The Eucharist in Romanesque France - Iconography and Theology

This book explores some of the ways in which penitential-eucharistic piety was widely and variously expressed in the period 1050-1160.  The vigorous post-Berengarian debates greatly animated the awareness of Christ truly present in the Eucharist.  This awareness permeated early scholastic thought and, it would seem, much lay piety.  There was, however, no simple consensus on the salvific efficacy of the Eucharist, on the nature of Christ's presence in the sacrament, or on the terminology that could be used to discuss these matters.  That these debates were of vivid intensity is sometimes forgotten.  By juxtaposing eucharistic theology and related writings like Mass commentaries with changes in devotional practice, with Gregorian reform and with the eucharistic ideas rejected and debated by heretics an attempt is made to open up new angles on familiar themes.  The expansion and vitalisation of penitential-eucharistic imagery was notable in all the ar