The ‘Injunction of Jeremiah’: papal politicking and power in the Middle Ages
Kriston R. Rennie
Throughout the Middle Ages, ‘Injunction of Jeremiah’ (Jer. 1:10) was employed by countless ecclesiastical writers. Building on an established tradition, medieval contemporaries began applying allegory ‘uprooting and destroying, building planting’ with intentionally moral political message. This article examines Old Testament call narrative a view to understanding how why it served popes other high-ranked ecclesiastics as rhetorical mechanism for legitimising authority. It argues noticeable deliberate shift in textual interpretation ninth century, after which period influential church figures alike marshalled Injunction help strengthen centralising ideology Rome her bishop. The effect, is concluded, contributed ultimately reinforcing papacy's claims govern spiritual temporal matters throughout Christian society.
Journal of Medieval History