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Confessors

Reinhardt, Nicole

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Authors

Nicole Reinhardt



Contributors

Erin Griffey
Editor

Abstract

Since the High Middle Ages, when individual auricular confession became a duty for all Christians, confessors were also regularly present at the court of European rulers. While in the Middle Ages their role was often associated with that of the court chaplain as head of the court clergy, their position underwent a profound change following the European Reformation, which challenged and redefined notions of kingship as well as the relationship between conscience and politics. As confessors disappeared from the entourage of rulers who embraced Protestantism, they became more prominent than ever in Catholic courts, rivalling and sometimes seconding the royal favourite whose rise occurred contemporaneously. This chapter will look comparatively at how this development shaped the understanding of the confessors’ role as members of Catholic courts, how confessors related to the court clergy on the one hand and political counsellors on the other, and how the confessors eventually became a highly controversial symbol of the Ancien Régime and ‘absolute monarchy’.

Citation

Reinhardt, N. (2022). Confessors. In E. Griffey (Ed.), Early Modern Court Culture. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429277986

Acceptance Date Aug 13, 2021
Online Publication Date Nov 30, 2021
Publication Date 2022
Deposit Date Aug 25, 2021
Publicly Available Date May 30, 2023
Publisher Routledge
Series Title Early Modern Themes
Edition 1st ed.
Book Title Early Modern Court Culture
Chapter Number 5
ISBN 9780367230203
DOI https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429277986

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