Overview

"The sixteenth century, which heralded the end of the Middle Ages and the commencement of the Early Modern Era, was a time of tremendous religious upheaval and social ferment. The nebulous conglomeration of movements often referred to as the ""Reformation"" led to a wave of bloodshed and persecution which engulfed most of Europe for at least a hundred years. The present volume offers a translation of a particularly graphic literary portrayal of tortures and atrocities committed against Catholics during that time—the Speculum Haereticae Crudelitatis [The Mirror of Heretical Cruelty], by Arnold Havens (1540–1610). Havens was a Carthusian monk, an accomplished historian and scholar, and a prolific author. The Mirror of Cruelty is a remarkable and unique literary achievement, describing in gruesome and chilling detail an extensive catalogue of disturbing, inhuman and often bizarre acts of abuse. Most of these have not been available in any English-language sources until now, or have been presented only in abridged and bowdlerized forms. Havens drew the overall plan of his work from another book which enjoyed a wide, underground circulation at the time—the notorious Theatrum Crudelitatum [Theatre of Cruelties], by Richard Verstegan, a kind of nightmarish picture-book of atrocities committed against Catholics. A selection of illustrations from that book are included in this volume."

Full Product Details

Author:   Arnold Havens ,  Robert Nixon
Publisher:   Trivent Publishing
Imprint:   Trivent Medieval
Weight:   0.151kg
ISBN:  

9786156405265

ISBN 10:   6156405267
Pages:   100
Publication Date:   30 July 2022
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Translator's Introduction Letter of Approval from the Prior of the Grande Chartreuse monastery, and Moderator and Minister-General of the Carthusian Order, Dom Bruno II de Affringues i. Introduction ii. The slaughter and devastation instigated by Martin Luther in upper Germany iii. The cruel persecutions of Catholics in England iv. King Henry VIII and the Carthusian martyrs v. Some acts of egregious cruelty committed in Ireland vi. The persecutions in France under the Calvinist regimes vii. Some particular examples of atrocities committed by Calvinists in France viii. The Franciscan martyrs at Gorkum (Part I) ix. The Franciscan martyrs at Gorkum (Part II) x. The Franciscan martyrs at Gorkum (Part III) xi. The Franciscan martyrs at Gorkum (Part IV) xii. The cruelty of the Calvinists towards four Augustinian Canons Regular xiii. The martyrdom of two Hieronymite monks at Gouda xiv. The vicious martyrdom of the poet Cornelis Musius xv. The martyrdom of William of Gouda, a Franciscan friar xvi. Further hideous crimes perpetrated against Catholics in Holland and Flanders xvii. The martyrdom of twelve Carthusian monks at Roermond in Holland xviii. The horrendous and inhuman torture and execution of Balthasar Gérard of Burgundy, the man who killed the Prince of Orange xix. Conclusion List of Images Bibliography

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Author Information

Robert Nixon is a Benedictine monk of the Abbey of the Most Holy Trinity, New Norcia, Western Australia, and a Roman Catholic priest. He serves as Director of the New Norcia Institute for Benedictine Studies, and is dean and liturgy coordinator for his monastic community. His publications include many translations of Medieval and post-Medieval Latin works, such as Crown of the Virgin by Ildephonsus of Toledo, Humility and the Elevation of the Mind to God by Thomas à Kempis, and adaptations into English verse of the poetry of Popes Urban VIII and Alexander VI. Articles of his have appeared in numerous scholarly journals, including the Revue Bénédictine, the American Benedictine Review, and Ecce Mater Tua. He is a former senate member of James Cook University (Australia), an honorary professor of the Universidad Politecnica de Nicaragua, and an honorary academician of the Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna, and was awarded the Faculty Medal in Theology by the Australian Catholic University.

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