Grave Rhetoric: Jesuit Death Manuals in Early Modern Spain

• In Event: Jesuit Devotional Literature

Abstract

In Partida a la eternidad, y preparación para la muerte (1643) the Jesuit author Juan Eusebio Nieremberg instructs his audience to prepare for a ‘good death’. One of the exercises he recommends is the continual reading of devotional literature, and includes a list of books by him and other authors intended to be valuable tools and instructional guides for those who most need them. But he also praises them for their ability to console, or even entertain, the reader. This paper examines the didactic style of the ars moriendi of Jesuits in early modern Spain, the dissemination of their texts, and how authors such as Nieremberg define the printed word as a source of delight and consolation. I will look at Nieremberg’s identity as a Jesuit, his apostolic ministry as a writer, and the rhetorical emphasis he places on taking delight in death.

Author

• D. Scott Hendrickson, Loyola University Chicago