What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to explore how English manuscripts from the 10th and 11th centuries emphasize a humanized image of God.

March 22, 2026

The Humanisation of God’s Image in Pre-Conquest English Manuscripts and the Development of Affective Piety

Key Points

The aim is to explore how English manuscripts from the 10th and 11th centuries emphasize a humanized image of God.
Analyzed English manuscripts from the late 10th to early 11th centuries.
Identified themes like the Crucifixion and God the Father.
Compared findings with earlier texts, including prayers and religious poems.
Four main themes of humanization were identified: Crucifixion, God of the Old Testament, God the Father, and the beatific vision.
The manuscripts aimed to evoke emotions such as compunction and love for God.
A connection between these themes and the development of affective piety was demonstrated.

Abstract

Abstract English manuscripts of the second half of the tenth and first half of the eleventh centuries display a great interest in humanising the divine image. The following article discusses four themes testifying to this phenomenon: Crucifixion, the God of the Old Testament, God the Father, and the beatific vision. It confronts them with the devotional uses of the manuscripts in which they appear, as well as with certain contemporary or earlier texts, especially prayers and vernacular religious poems. It tends to demonstrate that the images sought to develop compunction, love of God, desire for imitatio and, perhaps, compassion.

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