Parish, Helen L.

views updated

Parish, Helen L.

PERSONAL:

Education: University of Oxford, D.Phil., 1997.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Reading, England. Office—Department of History, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AA, England. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

University of Reading, Reading, England, department of history, lecturer in early modern religious and cultural history, and department head.

WRITINGS:

Clerical Marriage and the English Reformation: Precedent, Policy, and Practice, Ashgate (Burlington, VT), 2000.

(Editor, with William G. Naphy) Religion and Superstition in Reformation Europe, Manchester University Press (Manchester, England), 2002.

Monks, Miracles, and Magic: Reformation Representations of the Medieval Church, Routledge (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS:

Helen L. Parish is a scholar of early modern history, particularly the English and European Reformations, with a focus on religion and culture, and serves as a lecturer in early modern religious and cultural history at the University of Reading in England. Her book, Clerical Marriage and the EnglishReformation: Precedent, Policy, and Practice looks at the debate in England during the Reformation as to whether policy regarding clerical marriage was appropriate, and how the realities of the practice compared to the policies. Ralph Houlbrooke, in a review for the Journal of Ecclesiastical History, remarked: "This learned and lively monograph meets a long-standing need for a thorough account of the English debate concerning clerical marriage." He concluded that the volume, "while conveying a vivid impression of the depth of feeling on both sides of the debate, is also scrupulously impartial. It constitutes a most distinguished debut for Helen Parish." Kenneth Fincham, writing for Albion, noted: "Missing here is much discussion about the benefits of clerical marriage, beyond avoiding fornication," but concluded that the book was "a fine monograph from a promising young scholar."

Monks, Miracles, and Magic: Reformation Representations of the Medieval Church also focuses primarily on the Reformation. Parish looks at the relationship between Reformation ideas and beliefs and the older, more mystical beliefs that were common in earlier times. Irena Backus, in a review for the Journal of Ecclesiastical History, noted several places where Parish based her arguments on outdated theory, but commented that "the book raises the interesting question of the use of traditional language in confessional polemics and should be commended for this."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Albion, spring, 2002, Kenneth Fincham, review of Clerical Marriage and the English Reformation: Precedent, Policy, and Practice, p. 87.

Journal of Ecclesiastical History, July, 2002, Ralph Houlbrooke, review of Clerical Marriage and the English Reformation, p. 602; April, 2006, Irena Backus, review of Monks, Miracles, and Magic: Reformation Representations of the Medieval Church, p. 372.