Paperback reissue of one volume of the English Dominicans' Latin/English edition of Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae.

"Bless me Father, for I have sinned," says the penitent to open the dialogue in Catholic confessionals across the globe and throughout the ages. Along with the priest's words, "For your penance . . ." this encounter is an icon of Catholic life. But does the script, and the practices it signifies, have any relevance beyond the confessional? In The Politics of Penance, Michael Griffin responds yes. He explores great figures of the Christian tradition--the early Irish monks, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Pope St. John Paul II--to offer surprising insights for social repair. The result is a new ethic, which Griffin applies to contemporary crises in criminal justice, truth and reconciliation, and the treatment of soldiers returning from war.

An examination of peine fort et dure, the coercive medieval punishment for defendants refusing to plead to criminal indictments.

An up-to-date overview of the functions and contexts of penance in medieval Europe, revealing the latest research and interpretations.

This study reviews penance within the context of the spirituality of 4th-and 5th-century Italy. By relating the attitudes toward penance and pardon in those days to the changing social position of the Christian community, this text reveals that a new understanding of penance developed as an integral part of the development of the role of the Church in leading sinners to healing and holiness.

A monumental study of musical practices in 18th century Santiago de Chile, and the only English-language monograph about Chilean colonial music, A Sweet Penance of Music offers a comprehensive view of musicians within the city and their links with other Latin American urban centers in the wider colonial system. Author Alejandro Vera, recent winner of the International Casa de las Américas Musicology Prize for the Spanish edition of his monograph, provides a fascinating account of the quotidian cultural and social significance of music in varying physical spheres - from cathedrals, convents, and monasteries, to private houses and public spaces. He brings to life a city long neglected in the shadow of other colonial centers of economic power, asserting the importance of duality in the period and its music - particularly centering one nun harpist's conception of music as "sweet penance." Drawing from historical documents and musical scores of the period, A Sweet Penance of Music breaks new ground, laying the foundation for a revisionist approach to the study of music in the colonial Americas.

Unleash the untamed passions of the underworld in these deliciously wicked tales of paranormal romance. Her saviour or her worst nightmare?