Anticlericalism in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe.

Peter A. Dykema and Heiko A. Oberman, eds. (Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Thought. 51.) Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1993. vii + 704 pp $197-25; NFL345.

Anticlericalism in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe is a series of essays from a colloquium of the same name held at the University of Arizona that was designed as a manual for current scholarship in the field. The volume fully succeeds in this endeavor, but more than anything it shows the problem of applying a simple label to such wide-ranging sentiment. The title might have been changed to that of Heiko Oberman's introduction "Anticiericalism as an Agent of Change," since this signifies the thrust of the volume. According to Oberman the period's dynamics of reform and reformation have been distorted by the use of the term anticlericalism. Church historians have used the term to cover non-theological points, while social historians placed it with the revolt of faith to explain complex and abstract doctrine. The prefix "anti" has undermined the then current call for renewals of the church and society. Oberman is correct in noting that the stress on "anti" was a nineteenth century preoccupation that highlights its own clerical problems.

The essays in this volume cover numerous points, so that many different perspectives of time, place (including Italy, England, Switzerland, France and the Low Countries) and social groups (Hussites, women, poets, priests and magistrates) can be examined. The articles range from a proposed plan of study by Donald Weinstein to a close reading of Ariosto by Thomas F. Mayer. Included are some translations of primary source material that are interesting though not essential to the volume. The general bibliography at the end is limited, though the index is helpful in locating sources cited in the articles.

One of the first essays, by John van Engen, states that medieval society could not possibly think of doing away with the clergy, God's agent, in a world where God was an immediate presence. Robert Bast sees an interdependence of law and social ethics as a base for Luther's definition of anticlericalism. Perhaps the most thought-provoking issues are raised by Hans-Christoph Rublack who suggests a connection between anti-clericalism and anti-semitism and by R. Po-Chia Hsia who sees a possible link to antifeminism -- supported by Jane Dempsey Douglass' scan of French women writers of the period. We can see the conflict between modern historians in defining anticlericalism when we compare Bob Scribner's belief that anticlericalism was "an ideological resource that had a functional political role" (165) with Thomas Brady Jr.'s view of anticlericalism "as part of the mentality of a revolutionary situation, not a reasoned response" (170). Added to these varying interpretations are reactions to anticlericalism based on geographical location.

The volume achieves its goal of making us rethink what the term anticlericalism means and succeeds in presenting the view that it functioned as an agent of change. Overall this is a well written volume that can be read from beginning to end or consulted for information on a specific time and place. While the cost might be prohibitive to individuals, this will be an invaluable resource not only for historiography and secondary sources but more important as stimulus to future research.