John to John: The Manuale Sacerdotis and the daily life of a parish priest

Powell, Susan

Abstract

Manuale Sacerdotis, the priest’s handbook, is a five-part Latin text of between twelve and twenty chapters in each part, written probably at the end of the fourteenth or beginning of the fifteenth century by John Mirk, who was by then prior of the house of Austin canons at Lilleshall in Shropshire. Mirk’s choice of Latin as the medium for the Manuale explains why it has been overshadowed by his two other works, the Festial and the Instructions for Parish
Priests. Both these vernacular texts have been published, but Mirk’s third work, the Manuale, has not been printed, although it has been edited twice as doctoral theses. The most detailed treatment in print is that of Alan Fletcher on the manuscripts and the Manuale‘s place in the tradition of pastoralia. The recognition that the Manuale has been previously accorded is not, however, commensurate with its interest, as it is hoped that this article will demonstrate, and an edition incorporating a translation with en face Latin text is currently in preparation by the
present author in collaboration with James Girsch, on whose critical edition this article is dependent and to whose kindness and scholarship I am indebted.

Citation

Powell, S. (2009). John to John: The Manuale Sacerdotis and the daily life of a parish priest. In Recording Medieval Lives (112-129). Donington: Shaun Tyas

• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2009
• Deposit Date: Oct 6, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 5, 2016
• Pages: 112-129
• Series Title: Harlaxton Medieval Studies
• Series Number: 17
• Book Title: Recording Medieval Lives
• ISBN: 1-900289-954,-978-1-900289-955