Chapter 18 The Devil from the Pulpit
In: A Companion to the Devil and Demons, c.1100â1750Search for other papers by Rita Voltmer in
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This chapter analyzes the many ways demons played a central role in medieval exempla as tempters and punishers. Such perspectives endured in early modern Europe in part because those same stories continued to be used, even for a time in Protestant territories. But more than morality tales were preached from the pulpit, and demons, their activities, and their realms remained part of a wide variety of sermons. This chapter describes how demons manifested in many ways in premodern sermons and the differences that emerged after the Reformations. It assesses the influence of these sermons on common attitudes and actions and the ways preachers molded their sermons to fit their perception of their audiences. Such sermons reveal how treatments of demons and the Devil reflect exchanges and alterations in religious cultures.