Medieval France. An Encyclopedia

(Darren Dugan) #1

words), a rhyming dictionary (6,000 words), and, most important, examples of various
genres of lyric poetry, such as lai, chant royal, serventois, pastourelle, sotte amoureuse,
ballade, rondeau, and fatras. Patterson considers the Doctrinal to be “the clearest, the
most intelligent, and the best arranged treatise between the times of Deschamps and
Molinet.” In 1448, Baudet composed some ballades for Charles d’Orléans, none of which
has survived.
Peter F.Dembowski
[See also: ARTS DE SECONDE RHÉTORIQUE; CHARTIER, ALAIN; QUARREL
OF THE BELLE DAME SANS MERCI]
Herenc, Baudet. Le parlement d’Amour. In Le jardin de plaisance et fleur de réthorique. 2 vols.
Paris: Didot, 1910, Vol. 1, f. 139 v–142 v. [Commentary: Vol. 2, Eugénie Droz and Arthur
Piaget, Introduction et notes.] Paris: Champion, 1925, pp. 261–62.


——

. Doctrinal de la seconde rhétorique. In Recueil d’arts de seconde rhétorique, ed. Ernest Langois.
Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1902, pp. xxxii–xlii [commentary], 104–98 [text].
Patterson, Werner Forest. Three Centuries of French Poetic Theory: A Critical History of the Chief
Arts of Poetry in France (1328–1630). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1935, pp.
121–24.


HERESIES, APOSTOLIC


. Among the most fervent and controversial forms of medieval Christian spirituality was
the desire to live the vita apostolica (“evangelical life”), modeled on that of the followers
of Jesus (Acts 1–4). This generally meant some combination of voluntary poverty,
asceticism, manual labor, religious devotion, and preaching. In one sense, nothing could
be more orthodox, and many of the most powerful movements of Christian renewal were
so inspired. On the other hand, this earliest form of Christianity was too radical for most
ecclesiastical structures; indeed, it was impossible for clergy to model themselves too
closely on the apostolic life (i.e., living with women, equality of lay and cleric). More
troubling, by apostolic standards ecclesiastical wealth and worldly power could be seen
as signs of corruption, or worse. In some ways, then, the apostolic life suited laity better,
and as such threatened clerical control of religious matters. But ecclesiastical efforts to
discipline lay apostolic groups often provoked hostility and even an outright break with
the church. In almost every case of an “apostolic heresy,” a lay movement started out
orthodox in both doctrine and practice but, through a dialectic of conflict with the clergy,
came to see the church as the enemy of a true Christian life.
This conflict between lay and clerical interpretations of the vita apostolica centered on
several interlocking issues, any of which could lead to heresy.
Poverty. The Apostles had held their goods in common and renounced any attachment
to material well-being. This voluntary poverty, linked to a renunciation of power and
status within society (“pauper” meant “powerless”), became the focus of class hostility:
on the one hand, aristocrats who voluntarily gave up their wealth and social power drew
devoted disciples and followers from among the populace; on the other, institutions that


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