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Confession in the Regnum Francorum (742–900): The Sources Revisited

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2003

DAVID BACHRACH
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Abstract

The rite of confession is generally recognised by scholars to have been an essential feature of medieval Christianity. However, there is no scholarly consensus regarding the frequency or character of confession by lay people before the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215. Since it is important to understand the background to these matters, this study examines confession both as it was supposed to be practised and as it was reported in practice among soldiers in western Europe prior to 1215. By focusing on the fighting men of Western Europe, a particular but not insignificant segment of lay society, this knotty problem is addressed from a new angle.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Ecclesiastical History , Volume 54 , Issue 1 , January 2003 , pp. 3 - 22
Copyright
2003 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

I would like to thank Fr Michael Driscoll, Professor of Medieval Liturgy at the University of Notre Dame, for his kind efforts in reading this essay and for his insights concerning the rite of confession.