Although confessions and penance were
mentioned in the 6th-century Celtic church they were not widely recognised as
essential during the first millennium. The Eucharist was deemed to provide
pardon for sins. From the 11th-century they gradually became an essential, almost
obsessive, sacrament of the church. The Fourth Lateran Council, 1215, laid down
everyone above the age of 12 years for girls/women and 14 for boys/men were
expected to give confession at least once a year[1]
and that was customary during Lent. From Ash Wednesday, following Shrove
Tuesday, the time of self-reflection known as Shrovetide marked when people had
to ‘shrove’ themselves or go to confession. It was 40 days of penitence and reflected
Christ’s fasting and temptation in the wilderness. Any previous penitents in
the congregation were taken to the door of the church after the mass and
blessing of ashes on Ash Wednesday and could not return until Maundy Thursday
before Good Friday. This expulsion was known as ‘public.’[2] ‘Public
penance’ continued until Reformation in some areas, but in others it was
ignored or simply threatened. It is unclear how many churches, including
Lichfield, followed this practice. Church courts dealt with serious cases and
the public penance could be in a public space or involve custody.
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| Confession |
Confession,
or penitencia, usually occurred after the early morning mass and before
the priest had his midday meal (and not on Sundays). In churches with a large
congregation the confession had to be timed to a particular day (precise time
was unknown). The nobility and those with status often had an early choice for
their appointed day. Some avoiders went for confession to a monk or friar (often
begging Dominicans or Franciscans), or an anchorite if one was attached to a
church, or even to a neighbouring parish priest and this was unacceptable or
forbidden. Evasion was a punishable offence and consequently confession was
almost universally observed. In a large cathedral like Lichfield, chantry
priests might have helped the canons to hear all the confessions during the
Lenten period. It would have had to serve people from neighbouring villages
without easy access to a priest. In 1523, it was decided a curate should hear
confessions for those living in the Close, receiving 2d. from each servant at
Easter. In 1530, with fear of the plague returning it was decided the confessions
of all servants and laymen living within the Close were to be heard in one of
the chapels in the cathedral by the Vicar of St. Mary's.
Confession
had to occur in a part of the cathedral which was visible to others. There was
no discussion behind a screen and this was essential for women. There might
have been a ‘shriving pew.’ It would be away from people waiting to give
confession, but still in their sight. For the cathedral this might have been at
the far east end of the nave. The confesser and priest could sit sideways to
each other, or across a table. The priest might have worn a hood.
Confession
began by the individual saying ‘Bless you’ and the priest replying ‘The Lord be
with you.’ The priest then listed sins[3]
the confesser might have committed. It included asking if the penitent
understood The Creed, if they believed in the transubstantiation of the bread
and wine, if they knew the ten commandments, had they ever blasphemed, or
broken the Sabbath, not honoured their parents, engaged in witchcraft or theft,
or failed to pay a loan, or coveted anything. It continued with the seven
deadly sins[4]
and whether they had undertaken the seven works of mercy[5]
including giving to the poor. Parents were questioned on how they had taught
their children. All were asked how they had respected the church and its
environment. Any confession was followed by questions of when, where, who was
affected, how often was it done, and what was the outcome. The penitent had to
then show remorse and regret. The penance given by the priest had to fit the
gravity of the sin and clearly each priest had their preferred way of sentencing
penance. It is unclear how the priest learned if the penitent had conformed.
There are cases known where the priest completed the penance, as a proxy, for an
inadequate penitent.[6]
A series of manuals were prepared for the diocese of Coventry and Lichfield to help the priest learn of everything to be confessed. The priest had to enquire ‘who, what, where, with whose help, why, in what way and when was the sin committed. The statute did not lay down specific penances for particular sins, but the penances took the form of having to fast, repeat prayers and give alms, and stated it was best when all three were given.[7]
Penances
included kneeling and kissing the ground,[8]
giving alms, praying regularly, receiving biblical instruction, saying five
Pater nesters and five Aves with the Credo, processing around the church
without shoes to be seen by all, and fasting on set days for sometimes lengthy
periods. At all times calling on God for mercy. Harsher penances included
having to go on pilgrimage or for knights to have to go on a crusade. The most
contentious was the selling of indulgences in which penances were reduced. The
priest would pray for the penitent and later in the medieval period was given
the power to absolve the sinner. It was forbidden for the confesser to pay the
priest, but this undoubtedly occurred, even if it was delayed until Easter. The
priest learned much from the confessions and although they could not reveal the
details (the seal of confession), some wrote about the problems and
difficulties faced by their congregation.[9] It
must have been a learning experience for young priests.
Reformation
terminated the penitentiary church and confession now became elective. People
confessed at least part of their sins by regular statements of confession, said
by the congregation together and sometimes quietly, during worship.
If confession improved physical
and mental wellbeing,[10] it
would be interesting to know if mental issues increased after Reformation. The
flipside is intensive questioning must have instilled feelings of guilt and,
perhaps, wellbeing improved post-Reformation. Issues resulting from penance can
be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, especially the Parson's Tale.
Some historians[11]
have re-evaluated late medieval confession and concluded it had a massively
influential role in late medieval religious life. Written guides to confession
existed prior to the 13th-century and then the number of guides increased in
response to the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215.[12] These
guides showed how to obtain the maximum benefits from the sacrament. There were
two kinds, those addressed to the faithful, so that they could prepare a good
confession, and those addressed to the priests, who had to make sure that no
sins were left unmentioned and the confession was as thorough. Manuals
were written in Latin and in the vernacular.
[1]
The Council’s Canon 21, Omnis utriusque sexus, mandated annual confession
for every adult, regardless of gender or estate.
[2]
See Orme, N. Going to church in Medieval England, (New Haven and London:
2022), 261–274 for which most of this post depends. From the 13th-century the
sins could include adultery, incest, cohabiting with a priest, usury, sorcery,
perjury, false witness and the exposure of babies (rejecting a new-born and
exposing it so that someone might adopt). See also M. E. Cornett, The form
of confession a later Medieval genre for examining conscience. A Ph.D.
Thesis for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2011.
[3]
Sin was seen as a disease of the soul and had to be cured by Easter.
[4]
pride, wrath, envy, lust, sloth, avarice, and gluttony. Sometimes an eighth,
dejection, was added.
[5]
To feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the
homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, or ransom the captive and to bury
the dead. The list is from Matthew 25.
[6] G. Fort, ‘Penitents and Their Proxies: Penance for Others in Early Medieval Europe,’ Church History, (2017), 86, 1.
[8] Henry II was forced to do public penance on his knees for his part in the murder of Thomas Becket,
[9]
A. Murray, Counselling in Medieval Confession, In Conscience and
Authority in the Medieval Church, Chapter 3, (Oxford: 2013), 87–103.
[10]
K. Harvey, Confession as therapy in the Middle Ages, see online https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/WovlRioAAHW6Xfqn
[11]
J. Bossy, Christianity in the West 1400-1700 (Oxford: 1985)
and T. Tentler, Sin and Confession on the Eve of the Reformation
(Princeton: 1977).
[12]
J. Garrison, Handbooks for Confessors, Online Oxford Bibliographies,
(2017), 27 June. Also J. T. McNeill and H. M. Gamer, eds. Medieval
Handbooks of Penance (New York: 1990).
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