Pastoralia (genre)

Pastoralia is a genre of written practical and theoretical aids aimed at pastors, parish priests and curates that proliferated in Western Europe in the later Middle Ages. It was the product of renewed interest in pastoral care after about 1200, especially after the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215.

Pastoralia as a collective term for this new species of literature was coined by Leonard Boyle. The word may also refer to the theology underlying this literature or even to the techniques and capabilities it was meant to inculcate. In these senses, it is closely connected in meaning with the terms pastoral theology and practical theology.

The main areas of concern in the pastoralia are the sacraments, preaching, anointing of the sick and moral theology. There are many subgenres, such as "guides to hearing confession, catechisms, compendia to canon law, and manuals for parish priests".

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