The Late Medieval English College Edited by Clive Burgess and Martinn Heale

The Late Medieval English College and its Context

Ever since reading Edmon Duffy's the magisterial  The Stripping of the Altars I have been increasingly interested in the character of religious life in the run up to the Reformation, and this collection of essays is a valuable contribution to our understanding.

The "College", in its various expressions, sits between the familiar monasteries of the great religious orders  and the 'parish' church.  It seems to have often been overlooked, despite being the origin of many institutions which continued through the reformation, and particularly in the case of the educational Colleges, to endure even to the present day.

In common with most collections, the different writers take different perspectives and some will engage you more than others depending on your own personal interests. One of the essays I found most fascinating was the final one, which narrated the final few years of the Collegiate Church at Fotheringhay, and how despite the earlier suppression of the monasteries it was far from clear that the Colleges would meet the same fate.  There were attempts by the Master at Fotheringhay to show them embracing the theology of the Reformation and to make the most of the connection the College had with the Royal Family to try and secure its future.  Yet with the coming of the boy King and the dominance of the Puritan party these efforts came, in the end, to nothing.

Overall this collection further proves that religious life in pre-Reformation England a very rich tapestry, in places in dire need of radical reform but elsewhere full of holiness and of colour that was perhaps needlesly sacrificed to the fervour of the age.