Ghostly Manslaughter: Scandal in Late Medieval Literature

Late medieval English religious texts often describe scandal as a kind of spiritual murder or “manslaute gostly,” a subcategory of violation of the fifth commandment, as it jeopardizes the eternal fate of those who are scandalized—those who are tempted or misled into sin, or, worse, whose faith is shaken by scandal. Scandal is thus often a sin against belief and theological knowledge; it compromises a person’s grasp of and confidence in religious truth. This talk investigates how late medieval literary writers understood the sin of scandal—causing another person to sin through poor example or bad information—and how, as a result, they understood their ethical obligations to their readers.

This seminar will last approximately 90 minutes including a Q&A, and will begin at 18:00 GMT on Monday 4 March 2024. This is an online event, which will be broadcast on Zoom; register via ticketsource to obtain the Zoom link. Please check your spam/junk folder for this email if you cannot find it. The talk will not be recorded.

This seminar is part of the Ideology, Society, and Medieval Religion: Impositions and Negotiations series.