Victor Houliston on Robert Persons

Permanent URI for this collection

https://wiredspace-extra.wits.ac.za/home/handle/20.500.12430/549346

Robert Persons is recognized as one of the most intriguing public figures of the Reformation era in England. As the superior of the Jesuit English mission from 1580 until 1610, he was engaged in a campaign for the reconversion of England that had wide political, ecclesiastical, pastoral, and polemical ramifications. Awareness of his importance has increased with the rapid growth of early modern British Catholic studies. His career continues to prompt much debate, especially over his political attitudes and activities.
Here you will find entries for my articles, chapters and books on Robert Persons. All downloadable material is open access.

Browse

Browsing Victor Houliston on Robert Persons by Keyword "Robert Persons"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Correspondence and Unpublished Papers of Robert Persons, SJ: Vol. 1: 1574-1588
    (PIMS, 2017) Houliston, Victor; Crosignani, Ginevra; McCoog, Thomas M. S.J.
    This book is the first of a projected three-volume edition which aims to contribute to our understanding of Robert Persons's significance in early modern European history. It includes documents and letters by Persons, as well as letters to Persons, notably from the superior general of the Society of Jesus, Claudio Acquaviva. Letters in Latin, Italian, and Spanish are presented both in the original language and spelling, with English translation, and letters in English in original spelling. All letters have been collated with the extant manuscript witnesses. The introduction comprises Persons's biography, relevant aspects of early Jesuit history and the Jesuit mission to England, and overviews of the papacy and the political situation in England and Scotland, France, the Netherlands, and Spain, for the period 1574-88 covered by the letters in this volume. To purchase the book, go to http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9780888442079-1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Martyrological Themes and the Revival of Catholic Identity in Robert Persons' De Persecutione Anglicana
    (Southern African Society for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2019) Dircksen, Marianne
    This article supplements a previous article, ‘Towards a Critical Edition and Modern Translation of Robert Persons’ De Persecutione Anglicana’ (published in vol. 28 of the journal) with a discussion of the significance of its treatment of martyrdom. Another major role player in publicizing the persecution of Catholics in England, Richard Verstegan, is introduced. He was the originator of a series of illustrations included in one of the early editions of Persons’ text, namely the one printed in Rome by Georgio Ferrari in 1582. The premise of my analysis of the text and the engraved plates is that their value is not limited to the (inside) information it provides about the fate of Catholic priests in England during the sixteenth century, but the particular features of the presentation of martyrdom. The aim is to identify these typical martyrological tropes that had originated during the earliest years of Christian persecution and to highlight the specific emphasis placed on Catholic practices and symbolism in the selected passages from the text as well as in the Verstegan illustrations. A close reading of the texts will reveal and unravel the clues that encourage a predetermined interpretation of the text.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Puzzles and Posts: Reconstructing Robert Persons' Correspondence with Claudio Acquaviva, 1589-1592
    (AOSIS, 2019) Houliston, Victor
    The early English Jesuit leader Robert Persons (1546–1610) was sent to Spain in 1588 by the superior general of the Society, Claudio Acquaviva. His commission was to negotiate with King Philip II over the authority structures of the Jesuits in Spain. Besides conducting these negotiations, Persons founded English seminaries in Valladolid (1589) and Seville (1592). This article examines the extant correspondence between Persons and Acquaviva during this period, reconstructing the missing letters as far as possible. In the process, we learn a great deal about the correspondence network, the use of posts, the dating and confidentiality of letters, and the choice of language.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Reconsidering 'Consideration' with Robert Persons
    (Taylor and Francis, 2019) Houliston, Victor
    Robert Persons’s revision of his popular First Booke of the Christian Exercise, appertayning to Resolution (1582) entailed a reconsideration of the crucial term consideration. In the first edition, consideration was presented as a motive for amendment of life, the driving force for making one’s resolution to serve God in earnest. Much of the inspiration for this approach came from the Dominican writer Luis de Granada, although the argument is closely related to the first week of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. Seeking to provide a more comprehensive guide to Christian devotion, Persons in his revised, expanded version, A Christian Directorie (1585), drew more extensively on St Bernard of Clairvaux’s twelfth-century treatise De Consideratione, which enjoyed considerable popularity in the Reformation era and was particularly valued by Pope Gregory XIII (reigned 1572–1585). The meaning of the term consideration was now extended to a settled, lifelong discipline of interrogating one’s life and actions.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Robert Persons's Precarious Correspondence
    (Brill, 2014) Houliston, Victor
    The Jesuit mission to England during the reign of Elizabeth depended a great deal on written correspondence with Rome and other missionaries “in the field.” As the superior of the mission, Robert Persons wrote frequently and sometimes voluminously to his colleagues and associates, as well as to interested lay people and political figures. This article considers the effect of the urgency and the unpredictability of his correspondence. He was often on the run, so letters could go astray, be intercepted or delayed. Letters took two to three weeks to reach Rome, and generally crossed each other, so that policy discussion was subject to a degree of guess-work and anticipation. With the capture and execution of Campion, Persons’s flight to France, the vicissitudes of Scottish and French politics (which crucially affected the fortunes of the English Catholics), and the growth of factionalism within the exile community, ignorance or misunderstanding could play a significant role in determining strategy and forming attitudes. Our own interpretation of Elizabethan Catholicism has also been affected by the loss of much of this correspondence at the suppression of the Society.