Victorian Reformation

In early Victorian England there was intense interest in understanding the early Church as an inspiration for contemporary sanctity. This was manifested in a surge in archaeological inquiry and also in the construction of new churches using medieval models. Some Anglicans began to use a much more complicated form of ritual involving vestments, candles, and incense. This "Anglo-Catholic" movement was vehemently opposed by evangelicals and dissenters, who saw this as the vanguard of full-blown "popery." Dominic Janes seeks to understand the fierce passions that were unleashed by the contended practices and artifacts - passions that found expression in litigation, in rowdy demonstrations, and even in physical violence.

Lecturer in Art History, Birkbeck College, University of London

1.: Introduction: Victorian Reformation, Idolatry and Fetishism
2.: Art and Sacrament, Ritualism
3.: Riots and Trials in London, 1840-1860, Bennett, 1843-51, Liddell, 1851-57
4.: Satan Transformed: Comparative Religion ,'Primitive' Religion from Rome to Home, Bodies of Christ, The Horror is all Mine
5.: Gothic Novelties , Facing Corruption, Texts and Profits
6.: Conclusion: The Convenient Despot
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