Eamon Duffy
Author of The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, 1400-1580
About the Author
Eamon Duffy is Professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Cambridge and President of Magdalene College.
Works by Eamon Duffy
Associated Works
Catholicism and Catholicity: Eucharistic Communities in Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (1999) — Afterword — 12 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Duffy, Eamon
- Birthdate
- 1947-02-09
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- Ireland
- Birthplace
- Dundalk, Republic of Ireland
- Places of residence
- Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK
- Education
- University of Cambridge (DD | 1994)
Selwyn College, University of Cambridge (Ph.D | 1972)
University of Hull (BA | 1968) - Occupations
- professor
religion historian - Organizations
- University of Cambridge
King's College London
University of Durham
Ecclesiastical History Society (president 2004–2005)
Roman Catholic Church
Pontifical Historical Commission - Awards and honors
- Honorary Doctorate (Divinity ∙ University of Hull)
Fellow, British Academy (2004)
Fellow, Society of Antiquaries (2005)
Hawthornden Prize (2002)
Longman–History Today Award (1994)
Knight, Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (show all 8)
Honorary Fellow, Ecclesiastical History Society
Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy (2012) - Short biography
- Eamon Duffy, FBA, FSA (born 9 February 1947) is an Irish historian and academic. He is Professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow and former President of Magdalene College. Duffy did his doctoral work at Cambridge under Owen Chadwick and Gordon Rupp, and taught formerly at the University of Durham and at King's College London. He is Chairman of the editorial board of the Calendar of Papal Letters relating to Great Britain and Ireland, a multi-volume project which aims to publish all the Vatican material relating to these islands between the fourteenth and the sixteenth centuries. A former member of the Pontifical Historical Commission, he sits on numerous editorial boards and advisory panels, including the Fabric Commission of Westminster Abbey. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, an Honorary Fellow of the Ecclesiastical History Society, an Honorary Professor in the Department of Theology at Durham, and holds honorary Doctorates from the University of Hull, King's College London, Durham and the Pontifical Institute for Medieval Studies in Toronto. He is a frequent broadcaster on radio and television.
Members
Reviews
One of those classics of late medieval/early modern history that it's assumed anyone in the field has read, and that I've thus long felt guilty for never having done so. In my defense it is a brick of a book, crammed full of evidence for the vitality of religious life on a personal and parochial life in an England on the verge of the Reformation.
Eamon Duffy marshalls a wide array of sources—wills, journals, liturgies, and more—to I think successfully make the case that, contra many centuries of historiography that was Protestant in its sympathies, Catholicism in late medieval England was far from moribund, at least at a grass-roots level. I would also agree with him that the shift of the general population's religious convictions, identities, and preferences took place over a span of generations and was not so abrupt as had often been assumed. As for Duffy's framing of the actions of the reformers overall actions and the chronological framework he employs, your feelings about it will probably be shaped by whether your allegiances lie with Rome (as Duffy's clearly do) or against.… (more)
Eamon Duffy marshalls a wide array of sources—wills, journals, liturgies, and more—to I think successfully make the case that, contra many centuries of historiography that was Protestant in its sympathies, Catholicism in late medieval England was far from moribund, at least at a grass-roots level. I would also agree with him that the shift of the general population's religious convictions, identities, and preferences took place over a span of generations and was not so abrupt as had often been assumed. As for Duffy's framing of the actions of the reformers overall actions and the chronological framework he employs, your feelings about it will probably be shaped by whether your allegiances lie with Rome (as Duffy's clearly do) or against.… (more)
These essays by the noted church historian were written in the later years of the papacy of John Paul II yet Duffy's reflections in issues such as authority in the church, traditionalism, saints and popular religion are timeless. Timeless is not code for abstract or trivial, Duffy has things to say about celibacy, the child abuse scandals and much more. I didn't always agree with Duffy but each essay caused me to heck my own knowledge and experience, and set me thinking and re-examining my own assumptions about my church, the Roman Catholic church.… (more)
At first sight confirms all we ever thought about medieval Catholicism, but the message is that this was popular and regretted when it was lost. Details the enthusiasm for return to images and sacramentalism in many parishes and their efforts to preserve images when they were out of favour. Purgatory was a dominant fear and tremendous efforts were exerted to call upon those left behind to shorten it with prayer. The Host was worshipped and when Mary returned people in Kent were forced to kneel before it. He says that the service was widely understood, even in Latin, and there was a lot of religious material available in English. However Bibles were rapidly removed when Catholics returned and sermons were about morality not knowledge. Elizabeth's long reign ensured that all the imagery eventually was lost and did not return.
Very long book but beautifully written passages make it compelling reading.
It is an answer to the standard Protestant account of the Reformation provided by Dickens in the 80s.… (more)
Very long book but beautifully written passages make it compelling reading.
It is an answer to the standard Protestant account of the Reformation provided by Dickens in the 80s.… (more)
1 
oataker | 14 other reviews | Mar 29, 2021 |
oataker | 14 other reviews | Mar 29, 2021 | Lists
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Statistics
- Works
- 26
- Also by
- 5
- Members
- 3,373
- Popularity
- #7,554
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 44
- ISBNs
- 70
- Languages
- 9
- Favorited
- 5
The book gets better starting with the 19th century. The popes are fleshed out more as are the religious and political issues. The best chapter is the last one as it provides very detailed analyses of the most modern popes. The book provides a useful glossary as well as a nice list of all the popes.… (more)