In the history of Christianity, nicodemism has been hotly debated as a legitimate form of clandestine, deceptive lifestyle in times of religious persecution. Evaluations of nicodemite behavior range from condemnatory to apologetic from the early modern era to the present day. Scholars in the past twenty years have wrestled over the causes, motivations, and controversial deception of nicodemites during the tumultuous religious period that is the Reformation. M. Anne Overell's new work on nicodemism is an important contribution to scholarship of early modern religion. Her work is an attempt to “separate the nicodemite as constructed in angry polemic from frightened people acting in various ways thought to characterise deceivers” (4). Overell's objective is to examine the personal and literary connections between nicodemites in England and Italy during the sixteenth century. This approach, argues Overell, demonstrates the multiple layers of networking, exchanges, and conniving among nicodemites in two different geographical locations. Her work convincingly traces those textual and intellectual interactions between two nicodemite communities across transnational boundaries.
Overell first provides an insightful contextual survey vis-à-vis the ideology and movements of nicodemites, beginning with the Waldenses and Lollards. Late medieval and early modern nicodemites were quick to appeal to biblical models of dissimulation, notably Amos the prophet and the Apostle Paul. These models were a consolation in tortuous times when the dilemma between concealment and steadfastness was a ubiquitous reality in Tudor England and early modern Italy. Yet, the anti-nicodemites also possessed their biblical models and in theory rejected all forms of deception, including concealment. But, as Overell notes, the religious landscape in both England and Italy was much more complex and less black-and-white than many anti-nicodemites portrayed.
For the English expatriates residing in Italy, circumspection was needed in order to survive the religious battlefield. Overell assesses the lives of Richard Morison, Michael Throckmorton, and Reginald Pole, among others, uncovering their nicodemite tendencies that ranged from intrigue to betrayal. In Throckmorton's case, forging friendships with the Italian spirituali and their evangelical views while also maintaining his Catholic identity as Pole's religious and political agent. The “confused religious experience of his generation” often resulted in double-crossing and outright deception in order to not “blow” one's cover (50). In the example of Pole, his piety during his residences in Viterbo, London, and Trent became chameleon-like, altering his narrative for self-preservation, dependent upon which circles he was running in. For instance, Overell demonstrates that Pole and his friends had forbidden evangelical books in their possession. In addition, they received consolation from Il Beneficio di Cristo, a collection of texts including surreptitious evangelical texts, which clearly would be contraband in Italy in the 1540s and 1550s.
Overell poses an excellent, thought-provoking question that applies to many English nicodemites in the sixteenth century: “But could anyone, especially a diplomat, live through these five decades of Tudor rule and never deceive?” (77). The art of deception had many disadvantages for nicodemites: constant anxiety, fear of retribution, and for some, the inevitable falling into the pit they had made. Overall contends that the “conflicting values” that these nicodemites regularly subjected themselves to provoked “a state of tension”, one that resulted in psychological and mental paralysis (94). She masterfully supports her argument through the portrayal of one of the masters of nicodemism, Francesco Spiera. Furthermore, the narrative of his death and his supposed mental anguish before his final breath was captured and packaged by anti-nicodemites, both Italian and English, to communicate a message of damnation, a warning for those who dared to choose the path of religious dissimulation.
The message of the anti-nicodemites as represented by Calvin, Vermigli, and others, though having the appearance of strong, brusque rhetoric, also had a “gentler” version in the hearts of other so-called “anti-nicodemites.” Overell notes that rhetoric could be “very mixed” as many evangelicals “modified the strict anti-nicodemite line” by the end of the sixteenth century (207). For instance, the reactions to Spiera's apparent excruciating deathbed scene were varied. While some still held to the theory that he received eternal condemnation for his deception, others began questioning the authenticity of the narrative and revised the narrative to include a final repentance before he expired. John Foxe's modification of martyr narratives in reference to nicodemism was very telling. Though Foxe was a staunch anti-nicodemite, he had no qualms in placing the Waldensians, Lollards, and English nicodemites, such as Robert Wisdome and Robert Singleton, in the category of the “faithful.” His loyalties clearly lay with his people, and his attempt to soften the nicodemite narrative is obvious.
Overell is successful in articulating the drama of nicodemism and the slippery world of religious dissimulation through silence, evasion, hiding, and betrayal. This reviewer enjoyed her recapitulation of and cyclical approach to several themes throughout her work, including the intriguing web of influence emanating from the multiple editions of Il Beneficio di Cristo.
Her work contributes to the ongoing scholarly discussion of the role of nicodemism in the religious experience of sixteenth century Europe. This book is essential for any scholar or student of religious and Reformation history and is especially recommended for those interested in the relationship between religious persecution, recusancy, and piety.
