Abstract

In the enthusiastic élan of the Renaissance, everything seemed possible. Belief in man's infinite capacity for understanding led to the ever-greater questioning of the Church and its practices. While in intellectual circles of the day, the ideas of Luther and Calvin began to circulate, Evangelicals argued for the restitution of the wellspring of religion, the Bible. One practitioner of devotio moderna was the sister of King François I of France, Marguerite de Navarre. By means of a configurational model developed by Eugene E. White, this article examines the theologically-assertive nature of the Queen of Navarre's collection of nouvelles, L'Heptaméron, and questions its efficacy on the subject of affecting religious reforms in sixteenth century France.

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