Richard Whitford’s Humanism and Monastic Renewal
Birgittine Spirituality and the New Learning in The Pype, or Tonne, of the Lyfe of Perfection
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 16608952 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Brandon Alakas (University of Alberta, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 3-4 |
| Pages | 309-334 |
| Publication date | 2023-09-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sixteenth Century Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0361-0160 • E-ISSN: 2326-0726 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/727950 |
| OpenAlex | W4399994347 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 5 |
Richard Whitford’s 1532 Pype, or Tonne, of the Lyfe of Perfection provides a thoroughgoing defence of monastic life against evangelical reformers; however, this text is equally remarkable for its comprehensive program of monastic renewal. What was needed, according to the Birgittine author, is regeneration from the ground up. Whitford’s reforming vision stands out primarily on account of its solid pedagogical foundation. In place of critique, The Pype offers detailed practical and theoretical foundations for living and reforming religious life that blend the Birgittine spirituality in which he immersed himself at Syon Abbey with early sixteenth-century humanism that he encountered at university and cherished through his association with Erasmus and Thomas More. In doing so, he marries a spirituality that unites learning and reform with a commitment to the value of source texts, the importance of citation, the origins of specific religious practices, and the need to understand the ancients on their own terms
Aesthetics · Environmental ethics · Humanism · Perfection · Spirituality · Theology · Joseph Conrad and Literature · Literature: history, themes, analysis · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy
| Highly cited | No |
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