I was
not disappointed. as he offered what he thought would be most
useful to confessors, Guido’s wide-ranging interest in theological
fundamentals and his commonsense advice to his priestly reader-
ship served me well.
decades later katharine Lualdi and anne thayer brought about
a different and equally rewarding encounter with Guido. and so,
encouraged by the editors’ infectious enthusiasm for their subject,
and armed with an early version of their translation, I consulted
the holdings of the in the rare book room of the Library
Manipulus
of Congress. there I began to realize the full extent of this schol-
arly gift. I admired a translation that achieved clarity while preserv-
ing the flavor of Guido’s rambling prose. following their lead, I
looked at the marginalia in copies of the in that library’s
Manipulus
collection, and I too found medieval and early modern owners us-
vii
viii foreword
ing pointing hands and underlining to signal favorite passages, writ-
ing brief comments or summaries, and adding pagination or run-
ning heads to make it easier to navigate these pages. eleven of the
fourteen copies I consulted were annotated, some extensively, sup-
plying independent corroboration (if one were needed) of the edi-
tors’ contention that these books did not just occupy shelf space.
but most important of all, the gift of a full english translation
made me realize how much of Guido I had neglected and how
much I could still learn from him.
Guido was roughly contemporary with literary and theological
giants like Meister eckhart, dante, duns scotus, William of ock-
ham, Petrarch, and boccaccio. these authors (and other less famous
contemporaries) are remembered, lectured about, and assigned in
courses because of the originality of their ideas or their literary ac-
complishment. Guido was an authoritative pastoral guide for two
centuries after the publication of his manual in 1333 because he was
not an intellectual or literary pioneer. His fame was earned because
he inspired confidence in his safe reliability. today, historians search-
ing for the ever elusive “lived religion” of late medieval and early
modern europe value him precisely for those mundane qualities.
and yet, as he faithfully represents the teaching of the mas-
ters—searching for a theological consensus and filling the text
with citations to canon law—an individuality emerges in what he
selects and how he presents it. that kind of individuality is also a
reason for studying this book. the editors allude to revealing ex-
amples—his rule for the requisite consistency of meat broth in
a valid, emergency baptism, or his choice of a particularly poi-
gnant illustration of the inviolability of the seal of confession.
Indeed, the book is replete with such windows on the author and
his age. Guido lives in a world charged with spiritual meaning. He
speaks un-self-consciously about the confirmation of Christian
truth in the natural world. He can find a spiritual sense in ev-
ery word, movement, and gesture in the celebration of the mass.
He produces lists—of virtues, sins, laws, articles of faith, quali-
ties of a good confession—that aim at succinct instruction and
foreword ix
suggest to me a touching confidence that ordinary curates might
convert them into exhortations to behave, repent, and reform. at
the same time, the sympathy of a compassionate pastor is con-
stant, as he warns in many ways against fostering scrupulosity and
despair (without using those terms). the ultimate expression of
that consolatory impulse is the often invoked principle that ne-
cessity knows no law, that in the crisis of death the rules are sus-
pended. and his whole intention in explaining eucharistic myster-
ies is to give simple priests a certitude that they can convey to the
faithful. surely it is these qualities that in part explain why, as the
editors note, so many manuscript editions survive, why a bishop
in switzerland would urge parish priests to seek out one of these
manuscripts and copy it for their own use, and why it became a
best-selling publication in the early years of printing. It is a com-
monplace to observe that the Protestant reformation thrived on
print. the reminds us that the dissemination
Manipulus curatorum
of books was central to religious practice in the West long before
1517. the differences in these histories are important—but so are
the commonalities. In that context, too, the question of why Gui-
do achieved so commanding a place in pastoral literature gives us
something to think about.
My remarks only suggest the richness to students of late me-
dieval and early modern religion of a text at last available in our
vernacular. Guido deserves a wider audience and there is now no
reason that he shouldn’t get it. We have much to learn from him.