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[German Version] (c. 1129 – Jun 18, 1164), of noble descent, entered the double monastery at Schönau (Nassau; OSB) as a twelve-year-old. Five years later, she took her vows there. Elizabeth became magistra of the congregation of nuns in 1157. Plagued by illnesses and anxieties, Elizabeth received many “revelatory visions” (Ruh) in ecstatic episodes beginning in 1152; the visions followed the liturgical year. Her brother, Ekbert (monk at Schönau beginning i…

[German Version] (1472 [?], Ipswich – Nov 29, 1530, Leicester). After studying at New College, Oxford, ordination to the priesthood (1501), and a term as court chaplain to the archbishop of Canterbury, Wolsey, the son of an innkeeper and butcher, became chaplain to Henry VII in 1507. Under Henry’s successor, Henry VIII, his career in church and state began: appointed adviser to the king in 1511, in 1514 he was made bishop of Lincoln and later in the year archbishop of York. In 1515 he was made lor…

[German Version] Since the 12th century, individual convents were founded under the patronage of Mary Magdalene to accommodate converted prostitutes and save women in jeopardy. The order of the Penitent Sisters of Blessed Mary Magdalene (Poenitentes Sorores Beatae Mariae Magdalenae) traces back to the initiative of the Hildesheim canon Rudolph of Worms, who founded convents for these penitents throughout the empire, beginning in 1226. Affirmed by Gregory IX in 1227 and subject after 1232 to the Ru…

[German Version] (Scots Gaelic: Dun Eideann), capital of Scotland. Situated near the Firth of Forth, Castle Rock had probably long served as a stronghold when King David I founded Holyrood Abbey there and granted Edinburgh market rights in 1130. Elevated to city status by Robert the Bruce in 1329, Edinburgh rose to become the political and economic center of Scotland and …

[German Version] (c. 1456, Church Oakley, Hampshire – Aug 22, 1532, Hackington, near Canterbury). After studying at New College, Oxford (fellow 1475; LL.D. 1488), Warham had a successful legal career in the civil and ecclesiastical administration and as a diplomat: principal of the School for Civil Law, Oxford (1490), Master of the Rolls (1494), archdeacon of Huntingdon (1496), bishop of London (1502), Lord Chancellor (1504). Appointed archbishop of Canterbury in 1503, in 1509 he crowned Henry VII…

[German Version] (Morus; Feb 6/7, 1477/1478, London – Jul 6, 1535, London), prominent English Humanist, politician, and controversial theologian (Controversial theology). The son of a jurist, he attended school in London and subsequently became a page in the household of Cardinal Archbishop John Morton (1420–1500), who sent him to Oxford to study. In spite of his academic interests, his father insisted on an additional legal training at the Inns of Court. Thomas More worked as a lawyer from 1501 o…

[German Version] (1485, Thurcaston, Leicestershire – Oct 16, 1555, Oxford). The son of a free peasant, Latimer studied theology from 1506 onward at Clare College, Cambridge (B.A. 1510, M.A. 1514). Having initially defended the old faith as a preacher and university lecturer, he joined the Reformation around 1524 under the influence of T. Bilney. Highly esteemed at the court of Henry VIII for a time (appointment as bishop of Worcester in 1535), he fell out of favor from ¶ 1539 during the turmoil surrounding Anne Boleyn; he delivered his most famous sermons under Edward VI. …

[German Version] (1620, Lydeard St. Lawrence – Oct 18, 1677, London). After studying at Wadham College, Oxford (BA 1639), Manton, the son of a clergyman, began to preach and rapidly became the undisputed leader of the Presbyterians in London. He rose ¶ to become a scribe for the Westminster Assembly and often preached before the Long Parliament. After the fall of O. Cromwell, he sympathized with the Restoration under Charles II, but when the hopes of the Nonconformists (Dissenters) for concessions from the Anglicans were dashed, he refu…

[German Version] (Wyclif[f]ites), adherents of the teachings of J. Wycliffe, were persecuted as heretics in England by both the church and the state until 1559. Spread beyond Oxford, initially by Wycliffe himself and later by his students, Wycliffite ideas were evident from 1382 in London, Leicester, Bristol, and elsewhere. This led to a tightening of the heresy laws (esp. stricter controlling of teachers of theology and priests who preached out-¶ side their parishes; a penalty for possessing the English Bible and religious literature in the vernacular) and to ini…

[German Version] (Good Friday, 1277, Nuremberg – Dec 27, 1356, Engelthal Convent). The patrician's daughter entered the Engelthal Convent (Dominican) at the age of twelve. Her uncompromising conceptualization of the imitatio Christi and cloistered lifestyle led to corporal suffering and isolation within the community. Beginning in 1291, Ebner had extraordinary spiritual experiences that brought her fame in subsequent decades even outside her convent (1350…

[German Version] (Stuart of England; May 29, 1630, London – Feb 2, 1685, London), king of England. The son of the executed Charles I of England, he was exiled in 1651, but answered the call of his country to assume the crown in 1660. Thus began the Restoration period, which was characterized by a balance of power with respect to the interests of the Crown and of Parliament as well as by the reestablishment of the Anglican state church (Church of England, Anglic…

[German Version] (Waldensis; c. 1372, Saffron Walden,Essex –Nov 2, 1430, Rouen), Carmelite monk. Ordained to the priesthood in 1396, he studied and taught theology in Oxford. He was court preacher to Henry IV and confessor to his successors. As a convinced conciliarist he took part in the reforming Councils of Basel (Basel, Council of) and Pisa (Pisa, Council of); he attended the Coun…

[German Version] I. General – II. Non-Christian Religions – III. Christianity – IV. Religion, Society, and Culture in the Present I. General …

[German Version] (1347, Montau/Matowy near Danzig/Gdánsk – Jun 25, 1394, Marienwerder/Kwidzyn). Driven quite early by the desire for discipleship to Christ, this farmer's daughter nevertheless married in 1363. She subseq…

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[German Version] The founding of Cambridge University probably goes back to members of Oxford University who left Oxford in reaction to the closing of schools in 1209 that resulted from disputes between the city and the university. Although instruction resumed in Oxford in 1214, a few scholars remained in Cambridge. Proximity to the episcopal see of Ely favored the establishment of a permanent institution, and Cambridge and Oxford remained the only English univer…

[German Version] (Matthaeus Parisiensis; c. 1200 – June 1259, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England). In 1217, he entered the Benedictine Abbey of St. Albans, had contacts with the court of Henry III, and in 1248/1249 reformed the Norwegian monastery of Holm (OSB) on papal commission. As a chronicler, he continued the world chronicle of Roger of Wendover (died 1236) in his main work entitled Chronica maiora. He wrote several works on English history, including Historia Anglorum…

[German Version] (Aug 6, 1504, Norwich – May 17, 1575, Lambeth), son of a well-to-do weaver, studied at Corpus Christi College in Cambridge from 1522 to 1528; he remained close to the college throughout his life, being elected master in 1544. His collection of medieval manuscripts became the core of the college’s Parker Library. At Cambridge Parker was won to the Protestant cause (T. Bilney, H. Latimer). In 1535 Anne Boleyn, the mother of Elizabeth I, appointed Parker, now a well-known preacher, a…

[German Version] (1514 [?], Haddington, East Lothian – Nov 24, 1572, Edinburgh). As a theologian and church politician, Knox shaped the introduction of Protestantism to Scotland. Little is known about his background, youth, and intellectual development. Knox himself said nothing about these matters. After his studies, probably in St. Andrews, and his ordination to the priesthood (c. 1536), he initially worked as a notary and private tutor in the service of nobility in Lothian who sympathized with …

[German Version] is the term for a number of individuals and groups persecuted as heretical; they do not constitute a homogeneous organization, even if some connections exist between individual representatives – mostly laypersons, including a disproportionately large number of women. Nor can a unified doctrinal system be identified. More instructive than the stereotypical lists of heresies, as were produced by the church in the context of persecution, are direct sources from the series of Brothers and Sisters, especially the Miroir des simples âmes of Marguerite …

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[German Version] (Peacock; Pavo; c. 1393, Wales – 1460/1461, Thorney Abbey, Cambridgeshire). After studying theology at Oxford (since 1409), Pecock served as a parish priest and later as a bishop (St. Asaph 1444, Chichester 1450). Despite several works against the ¶ Lollards, in 1457 he was charged with heresy; he was forced to recant, and several of his works were burned. After resigning his bishopric in 1459, he lived under house arrest in Thorney and was forbidden to write. Attacking the biblicism of the Lollards,…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies Traditionally research on religion has rarely dealt with women. Exceptions include Moriz Winternitz ( Die Frau in den indischen Religionen, 1915–1916) and F. Heiler ( …

[German Version] (1467 [?], London – Sep 16, 1519, London) was the son of an influential clothier, …

[German Version] (Jul 2, 1489, Aslockton, Nottinghamshire – Mar 21, 1556, Oxford), an English reformer who made a significant contribution to the formation of the via media of the Anglican Church. Stemming from the lower landed gentry, Cranmer studied from 1503 in Cambridge. After his M.A., he was elected in 1515 as a fellow in the Jesus College (consecrated to the priesthood c. 1520); he concluded his studies in 1526 as a D.D. (Doctor of Divinity). In these years, Cranmer was concerned, especially, with the Latin Church Fathers, but he evidently did not participate in the discussions concerning a reform of the church that took place in Cambridge at the time. In 1529 he ended his university career when he earned royal favor on the basis of his endorsement of the divorce of Henry VIII; from that time he s…

[German Version] I. Roman Catholic Archbishopric Following the Reformation in England, Roman Catholics labored under numerous constitutional and social disadvantages. Emancipation finally took place in 1829, despite considerable lingering anti-Catholic sentiment. Since the 1680s, four bishops, serving as vicars apostolic (Vicar apostolic), supervised Catholic interests in England; in 1840 four more were added. Various factors, most especially Irish immigration, the rise of the Oxford Movement, and the…

[German Version] (later: Clerici apostolici S. Hieronymi), was a community founded around 1355 by Giovanni Colombini (died 1367) and his first associate, Francesco Vincenti. Initially, only laypersons lived together in poverty and penitence, with no fixed rule; they saw their …

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[German Version] (c. 1495, Norfolk – Aug 19, 1531, Norwich) studied both kinds of law in Cambridge. He was ordained as a priest in 1519 and became a fellow of Trinity Hall in 1520. Under the influence of the Latin translation of the New Testament by Erasmus, Bilney began to devote himself…

[English Version] I. Römisch-katholisches Erzbistum Nach der Reformation in England hatte die röm.-kath. Minderheit unter zahlreichen verfassungsmäßigen und sozialen Benachteiligungen zu leiden. Auch nach der Gleichstellung der Katholiken 1829 blieben antikath. Vorurteile zurück. Seit den 80er Jahren des 17.Jh. nahmen vier Bischöfe, die als Apostolische Vikare dienten, kath. Interessen in England wahr; 1840 kamen vier weitere hinzu. Diverse Faktoren, zumal der Zustrom irischer Einwanderer, das Aufko…

[English Version] Warham, William (um 1456 Church Oakley, Hampshire – 22.8.1532 Hackington bei Canterbury). Nach dem Studium in Oxford (New College; Fellow 1475; LL.D. 1488) machte W. erfolgreich Karriere als Jurist in der staatl. und kirchl. Verwaltung und als D…

[English Version] (Waldensis), Thomas (um 1372 Saffron Walden – 2.11.1430 Rouen). Der 1396 zum Priester geweihte Karmelitermönch studierte und lehrte Theol. in Oxford; er war Hofprediger Heinrichs IV. und Beichtvater von dessen Nachfolgern. Als überzeugter Konziliarist nahm er an den Reformkonzilen von Basel und Pisa teil, als Vertreter seines Königs und Ordensprovinzial (seit 1414) besu…

[English Version] Ridley, Nicholas (um 1502, Willimoteswick [?], Northumberland – 16.10.1555 Oxford), studierte seit 1518 in Cambridge (Pembroke Hall; B.A. 1521, M.A. 1526); 1524 machte ihn sein College zum Fellow. In diese Zeit fällt auch die Priesterweihe in Ely. Nach einer weiteren Studienzeit in Paris und …

[English Version] Parker, Matthew (6.8.1504 Norwich – 17.5.1575 Lambeth). Der Sohn eines wohlhabenden Webers studierte am Corpus Christi College in Cambridge (1522–1528), dem er zeitlebens verbunden blieb (1544 Master; Stiftung seiner Sammlung ma. Hsn.). In Cambridge wurde P. auch für den Protestantismus gewonnen (Th. Bilney, H. Latimer). 1535 machte Anne Boleyn, Mutter Elisabeths I., den mittlerweile renommierten Prediger zu ihrem Kaplan. Gleichzeitig verfolgte P. seine akademische Karriere (1544 Vizekanzler der Universität Cambridge). 1547 heiratete er, noch ehe die Priesterehe vom Parlament gestattet wurde (1549). Die Jahre der kath. Reaktion unter Maria I. überstand P. zurückgezogen in England – neben seiner Loyalität ihrer Mutter gegenüber ein weiterer Grund für Elisabeth I., den Widerstrebenden zum Erzbf. von Canterbury zu ernennen, denn er stand der Genfer Reformation, die die engl. Exilierten stark beeinflußte, relativ fern. Sein großes Organisationstalent widmete P. nun der Umsetzung des »Elizabethan Settlement«: Er verfolgte die zw. röm. und ref. Tradition liegende anglik. via media, die sich auf die als normativ betrachteten altkirchl. Autoritäten beruft. P. begleitete daher die Verabschiedung der »39 Articles« (1563; Book of Common Prayer) sowie die Veröff. der »Bishops' Bible« (1568; Bibelübersetzungen: II.,1., b), die die zunehmende Beliebtheit der »Genfer Bibel« eind…

[English Version] Pole, Reginald (3.3.1500 Stourton Castle, Staffordshire – 17.11.1558 Lambeth, heute Stadtbezirk von London), Abkömmling des Hochadels und mit Heinrich VIII. von England verwandt, wurde in seiner Ausbildung an den Universitäten Oxford und Padua vom König gefördert. Er trat in Verbindung mit engl. und ital. Humanisten (Th. Morus, P. Bembo) und korrespondierte mit Erasmus von Rotterdam. Auf Druck der Familie nach England zurückgekehrt, setzte er seine Studien in der Kartause Sheen fo…

[English Version] , Thomas (1472 [?] Ipswich – 29.11.1530 Leicester). Nach dem Studium in Oxford (New College), der Priesterweihe (1501) und einer Zeit als Hofkaplan des Erzbf. von Canterbury wurde der Sohn eines Gastwirtes und Metzgers 1507 Kaplan Heinrichs VII.; unter dessen Nachfolger (Heinrich VIII.) begann seine Karriere in Kirche und Staat: Seit 1511 königlicher Berater, wurde er 1514 Bf. von Lincoln und später im Ja…

[English Version] (Peacock; Pavo), Reginald (um 1393 Wales – 1460/61 Thorney Abbey, Cambridgeshire). Nach dem Studium der Theol. in Oxford (seit 1409) war P. als Pfarrer, später als Bischof (1444 St. Asaph, 1450 Chichester) tätig. Trotz verschiedener Schriften gegen die Lollarden geriet P. 1457 in Häresieverdacht; er mußte widerrufen, mehrere seiner Werke wurden verbrannt. Nach dem Amtsverzicht 1459 lebte P., mit Schreibverbot belegt, unter Hausarrest in Thorney. Gegen den Biblizismus der Lollarden …

[English Version] (21.12.1120 [?] London – 29.12.1170 Canterbury). Der Sohn eines Kaufmannes wurde nach dem Studium in Paris 1143 in den Haushalt des Erzbf. Theobald von Canterbury aufgenommen, der ihn 1154 zum Archidiakon von Canterbury weihte; 1155 machte Heinrich II. ihn zu seinem Kanzler. Th. war ehrgeizig und pflegte einen aufwendigen Lebensstil, galt aber als hochbegabt und unbestechlich. Als Vertrauter des Königs setzte er dessen Politik auch gegen die Interessen der Kirche durch. Das änder…