Medieval Church's Strict Penitentials: A Glimpse into Repentance Laws

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Medieval Church's Strict Penitentials: A Glimpse into Repentance Laws
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This article explores the stringent rules of repentance outlined in medieval Church penitentials. It highlights the power the Church wielded in defining individual lives and the prescribed punishments for various sins, often involving severe fasting or other forms of atonement. The article also mentions the availability of English translations of these ancient Latin texts, allowing for a deeper understanding of these restrictive laws.

,"The Church focused on regulating and defining an individual's life in the Middle Ages, it was...recognized as the manifestation of God's will and presence on earth.""The dictates of the Church were not to be questioned, it was understood that the Creator of the universe was...in control.".

by John T. McNeill and Helena M. Gamer contains English translations of a number of these works, allowing us to take a look at these 12 wildly restrictive laws they contained, which Medieval Christians were expected to abide by:The Penitential of Cummean says,"He who is polluted by an evil word or glance, yet did not wish to commit bodily fornication, shall do penance for twenty or forty days according to the degree of his sin.

The Penitential of Theodore says,"If a woman practices vice with a woman, she shall do penance for three years." And"he who after his twentieth year defiles himself with a male shall do penance for fifteen years. A male who commits fornication with a male shall do penance for ten years."attempting to procreate as the church decreed, there were still a lot of restrictions around their sex life.

And The Penitential of Cummean says,"He who is in a state of matrimony ought to be continent during the three forty-day periods and on Saturday and on Sunday, night and day, and in the two appointed weekdays, and after conception, and during the entire menstrual period."

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