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Medieval Religious Culture and Fear Essay - 2858 Words

To What Extent were Responses to Death Characterised by Fear in Medieval Religious Culture? This investigation will analyse responses to death in medieval religious culture. Relationships with death arguably varied between social classes, making it difficult to assert a generalised response to death. Death was commonplace amongst peasants and therefore few sources document it. Responses to death can be inferred by sermons, which were influential to the beliefs of lower classes. The nobility on the other hand, provided accounts of deaths and from these sources responses can be asserted. Similarly, it is difficult to assert a general definition of death as in the medieval period the concept of death was multidimensional. Death was both†¦show more content†¦Therefore, additional primary sources must be utilised, such as ‘The Book of Hours’, looking specifically at the ‘Office of the Dead; and ‘Ars Moriendi’. These popular texts provide a better indication of societies response to death. Nonetheless, these sources are still somewhat lim ited to presenting the responses of the upper echelons of society. This essay will evaluate the nobility’s response to death, analysing accounts of Edward IV’s funeral and cadaver tombs. Most of the primary sources available only indicate the nobility’s responses and consequently it is difficult to assert the responses of ordinary society to death. The analysis of sermons and prayers provide a better indication of wider societies response to death. Debate surrounds the extent to which medieval religious culture was characterised by negative aspects, of fear as opposed to positive aspects, such as mercy and forgiveness. Delumeau’s early scholarship propagates that fear of sin was central to religious culture of the period whereas later scholarship argues that death was regarded as a welcomed release from the sinful temporal world. This essay will argue that responses to Death were largely characterised by fear in the medieval period, evident through doctrine, sermons, literature and cadaver tombs. The Prayer Book of 1552 presents death in the lexis of fear, describing theShow MoreRelatedThe Medieval period started at the fifth century and end around the fourteenth century. Many900 Words   |  4 PagesThe Medieval period started at the fifth century and end around the fourteenth century. Many historical events took place during this era such as the collapse of the roman empire, deaths of millions from the bubonic plague, a shift in paradigm for european’s world view, trade routes through europe, and the Norman’s conquest. The Roman church became very powerful and dictated peoples live through religion. During this time period, Kings and Queens while working alongside Christianity, gave societyRead MoreThe Monsters And Their Origin1412 Words   |  6 Pagesand their origin. 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Why Prisons Dont Work- Wilbert Rideau free essay sample

Actually there are big criminals that are not in prison and the ones who are in prison are not getting rehab. Prisons tend to focus on punishment than on rehabilitation. As Rideau says prisoners that stay to long in prison tend to embrace the criminal culture, younger prisoners are coming out of jail as more accomplished criminals. Young kids are kept in prison to long, and they learn from other criminals. When they are paroled, they are better criminals, and they would not get caught as easily. Prisons do not work because criminals are released better at their crimes that when they were first sentenced to imprisonment. Rehabilitation is the only way to fight this, but until prisons do more for rehabilitation prisoners would not present any change. Rideau may be wrong by saying that older prisoners could be set free with little or no danger to society. We will write a custom essay sample on Why Prisons Dont Work- Wilbert Rideau or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page If they have not been rehabilitated, they still represent a major danger to society. The fact that they are old can be tied to have been more years getting criminal skills on prisons. If they have been too long in prison may have also lost value to life because they has wasted most of it in prison or they know that are going to die soon and therefore has no fear of being imprisoned again. If prisons really worked on rehabilitation, older prisoners would have been rehabilitated and they could have been set free. Since these systems give more tools to the crime that for rehab it is a risk to set free any criminal because that could end up on recidivate. According to Rideau, from the last paragraph, he mentioned that, the only effective way to fight crime is for society to work to prevent the criminal act in the first place. Government should take action by making plans that involves young kids in activities that keep them away from criminal activities. By sending teenagers to prisons they would be getting a criminal education instead of a real education. In cases crimes have a lot to do with economy. If government nstead of making inversions on polices and prisons that do not represents decrease on crime use those funds to invest on working programs that could result on less robberies. This will just not lower the crime-rate, but decrease the prison population. Prison is obviously not working on rehabilitating prisoners because there are prisoners who are released, but they dont return to prison. Yet, the majority of prisoners released do go back to jail. Criminals think theyre not going to get caught or theyre so emotionally desper ate or psychologically distressed that they dont care about the consequences. To lower the recidivism prisons should offer real rehabilitation to prisoners. Criminals are not all waste people; most of them could just have haven a crisis that make them commit the crimes. Rehabilitation can work for them, but until prisons do more for rehabilitation prisoners wont change. The convict who enters prison illiterate will probably leave the same way. To change this prison should be less a place to punish and more a rehabilitation place with education programs, psychiatric counseling, drug treatment, or vocational training. Some prisoners have the luxury of computers, the convenience of the Internet, and the pleasure of television. That make them invest their time on non productive activities, prisons should take away those benefits and impose prisoners to get education and vocational skills. To be able to change you must have something to look forward to when you are released. That is what prison should give to prisoners. In conclusion, what Rideau means is that the current format of prisons does not work. There is an increased population in prisons, but not a decrease in crime. Prison is a place for punishment, but you cannot punish someone for lifetime. That is why prison should serve as well as rehabilitation center. This way, criminals would not be re-arrested and sent back to jail. Society has done so much to try to decrease crime rates, but still not have a safe place because prisoners are coming back same or worse as they enter to prison. â€Å"Ever see a dog chase its tail? † means until prisons changes their system; we will keep going on and on in this crime circle.