The Conversion Of Waldo Analysis

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"I know that many will blame me that I act thus openly. But I do it both on my own account and on yours; on my own, so that those who see me henceforth possessing any money may say that I am mad, and on yours, that you may learn to place hope in God and not in riches" (Waldo). "The Conversion of Waldo" acts as a precursor to the idea of lay brethren helping sects of like the Dominicans on their preaching and various recruiting journeys throughout Europe (Madigan 216). While the story mainly focuses around a man 's self-inflicted penance as a practitioner of usury, it touches on themes of urbanization in the Roman Catholic Church, the revival of biblical practices, along with challenging set social conventions of acceptable behavior. "The …show more content…
After visits the master at the school of theology, he receives a spiritual awakening, and he sells his belongings like Saint Alexis (Waldo). The master references the Gospel of Matthew when Waldo comes to see him: "Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me" (Matthew 19:21). Although Waldo does not sell all of his belongings, he takes on the role of an apostle living off what God can provide him. Waldo also makes a form of restitution to those he treated unjustly in his usury (Waldo). In the Middle Ages, usury was associated with the Jewish Community, and eventually it was connected to Judas (Madigan 360). Thus, Waldo follows one of the laws in Leviticus when "he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering" (Leviticus 6:5). In order for Waldo to be forgiven, he would have had to pay back the money he stole from members of the community. Waldo also takes on the role of Christ when he fed the multitude bread and fish (Matthew 14:19), as Waldo fed the lay community for roughly two months …show more content…
Since Waldo takes on the model of Alexis, he had the possibility of being revered as a saint. Waldo, however, only helped those in his community for a short time, whereas St. Alexis fully embraced a righteous life for over seventeen years earning God 's grace (http://www.holy-transfiguration.org/library_en/saints_alexis.html). The lay community saw Waldo 's actions as an odd behavior as well. The narrator writes that "at the Assumption of the blessed Virgin, casting some money among the village poor, he cried, 'No man can serve two masters, God and mammon. ' Then his fellow-citizens ran up, thinking he had lost his mind" (Waldo). One can see how the people would not have accepted his instant conversion in Christianity, as they thought he was insane. It was, nevertheless, common to send children away to a convent beginning in the Carolingian era (Madigan 258). Sending children to a monastery would be one way to assure an education for their children, as well as a way to combat issues of inheritance among second-born children. Waldo also did not give up all of his belongings, as he let his wife keep his personal properties (Waldo). This would have allowed him to return to his former life, as he later experienced when he took food from his wife to survive (Waldo). Her strong reaction of "seizing her husband by the throat" (Waldo) acts as another example to demonstrate the

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