Thomas Becon Versus the Devil: Diabolic Agency over the Emotions and the Affectivity of Prayer in Sixteenth-Century England

Sixteenth-century Protestantism elevated the devil into an internal force to be reckoned with. Thomas Becon’s popular works played an important role in the education of the laity in the work of this new devil, warning that a Protestant’s ongoing battle against Satan was not just one of a spiritual kind but emotional, too. Taking a history of emotions approach to Becon’s instructional and devotional writings, this article builds on the notion of a psychologically invasive devil, arguing that he was believed to provoke spiritually damaging emotions by infiltrating the feeling heart and conscience. The article also uses Monique Scheer’s practice theory to frame the act of prayer in a new light: as an emotionally transformative experience. In doing so, it demonstrates how praying could reverse the emotional damage inflicted by the devil, ultimately restoring the virtuous emotions that were essential to godly Protestant living.