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THE PRAYER LIFE OF PEASANT COMMUNITIES IN LATE MEDIEVAL SWEDEN:
A Contrast of Ideals and Practices

Author: 
Year:
Pages:252
ISBN:0-7734-1543-2
978-0-7734-1543-0
Price:$199.95
Examines elaborate prayer practices among peasant communities in late medieval Sweden. The work focuses on the perspectives of ideals and practices, namely the standards of prayer, devotional prayer, and prayer in times of need and prayer cultures.

Reviews

“It is an ambitious contribution to Swedish research on Late Medieval religious life. It utilizes appropriate theoretical perspectives, a wide range of sources and relevant scholarly publications from both Sweden and abroad. The author has a sound critical sense, clearly distinguishing between ideals and actual, proved practices.”-Prof Stephan Borgehammer, Lunds Universitet

Table of Contents

Foreword by Professor Stephan Borgehammar

Acknowledgements

Introduction
What is prayer?
Peasant communities in late medieval Sweden
The late Middle Ages
The ecclesiastical province of Uppsala
Earlier research
Ideals and practices as perspectives
Methods
The sources
Disposition

Chapter 1 - Standards of prayer
Right postures
Right words
Right intentions
Right occasions
Conclusions

Chapter 2 - Devotional prayer
The Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary and angels as recipients of prayer
The three 'standard' prayers
Additional prayers
Conclusions

Chapter 3 - Prayer in times of need
Saints as recipients of prayer
Individual and personal prayers in miracle stories
Context and comparison of the cited prayers
Questions of authenticity and authorship
Conclusions

Chapter 4 - Prayer cultures
Transmitting prayer culture
Maintaining prayer culture
Prayer vs. magic
Excursus: Corpses in prayer?
Conclusions

Summary

Populärvetenskaplig sammanf attning päsvenska
(General summary in Swedish)

Bibliography

Index