Overview

In the wake of England's break with Rome and gradual reformation, English Catholics took root outside of the country, in Catholic countries across Europe. Their arrival and the foundation of convents and colleges on the Continent as attracted scholarly attention. However, we need to understand their impact beyond that initial moment of change. Confessional Mobility, therefore, looks at the continued presence of English Catholics abroad and how the English Catholic community was shaped by these cross-Channel connections. Corens proposes a new interpretative model of 'confessional mobility'. She opens up the debate to include pilgrims, grand tour travellers, students, and mobile scholars alongside exiles. The diversity of mobility highlights that those abroad were never cut off or isolated on the Continent. Rather, through correspondence and constant travel, they created a community without borders. This cross-Channel community was not defined by its status as victims of persecution, but provided the lifeblood for English Catholics for generations. Confessional Mobility also incorporates minority Catholics more closely into the history of the Counter-Reformation. Long side-lined as exceptions to the rule of a hierarchical, triumphant, territorial Catholic Church, English Catholic have seldom been recognised as an instrumental part in the wider Counter-Reformation. Attention to movement and mission in the understanding of Catholics incorporates minority Catholics alongside extra-European missions and reinforces current moves to decentre Counter-Reformation scholarship.

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9780191850264

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Reviews

""[The book] reflects the growing importance of early modern Catholics travelling in Europe for reasons beyond exile, and this book will be of value to anyone interested in the educational and confessional practices of this religious minority."" -- Eilish Gregory, Europe Now ""an important contribution ... It presents a convincing case for the vitality of English Catholicism in the late seventeenth century and for an expanded understanding of expatriate Catholics. It shines new light on the subject of early modern migration, and future scholarship will no doubt expand on these ideas, looking at other geographies and periods, as well as other groups of travelers and migrants."" -- Jonathan Roche, Journal of British Studies ""Corens paints a compelling picture of a dynamic community of active agents. She realigns our view of early modern English Catholicism as an essentially mobile phenomenon, with all the characteristics that entailed. This important book is as much focussed on ideas as evidence, yet it is underpinned by archival research of the highest quality. By building a new conceptual landscape for expatriate English Catholicism, Liesbeth Corens makes a truly transformative contribution to the historiography of early modern English Catholicism and early modern religion, and this book is surely destined to become indispensable reading for scholars of confessional identities in early modern Europe."" -- Reviews in History ""Confessional Mobility makes an important contribution to the debate around the exile period and suggests new ways of approaching the material. It is a bold venture that sheds light on the significance of those Catholics who spent time abroad in order to make a difference for those of their co-religionists who remained at home. Whether active themselves or supporting the activities of others through prayers and pilgrimages, benefactions and a raft of other actions as interpreted by Liesbeth Corens, this book helps us to shift English Catholics further away from victimhood to positive contributions to the survival of the Catholic faith."" -- Caroline Bowden, Queen Mary, University of London

"""[The book] reflects the growing importance of early modern Catholics travelling in Europe for reasons beyond exile, and this book will be of value to anyone interested in the educational and confessional practices of this religious minority."" -- Eilish Gregory, Europe Now ""an important contribution ... It presents a convincing case for the vitality of English Catholicism in the late seventeenth century and for an expanded understanding of expatriate Catholics. It shines new light on the subject of early modern migration, and future scholarship will no doubt expand on these ideas, looking at other geographies and periods, as well as other groups of travelers and migrants."" -- Jonathan Roche, Journal of British Studies ""Corens paints a compelling picture of a dynamic community of active agents. She realigns our view of early modern English Catholicism as an essentially mobile phenomenon, with all the characteristics that entailed. This important book is as much focussed on ideas as evidence, yet it is underpinned by archival research of the highest quality. By building a new conceptual landscape for expatriate English Catholicism, Liesbeth Corens makes a truly transformative contribution to the historiography of early modern English Catholicism and early modern religion, and this book is surely destined to become indispensable reading for scholars of confessional identities in early modern Europe."" -- Reviews in History ""Confessional Mobility makes an important contribution to the debate around the exile period and suggests new ways of approaching the material. It is a bold venture that sheds light on the significance of those Catholics who spent time abroad in order to make a difference for those of their co-religionists who remained at home. Whether active themselves or supporting the activities of others through prayers and pilgrimages, benefactions and a raft of other actions as interpreted by Liesbeth Corens, this book helps us to shift English Catholics further away from victimhood to positive contributions to the survival of the Catholic faith."" -- Caroline Bowden, Queen Mary, University of London"

[The book] reflects the growing importance of early modern Catholics travelling in Europe for reasons beyond exile, and this book will be of value to anyone interested in the educational and confessional practices of this religious minority. -- Eilish Gregory, Europe Now an important contribution ... It presents a convincing case for the vitality of English Catholicism in the late seventeenth century and for an expanded understanding of expatriate Catholics. It shines new light on the subject of early modern migration, and future scholarship will no doubt expand on these ideas, looking at other geographies and periods, as well as other groups of travelers and migrants. -- Jonathan Roche, Journal of British Studies Corens paints a compelling picture of a dynamic community of active agents. She realigns our view of early modern English Catholicism as an essentially mobile phenomenon, with all the characteristics that entailed. This important book is as much focussed on ideas as evidence, yet it is underpinned by archival research of the highest quality. By building a new conceptual landscape for expatriate English Catholicism, Liesbeth Corens makes a truly transformative contribution to the historiography of early modern English Catholicism and early modern religion, and this book is surely destined to become indispensable reading for scholars of confessional identities in early modern Europe. -- Reviews in History Confessional Mobility makes an important contribution to the debate around the exile period and suggests new ways of approaching the material. It is a bold venture that sheds light on the significance of those Catholics who spent time abroad in order to make a difference for those of their co-religionists who remained at home. Whether active themselves or supporting the activities of others through prayers and pilgrimages, benefactions and a raft of other actions as interpreted by Liesbeth Corens, this book helps us to shift English Catholics further away from victimhood to positive contributions to the survival of the Catholic faith. -- Caroline Bowden, Queen Mary, University of London

Author Information

Liesbeth Corens is a Lecturer in Early Modern History at Queen Mary, University of London, where she arrived after a PhD at the University of Cambridge and research fellowships at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford. Her works focuses on early modern Catholic minorities and their central role in the Counter-Reformation. Having finished researching for Confessional Mobility she is currently working on Creating Counter-Archives: Record-collecting and Commemoration among Catholic Minorities, ca. 1660-1730, a comparative study of the commemorative practices of both English and Dutch Catholics. With Alexandra Walsham and Kate Peters, she has edited a number of volumes on the history of archives: 'The Social History of the Archive: Record Keeping in Early Modern Europe', Past & Present Supplement, 11, (2016) and Archives and Information in the Early Modern World (OUP, 2018).

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