SAD TOPICS: AN OUTLINE FOR THE HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL SADNESS

Tristes tópicos: esboços para uma história do entristecimento medieval

Abstract

Centered on the study of medieval saddening, the present article focuses on the understanding of the historical relation between emotion and society. To achieve this goal, I present concepts and methodologies from the field of history of emotions, while making an analysis of rhetorical topics and semantics of medieval texts written by members of the clergy and made available today through vast digital databases. This approach – positioned at the crossroads of the fields of history of emotions, writing practices, social studies, and digital humanities – allows us to set the boundaries of the formation and affirmation of a salvific emotive regime and of the emotional communities inside ecclesiastical communities. At the closing of this analysis, I will be able to sketch the historical establishment of a relation between sadness and social order. To many medieval members of the clergy, being sad was a sign of spiritual rectitude which should guide certain mundane actions of the community of faith. This community should, then, remain aware of the injustices committed against its members, either individually or collectively. This, in conclusion, brings to light a form of ecclesiology based on becoming sad.