Teresa of Avila and the Politics of Sanctity / / Gillian T. W. Ahlgren.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Cornell University Press Archive Pre-2000
• VerfasserIn: Ahlgren, Gillian T. W.,
• Place / Publishing House: Ithaca, NY : : Cornell University Press, , [2019]; ©1998
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (240 p.)

'An important addition to our understanding and the current reconstruction of one of the best-known mystics, reformers, and spiritual writers in history.'—Church History'An ambitious book. [Ahlgren] seeks to'contextualize the life of Teresa the woman and the meaning of Teresa the saint within the Counter-Reformation agenda by exploring the complex and conflicting notions of female sanctity at work in sixteenth-century Spain.'The compelling arguments of the book make it worth reading. Perhaps Ahlgren's most significant contribution to Teresian scholarship is her meticulous assessment of the prolonged theological debate that took place over [Teresa's] person and writings after her death.'—Sixteenth Century Journal'This [book] is indispensable to understanding the saint's motivations and accomplishments. Beginning with a carefully documented analysis of the religious climate before the Valdes Index of 1559, Ahlgren focuses on the alumbrados and holy women who claimed spiritual authority on the basis of visions and mental prayer. Impeccably researched and distinguished by a thorough grasp of the theological and political issues of sixteenth-century Spain, the volume is a brilliant argument for how and why Teresa of Avila authorized in writing and action her belief that'the discovery of God's presence in the soul is a spiritual imperative for all people.''—Theological Studies

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1. Women and the Pursuit of Holiness in Sixteenth-Century Spain -- 2. Filling the Void: The Vocation of Teresa de Jesús -- 3. The Right to Write: Authority and Rhetorical Strategy in Teresa’s Works -- 4. Apologia por la Mistica Temenina: Teresa’s Theological Agenda -- 5. Preter Naturam? Posthumous Debates on Teresa’s Orthodoxy -- 6. Teresa la Santa: Alone of All Her Sex? -- Conclusion -- Appendix: Primary and secondary sources of inquisitional inquiries regarding Teresa de Jesús and her works -- Selected Bibliography -- Index