Charles Caspers

Johan Oosterman

Mathilde van Dijk

Rijcklof H. F. Hofman

Peter J. A. Nissen

Recent scholarship on the Middle Ages has highlighted the importance of individualistic tendencies in devotion in both the lay world and religious communities. This interaction between individualization and religious agency has been scrutinized in numerous studies, focusing on the beginnings during the so-called ?Twelfth-Century Renaissance?, and further development in the later medieval and early modern periods.0However, there has hitherto been relatively little scholarship on the phenomenon in the 'Devotio Moderna': the flourishing of more personalized forms of devotion in north-western Europe during the later Middle Ages. The essays in this volume redress this gap by exploring the processes of inwardness and the emergent individualization of religious practices in the late medieval Low Countries. The essays explore issues including the early impact of the printing press on devotion; meditational aids such as identification with Christ, prayer cycles, practices of remembrance, and devout songs; and the tension between inner devotion and the ideal of communal piety in male and female religious communities. They also discuss some leading individuals of the Devotio movement.0By addressing the 'Devotio Moderna' and its contexts - the emergence of inwardness, individualization, and religious agency in the late medieval Low Countries and surrounding areas - the essays in this volume help to enhance and expand our knowledge of devotion in the late Middle Ages, both in lay circles and in religious communities, and they show the distinct contribution of the Low Countries to the European phenomenon of more personalized forms of devotion.

The Devotio Moderna and Its Contexts

Inwardness, Individualization, and Religious Agency in the Late Medieval Low Countries

Peter Jan Margry

The Miracle of Amsterdam presents a “cultural biography” of a Dutch devotional manifestation. According to tradition, on the night of March 15, 1345, a Eucharistic host thrown into a burning fireplace was found intact hours later. A chapel was erected over the spot, and the citizens of Amsterdam became devoted to their “Holy Stead." From the original Eucharistic processions evolved the custom of individual devotees walking around the chapel while praying in silence, and the growing international pilgrimage site contributed to the rise and prosperity of Amsterdam. With the arrival of the Reformation, the Amsterdam Miracle became a point of contention between Catholics and Protestants, and the changing fortunes of this devotion provide us a front-row seat to the challenges facing religion in the world today. Caspers and Margry trace these transformations and their significance through the centuries, from the Catholic medieval period through the Reformation to the present day.

Biography of a Contested Devotion

The Miracle of Amsterdam

Liduina van Schiedam (1380-1433) onderging haar ziekbed aanvankelijk met een gevoel van opstandigheid, maar later juist met een heilige vreugde. Zo zeer had zij het lijden lief dat zij God zelfs smeekte om het te vermeerderen. De laatste 33 jaar van haar leven was zij aan het ziekbed gekluisterd en heeft haar lichaam de grond niet meer aangeraakt. Mede dankzij enkele boeiende vitae die van haar vervaardigd zijn, bleef haar persoon ook latere generaties aanspreken. Vijf eeuwen na haar dood gold zij in de rooms-katholieke wereldkerk als een belangrijke beschermheilige van langdurig zieken. Vanaf circa 1960 sprak haar voorbeeld de gelovigen steeds minder aan. In het eerste deel van dit tweeluik schetst Charles Caspers de vereringsgeschiedenis van Liduina tot op heden. Het tweede deel bevat de door Rijcklof Hofman vervaardigde vertaling van de Vita Lidewigis van de hand van Thomas van Kempen.

Zes eeuwen verering van Liduina van Schiedam

Een bovenaardse vrouw

Bedevaartplaatsen in Nederland

Bedevaartplaatsen in Nederland: Provincie Limburg

Charles Caspers

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