"In myche speche defaute is not absent": Variations on Seen, Heard, and Written Texts in Reginald Pecock's Book of Faith
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Keywords
Medieval, Literature, Lollard, Reginald Pecock, Book of Faith, Faith, Scripture, Verb Tense
Department
English
Major
English Literature and Art History
Abstract
In his Book of Faith, bishop Reginald Pecock (c. 1392-1459) attempts to address heretical beliefs circulating among the common people of fifteenth century England regarding the teachings of John Wycliffe. For the bishop, faith is a verifiable function of religion, and it lies at the intersection of credible testimony and evidence. Although scripture does not occupy a seminal place in Pecock's argument, then, his treatment of the case of Doubting Thomas in the twentieth chapter of John's Gospel reveals a key tension in the bishop's conception of faith. Specifically, the difference between Pecock's gloss of the passage and the biblical text's description of the event suggests that the theologian wrestles with a deeper question of when and how evidence can be virtuously sought. To resolve this anxiety, Pecock rewrites the event and shifts the tense construction of his source text from the present to the past in order to posit that the gathering of evidence for faith, the act of "seeing," is subordinate to the hearing of testimony.
Faculty Mentor
Jennifer A. T. Smith
Funding Source or Research Program
Academic Year Undergraduate Research Initiative
Presentation Session
Session B
Location
Plaza Classroom 189
Start Date
1-4-2016 4:00 PM
End Date
1-4-2016 4:15 PM
"In myche speche defaute is not absent": Variations on Seen, Heard, and Written Texts in Reginald Pecock's Book of Faith
Plaza Classroom 189
In his Book of Faith, bishop Reginald Pecock (c. 1392-1459) attempts to address heretical beliefs circulating among the common people of fifteenth century England regarding the teachings of John Wycliffe. For the bishop, faith is a verifiable function of religion, and it lies at the intersection of credible testimony and evidence. Although scripture does not occupy a seminal place in Pecock's argument, then, his treatment of the case of Doubting Thomas in the twentieth chapter of John's Gospel reveals a key tension in the bishop's conception of faith. Specifically, the difference between Pecock's gloss of the passage and the biblical text's description of the event suggests that the theologian wrestles with a deeper question of when and how evidence can be virtuously sought. To resolve this anxiety, Pecock rewrites the event and shifts the tense construction of his source text from the present to the past in order to posit that the gathering of evidence for faith, the act of "seeing," is subordinate to the hearing of testimony.