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Horror Crime or Bad Habit? Blasphemy in Premodern Europe, 1200–1650
Author(s) -
SCHWERHOFF GERD
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of religious history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.117
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1467-9809
pISSN - 0022-4227
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9809.2008.00721.x
Subject(s) - blasphemy , punishment (psychology) , honour , capital punishment , middle ages , literature , habit , phenomenon , eroticism , everyday life , history , sociology , law , philosophy , criminology , art , gender studies , ancient history , political science , psychology , social psychology , epistemology , human sexuality
In public debates the issue of blasphemy is often marked as a modern phenomenon. In fact, blasphemous speech acts were also an integral part of everyday life in the Middle Ages and in Early Modern Europe. Cursing and swearing, oaths and other blasphemous utterances were used in all strata of society. While enraged preachers condemned this mortal sin and various laws threatened with capital punishment, the common practice was different as most blasphemies passed with minor punishments or even without any kind of prosecution. Attacks on the honour of God were constituent elements of everyday conflict behaviour. Blasphemy therefore must not be misinterpreted as indication of religious indifference or even unbelief, but rather as different usage of the religious sphere in premodern times.