Religious/ Philosophical context Flashcards
centrality of christian observance
- outwards signs of religion were more obvious in Hardy’s time than today, churches were built in industrial cities and about half the population attended regularly
- in villages/ older towns parishes continued to be centres of life/ the community
- even non Christians would recognise the moral/ ethical standards of Christianity
explain why there are so many biblical allusions in contemporary literary texta
-most victorian authors would have been stronglyy influenced by the k
King James Verison of the bible and the book of common prayer as they would have heard reading and sermons weekly in church thus they absorbed the language and rhythm of the bible
religion in the 18th centuary
- great dissastifaction with the established anglian Church led to the growth of new religious movements (e.g methodism).
- congregationalist churches had developed from the independant churches seceed fro the church of england during the civil war
what were dissenting/ nonconformist churches
-all the religous movement that opposed the anglican church (congregation alsit churches and methodist churches)
why had new sects arisen?
-people wanted a simpler, more direct religion and forms of worship without priests or ritual
two main christian denominations in rural areas
- methodist (aka weslyeans/ primitives)
- Church of england ( AKA Cof E/ anglican church0
Position of the clergy
- most parish churches had a vicar or rector and if they were big enough a curate
- these people would live in the vicarage/ rectory and would be respected by the local people
- they were often responsible for making sure that the village school functionned and that the local council meetings were conducted
- they were always university educated and sometimes considered removed from the lives of the local people
what does Hardy allude to concerning the theology of the country people
-whilst most of the people are shown as being church goers he often alludes to the idea that their beliefs are a mix of Christianity and paganism- e.g. due to their ideas concerning fate and nature
how does church music relate to hardy
- in the first part of the 19th century Sunday services would have a band of local musicians lead the worship
- in his youth Hardy was apart of his family’s music group
what 4 groups could Christianity in England consist of
- the low church
- the broad church
- the high church
- the methodists
what was the low church
- also known as evangelists
- very strong at the beginning of the Victorian era
- upheld the importance of preaching the bible, individual conversion and having a personal experience of god
- believed that humans are profoundly affected by sin and therefore cannot achieve a close relationship with God by their own efforts
- Angel’s father is an evangelist
who is Angels father thought to be moddled on
-Rev Henry Moule of Fordingham: His sons also went to Cambridge and Hardy was very much influenced by Horace (one of them) whilst he was a young man in Dorcester
what is the broad church +example in Tess
- believed the church of England was the national church and therefore should be broad enough for everyone to join
- they did not insist on a rigid following of the 39 articles (the guidelines for anglican belief)
- they counbted everyone as a christian unless they opted out
- Vicar in Marlott is an example from Tess (somewhat accommodate Tess)
The high church and example from Tess
-grew in importance from the 1840s
wanted to establish Anglican beliefs as essentially catholic
-wanted to stress the importance of sacraments
-Angels two brothers are good examples of high churchmen- Hardy does not have much sympathy towards them as they have lost touch with personal relationships and human values
Methodist and example in tess
- nonconformist sect founded by John Welsey
- Methodist church had preachers and relied on lay preachers who would preach quite fiery sermons
- alec when he is ‘converted
- the religious sign painterr
