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Fourth Lateran Council (1215)


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Synopsis

Undoubtedly the most significant of the general church councils it was convoked by Innocent III and regarded as his greatest achievement. Intended to elevate the quality of the spiritual life of the ordinary Christian it prescribed an annual confession for the people. It made an official statement on the doctrine of the eucharist, popularising1 the term "transubstantiate". It forbade the foundation of new religious orders and any involve of clergy in trials by ordeal.

Note:

Although the word transsubstantiatis was popularised by Lateran IV, it was in use well before then, and its very first known usage can be traced to a theological treatise written in the year 1140. See J. W. Goering, "The Invention of Transubstantiation, Traditio 46. [Thanks to William Hopkins Campbell of St Andrews University for pointing this out]

Primary Sources

Article in Journal or Book S. Kuttner & A. Garcia y Garcia, "A New Eyewitness Account of the Fourth Lateran Council," Traditio 20 (1964): 115-78.
Book or monograph H.J. Schroeder. editor & Translator, Disciplinary Decrees of the General Councils: Text, Translation, and Commentary, Harry Rothwell, ed. St. Louis, MO & London, 1937.

Secondary Sources

Book or monograph Robert Bartlett, Trial by Fire and Water: The Medieval Judicial Ordeal. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988. Pbk. ISBN: 0198227353. pp.192.
Article in Journal or Book B. Bolton, "'A show with a meaning': Innocent III's approach to the Fourth Lateran Council, 1215," Medieval History 1 (1991): 53-67.
Article in Journal or Book Leoanrd E. Boyle, "The Fourth Lateran Council and Manuals of Popular Theology," T.J. Hoffman, ed., The Popular Literature of Medieval England. University of Tennesee, 1985. pp.30-43.
Article in Journal or Book P.J. Dunning, "Irish Representatives and Irish Ecclesiastical Affairs at the Fourth Lateran Council," J.A. Watt, J.B. Morrall & F.X. Martin, eds., Medieval Studies Presented to A. Gwynn. Dublin, 1961. pp.90-113.
Sign-up to Perlego and access book instantly Marion Gibbs & Jane Lang, Bishops and Reform, 1215-1272Marion Gibbs & Jane Lang, Bishops and Reform, 1215-1272: With Special Reference to the Lateran Council of 1215. Frank Cass & Co., 1962. Reprinted: Lonodn: Routledge, 2019. ISBN: 978-0429685071. pp.216. [Sign-up to Perlego and access book instantly]
Article in Journal or Book Stephen Kuttner & Antonia Garcia y Garcia, "A New Eyewitness Account of the Fourth Lateran Council," Traditio 20 (1964): 115-78.
Sign-up to Perlego and access book instantly Logan: A History of the Church in the Middle AgesF. Donald Logan, A History of the Church in the Middle Ages. London & New York: Routledge, 2002. Pbk. ISBN: 0415132894. pp.193-201. [Sign-up to Perlego and access book instantly]
Article in Journal or Book Alexander Murray, "Confession before 1215," Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 6th series, 3 (1993): 51-81.
Book or monograph Paul B. Pixton, The German Episcopacy and the Implementation of the Decrees of the Fourth Lateran Council, 1216-1245: Watchmen on the Tower. Studies in the History of Christian Thought. Leiden: E J Brill, 1994. Hbk. ISBN: 9004102620. pp.543.
Article in Journal or Book Fiona Robb, "The Fourth Lateran Council's Definition of Trinitarian Orthodoxy," Journal of Ecclesiastical History 48.1 (1997): 22-43.
Book or monograph Pastors and the Care of Souls in Medieval England. Notre Dame Texts in Medieval CultureJohn Shinners & William J. Dohar, eds., Pastors and the Care of Souls in Medieval England. Notre Dame Texts in Medieval Culture. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1998. Pbk. ISBN: 0268038503. pp.360.
Book or monograph Tanner: The Councils of the Church: A Short HistoryNorman P Tanner, The Councils of the Church: A Short History. The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2001. Pbk. ISBN: 0824519043. pp.144.

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