John Mirk
John Mirk | |
---|---|
Born | 14th century |
Died | 15th century |
Nationality | English |
Other names | Johannus Myrcus, John Myrc, John of Lilleshall |
Years active | c.1380–c.1420 |
Church | Catholic Church |
Ordained | Priest |
Writings | Festial, Instructions to Parish Priests, Manuale Sacerdotis |
Title | Prior of Lilleshall Abbey |
John Mirk was an Augustinian
Life
Biographical information
Nothing is known of Mirk's life apart from what can be gathered from his works.
Historical context
While biographical information is scant, the religious and political background to Mirk's work is fairly well-known. The defining event in Mirk's background was the Black Death,[4] which killed half the population and had major and protracted consequences for society and economy, as well as the spiritual life of the survivors. However, Shropshire's agrarian crisis started much earlier in the century, with a major cattle murrain and crop failures between 1315 and 1322[5] Moreover, the prolonged recovery from the disasters was jeopardised by the disorder of the early years of Henry IV's reign, when Owain Glyndŵr's revolt and the uprisings of discontented English nobles devastated many areas.
Lilleshall Abbey, Mirk's home, was a 12th-century foundation, originally intended to follow the rigorist teachings and practices of the
However the most powerful
Shropshire was dominated by the FitzAlan
It was also in 1407 that
Works
Festial
The Liber Festivalis (Book of Festivals) or Festial is a collection of
Mirk's narrations have often seemed simplistic or "materialist" to later ages. Ford comments that "English sermon collections composed with a popular audience in mind almost invariably favor a story-telling style and have been almost invariably criticized by scholars."
Original[20] | Modern |
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This byschop had wyth hym of his clerkys þat beleuet not perfitly in þe sacrament of þe auter, and sayde þat þai myȝt not beleue þat Crist schedd his blod in þe masse. Then was þis bischop sory for her mysbeleue and prayed to God ȝorne for her amendement. And so, on a day, as he was at his masse, when he had made þe fraction as þe maner is, he saȝe þe blod drop doun from þe ost fast into þe chalice. Þen he made syne to hem þat mysbeleuet, to come and se. And whew þei saue his fyngurys blody and blod rane of Cristis body into þe chalis, þai weron agryset þat for veray fer þai cryet and sayd : Be þow blesset, man, þat has þis grace þus to handul Cristis body! We beleue now fully þat þis is verray Godis body, and his blod þat dropet þer into þe chalis. But now pray to hym þat þou hast þer in þi hondys, þat he sende no vengauwce vpon vs for oure mysbeleue! and so þe sacrament turnet into his forme of bred as hit was beforn; and þai weren good men and perfyte alway aftyr in þe beleue. | This bishop had with him several of his clergy who did not have a perfect belief in the sacrament of the altar and said that they might not believe that Christ shed his blood in the Mass. So this bishop was sorry for their disbelief and prayed to God constantly for their amendment. And so, one day, he was at his Mass, and when he had made the fraction in the prescribed manner, he saw blood drop down from the Host into the chalice. Then he signalled those who disbelieved to come and see. And when they saw that his fingers were bloody and that blood ran from Christ's body into the chalice, they were terrified to the extent that they cried out in real fear: “Blessed be you that have this grace so to handle Christ's body. We believe now that this is truly God's body and his blood that dropped there into the chalice. But now pray to him, whom you have there in your hands, that he send no vengeance upon us for our disbelief.” And so the sacrament turned into the form of bread as before; and they were good men and always after perfect in their faith. |
Mirk goes on explicitly to reject Lollard teaching on images.
Original[21] | Modern |
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For as Saynt Austyn sayde : Þe mynde of Cristis passion is þe best defence aȝens temptacions of þe fende. Herefor ben Cristis passion . And þerfor roodes and oþyr ymages ben necessary in holy chirch, whateuer, þes Lollardes sayn.
|
For as St Augustine said: the memory of Christ's passion is the best defence against temptations of the Devil. Hence crosses have been placed on high in the holy church, so that by seeing them you might remember Christ's passion. And therefore crosses and other images have been necessary to the Church, whatever these Lollards might say. |
Here Mirk is relatively sophisticated, arguing that the very traditional and popular religion that the Lollards rejected, properly interpreted, is not a distraction but actually a spur to a proper appreciation of Christian soteriology.
Mirk's responsiveness to local concerns is particularly evident in his homily for the feast of
In Mirk's telling of his legend, Alkmund was a King of
As with his Corpus Christi homily, Mirk seeks to outflank Lollard criticisms. Where they rejected the cult of saints as a distraction from the central salvific role of Christ, Mirk portrays the saint's sacrificial and altruistic death as imaging Christ's passion. Lollard concerns are not simply dismissed but countered by a reinterpretation of tradition.
Over forty known manuscripts of the Festial are extant[1] but about half diverge greatly from Mirk's original, with much of the local colour removed.[2] It seems that there was a scholarly revision around the mid 15th century, intended to appeal to a more educated audience,[27] and this was the basis of the printed editions. By the time William Caxton printed the Festial in 1483 it was well-established. It was printed in a further 22 editions, both in England and abroad,[1] including a 1493 edition by Wynkyn de Worde,[2] Caxton's associate and successor, who also printed the final edition in 1532. It was still widely read throughout the 16th century but then faded from view.
Interest began to revive after the 1905, when the first volume of Theodore Erbe's edition, based primarily on a
Instructions for Parish Priests
Instructions for Parish Priests is in lively vernacular verse, using octosyllabic lines and rhyming couplets throughout,[31] and running to 1934 lines. The colophon runs: Explicit tractatus qui dicitur pars oculi, de latino in anglicum translatus per fratrem Johannem myrcus, canonicum regularem Monasterii de Lylleshul, cuius anime propicietur deus! Amen.[32]
Mirk maintains here that he had interpreted the work from a Latin manual called Pars oculi:[33] a title familiar from manuals for the clergy like the Oculus Sacerdotis of William of Pagula, which was widely available in Mirk's time in the form republished by John de Burgh as Pupilla oculi. However, this work is much larger than Mirk's. Another possible influence was the sacerdotal manual by Mirk himself but even this too is far too long to have been the original,[34] and seems moreover to be of later date. The underlying text behind his translation is not known, if it ever existed: it seems more likely that Mirk drew inspiration from the earlier manuals but did not directly translate. Notably, he is here described as a canon of Lilleshall, signifying that this work dates from the period before he became prior of the abbey.
The medieval Catholic Church had expended considerable energy in systematising the basic teachings of its faith. In 1215, the first canon of the
Original[39] | Modern |
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The lawe and the lore to knawe god all-mighten |
The law and lore to know God almighty |
Mirk's work falls well within this catechetical tradition. He was aware that many priests could draw on little learning in giving counsel to their flock.
Original[40] | Modern |
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God seyth hym self, as wryten we fynde, |
God says himself, as we find written, |
Initially, Mirk's themes are loosely connected but unsystematic. He gives the priests general instructions on leading a chaste and austere life.
Original[44] | Modern |
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Vsure and okere þat beth al on, |
<poem>Usury and okering,[45] which are all one,
Teach them to practice not; That is a sin most grievous Before Our Lord, sweet Jesus. God is most grieved By selling to a man in his misfortune Anything at too high price. |
Once this excursus is finished, however, Mirk essentially follows the six points of the Lay Folks' Catechism. He gives the text of the
Only seven manuscripts of the Instructions survive, although the fact that it was a manual intended for regular use suggests that many may have been lost through wear and tear.[1] An edition, prepared for the Early English Text Society by Edward Peacock, was published in 1868 and revised in 1902 by Frederick James Furnivall. As these are out of copyright, both versions are now freely available online. A modern critical edition was produced in Sweden in 1974 by Gillis Kristensson of Lund University.
Manuale Sacerdotis
The Manuale Sacerdotis or Priest's Handbook seems to date from about 1400 – rather later than Mirk's other works, and when he was prior of Lilleshall.[58] Like the Instructions, it seems to draw on William of Pagula's work, but it has an entirely different agenda from Mirk's earlier work. Instead of providing simple instruction in doctrine and practice, it aims to provide an understanding of the meaning and role of the priesthood. This accounts for Mirk's decision to write in Latin prose, as the audience is assumed to be better-educated. It is addressed to a friend of Mirk, named as "John, vicar of A." It has been conjectured that he was John Sotton, who was vicar of St Alkmund's from 1414, and he is called "John de S" in some manuscripts.[59] This is not simply a preliminary dedication: John is continually addressed throughout the book.[60]
Mirk begins by contrasting the good priest with the modern priest, who is distracted by the vanities of secular life.[61] He proceeds to a detailed account of the priest's activities, including the canonical hours and celebration of the Eucharist.[62] Here, as he considers the focus of the priestly office, he explicitly responds to Lollardy, explaining in detail the doctrine of Transubstantiation. He re-uses the story of St Oda that he employed in his homily for Corpus Christi.[63]
Mirk's underlying purpose seems to be to make clear the correlation between the external activity to the inner life, which for Mirk, involves the following of a rule: “life without a rule is nothing less than dying.”[63] While Mirk follows a written rule, he commends to the priest the principles inherent in Christ's own life.
The Manuale has been overshadowed by the Festial and the Instructions, not least because it is in Latin and probably never had the wide readership of the vernacular works. Thirteen extant manuscripts are known.[1] It has not yet been printed, although a critical edition by Susan Powell and James Girsch, based on Bodleian Library MS Bodley 632, is planned.[58]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Powell (2004)
- ^ a b c Bateson
- ^ a b Coulton, p.5
- ^ Ford, p.2.
- ^ Baugh and Elrington, section 1
- ^ Marjorie M Chibnall, D C Cox, Revd D T W Price, Margaret Tomlinson, B S Trinder (1973). "Houses of Augustinian canons: Abbey of Lilleshall". A History of the County of Shropshire: Volume 2. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 9 December 2014.)
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has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - Marjorie M Chibnall, D C Cox, Revd D T W Price, Margaret Tomlinson, B S Trinder (1973). "Houses of Benedictine monks: Abbey of Shrewsbury". A History of the County of Shropshire: Volume 2. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 4 December 2014.)
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:|author=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Baugh and Elrington, section 2
- ^ a b L. S. Woodger. Shropshire in Roskell, Clark, and Rawcliffe.
- ^ a b c L. S. Woodger. Shrewsbury in Roskell, Clark, and Rawcliffe.
- ^ L. S. Woodger. CORBET, Robert (1383–1420), of Moreton Corbet, Salop. in Roskell, Clark, and Rawcliffe.
- ^ Coulton, p.9
- ^ a b Coulton, p.10
- ^ Coulton, p.8
- ^ Coulton, p.12
- ^ Coulton, p.13
- ^ a b Ford, p.113
- ^ Ford, p.25
- ^ Ford, p.18
- ^ Festial (ed. Erbe), p.170-1
- ^ Festial (ed. Erbe), p.171
- ^ Owen and Blakeway, p.74
- ^ Festial (ed. Erbe), p.177-82
- ^ Festial (ed. Erbe), p.240-44
- ^ Erbe, p.240
- ^ Festial (ed. Erbe), p.243-4
- ^ Ford, p.9
- ^ Festial (ed. Erbe), p.x
- ^ Festial (ed. Erbe), p.v
- ^ Ford, p.16
- ^ Coulton, p.6
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.vi
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.vi
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.vii
- ^ Powell (2009), p.114
- ^ Lay Folks' Catechism, ed. Simmons and Nolloth, p.x-xi
- ^ Lay Folks' Catechism, ed. Simmons and Nolloth, p.xiv-xv
- ^ Lay Folks' Catechism, ed. Simmons and Nolloth, p.xvii
- ^ Lay Folks' Catechism, ed. Simmons and Nolloth, p.20-1
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.1
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.2-3
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.4
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.8
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.12
- ^ An alternative word for usury, and an example of Mirk's northern lexical choices. Cf. A. L. Mayhew and Walter W. Skeat (1888). A Concise Dictionary of Middle-English at Project Gutenberg
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.13-4
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.14-6
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.17-21
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.21-26
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.27-30
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.30-40
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.42
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.48-50
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.50-53
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.53-4
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.54-9
- ^ Instructions (ed. Peacock/Furnivall), p.59
- ^ a b Powell (2009), p.112
- ^ Powell (2009), p.114-5
- ^ Powell (2009), p.122
- ^ Powell (2009), p.115-6
- ^ Powell (2009), p.118-20
- ^ a b Powell (2009), p.121
References
Bateson, Mary (1894). . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 38. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- G C Baugh and C R Elrington (editors), D C Cox, J R Edwards, R C Hill, Ann J Kettle, R Perren, Trevor Rowley and P A Stamper (1989). “Domesday Book: 1300–1540”, in A History of the County of Shropshire: Volume 4, Agriculture, p. 72–118, Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- Barbara Coulton (2010). Regime and Religion: Shrewsbury 1400–1700, Logaston Press, ISBN 9781906663476.
- Theodore Erbe (editor) (1905). Mirk's Festial: a Collection of Homilies, Kegan Paul et al., for the Early English Text Society. Retrieved 4 December 2014 at Internet Archive.
- Judy Ann Ford (2006). John Mirk's Festial: Orthodoxy, Lollardy and the Common People in Fourteenth Century England, D.S. Brewer, Cambridge, ISBN 1843840014. Retrieved 8 December 2014 at Google Books.
- A T Gaydon, R B Pugh (Editors), M J Angold, G C Baugh, Marjorie M Chibnall, D C Cox, Revd D T W Price, Margaret Tomlinson, B S Trinder (1973). A History of the County of Shropshire: Volume 2, Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- Hugh Owen and John Brickdale Blakeway(1825). A History of Shrewsbury, Volume 2, Harding and Lepard, London. Retrieved 16 November 2014 at Internet Archive.
- Edward Peacock (editor), revised by F.J. Furnivall (1902). Instructions for Parish Priests by John Myrc, Trübner. Retrieved 12 December 2014 at Internet Archive.
- Susan Powell. (2004). "Mirk, John". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/18818.required.)
{{cite encyclopedia}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) (Subscription or UK public library membership - Susan Powell. (2009) John to John: the Manuale Sacerdotis and the Daily Life of a Parish Priest in Recording Medieval Lives, Harlaxton Medieval Studies No.17, Shaun Tyas, 2009, posted at medievalists.net. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- J.S. Roskell, L. Clark, C. Rawcliffe (editors) (1993). The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1386–1421, Constituencies and Members, History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- Thomas Frederick Simmons and Henry Edward Nolloth (eds.) (1901). The Lay Folk's Catechism, Kegan Paul et al., for the Early English Text Society. Retrieved 12 December 2014 at Internet Archive.
Further reading
Modern editions of works by Mirk:
- G. Kristensson (editor) (1974). Instructions for parish priests, Lund Studies in English, 49, Gleerup. ISBN 978-9140038883.
- Susan Powell (editor). John Mirk's Festial, 2 vols, Early English Text Society, Oxford.
- Volume 1 (2009) ISBN 978-0199578498.
- Volume 2 (2011) ISBN 978-0199590377.
External links
- Photograph of a leaf of Festial with a printed volume of the Golden Legend. at Incunabula Project blog, Cambridge University Library. Retrieved 10 December 2014.