Ye by Peter and by Poul!: Lewte and the Practice of Fraternal Correction, by Peter and by Poul!: Lewte and the Practice of Fraternal Correction

This paper solves some critical cruces regarding Lewte’s encounter with the dreamer in passus 11.84-107, suggesting that Lewte cites Peter and Paul as authorities on the Mosaic injunction to correct publicly a brother’s sins; specifically, the passage behind the injunction is Paul’s rebuke of Peter in Galatians 2:11-14 (even perhaps the ass’s reproof of Balaam from Numbers 22, mentioned in 2 Peter 2:15-16). A rich tradition of commentary exists on this passage in Galatians, affirming that it is indeed appropriate for inferiores to correct fraternally majores (often within particular bounds of decorum). What Lewte says to Will in turn tells us something about Will’s status as a layman, “certainly not a priest.” Lewte himself holds that “fraternal correction is an act of fidelity to evangelical truth,” “an obligation for all Christians.”