Abstract:

Recent scholarship has highlighted the centrality of demonic temptation (to commit sin) in early modern Reformed English Protestantism. This article develops this argument further by examining the manifestation of, and the clerical response to, demonic possession in late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century England. Demonic possession is framed here as an expression of intense conflict with demonic temptation: a reading that emphasises the spiritual effects of this affliction on the soul. Moreover, it presents English clergymen—particularly those of Puritan convictions—as predominantly concerned with treating the effects of demonic temptation on the soul. In this role, they thereby fashioned themselves as ‘physicians of the soul’. Through examining a range of early modern English works of practical divinity, demonology, and demonic possession, this article establishes the broader ‘Godly’ concern with demonic temptation, along with how this concern shaped their conceptualisation of demonic assault and spiritual healing.

摘要：

最近的学术研究强调了早期现代改革宗英国新教中恶魔诱惑（犯罪）的中心地位。本文通过考察 16 世纪末和 17 世纪初英国恶魔附身的表现和教士的反应，进一步发展了这一论点。恶魔附身在这里被描述为与恶魔诱惑的强烈冲突的表达：一种强调这种痛苦对灵魂的精神影响的解读。此外，它还描述了英国神职人员——尤其是清教徒信仰的神职人员——主要关注治疗恶魔诱惑对灵魂的影响。在这个角色中，他们将自己塑造成“灵魂的医生”。通过研究一系列早期现代英国关于实用神学、恶魔学和恶魔附体的作品，