medieval religiosity as a historiographical field: recent research

Abstract

The article aims at characterizing and discuss the recent historiography on the subject of religiosity in the medieval period, presenting and commenting works considered as illustrative of what is indicated as the most creative and interesting tendency of the field – the construction and use of an analytical concept of medieval religiosity which respects current theoretical requirements. The presented works are grouped in four thematic fields, namely: the reconfigurations of Anthropological History; the History of Emotions; the lay experience of religion; the institutional history of the Church and the study of ecclesiology. The exposition is preceded by an epistemological reflection on the basic issues of historiographical construction, specifically applied to the history of religiosity in medieval times (concepts, theories, materials, criticism of «master narratives» and medievalism surrounding the theme).