Penance and Penitentials in Tenth- and Eleventh-Century England

My study will look at the interactions between the church and the laity in tenth- and eleventh-century England by focusing on the practice of penance and confession. These rituals were a key meeting point of ecclesiastical and lay interests, involving bishops and their clergy, and requiring priests and the laity to come together in the process of confession and absolution. But the extent to which the pre-Conquest church was able to penetrate local lay society has been controversial. My research seeks to open out this question by looking at relationships between the local elite and the church, particularly emphasizing the role of the local lord in the foundation of parish churches. It consider the political implications of penitential practice by taking the reign of AEthelred the Unready as a case study. It will shed new light on the period by examining a wide range of manuscript and textual sources.