(Latin for "the art of preaching", plural ) was a literary genre of the later Middle Ages, comprising treatises and manuals to aid preachers in composing and delivering sermons in the then modern style.: "the rhetorical manuals written from 1200 onward [that] advise preachers".: "provided instruction in the composition of sermons either as an adjunct to a collection of sermons or as a manual which circulated with other aids for the preacher.": "treatises of varying length ... whose major aim was to instruct beginning preachers in composing their sermons in conformity with the 'modern' usage.": "manuals of instruction on sermon writing." The singular term could also refer to the act or theory of preaching itself. The was one of several genres of technical, glosses as 'technique'. , defines it as "a rational method or technique employed to carry out a practical task". treatise in literary composition that flourished in the later Middle Ages, alongside the for letter writing, for Latin grammar and for verse. The may thus be considered one of the medieval branches of rhetoric. It also belongs to the broader category of late medieval pastoralia.
can be contrasted with other sermon aids, such as treatises on virtues and vices aimed at preachers, sermon collections, collections of or ,, contrasts such "homiletical aids" with "technical Arts", but whereas he treats the of John of Bromyard as an , , considers it and works like Thomas of Ireland's to be "companion pieces to the ". and model sermons. The genre is also limited to Western Christianity. In Eastern Christianity, where such formal treatises on preaching did not develop, their role was largely filled by sermon collections.
Origins The appearance of the begins what has been called the "third phase" in the history of Christian preaching in the West, following the preaching of Christ and the apostles as reported in the New Testament (first phase) and a long period with only limited and general theoretical contributions (second phase). The major influences on the from the second phase are Augustine of Hippo's (426), Gregory the Great's (591) and Hrabanus Maurus' (819).
Augustine advised Christian orators to make use of established rhetorical techniques. The authors of were influenced by classical writings on rhetoric and oratory, especially the works of Cicero, Quintilian and the anonymous . In this, however, the , was a relatively late arrival, coming about a century later, for example, than the .
The earliest of the type is generally considered to be Alan of Lille's of 1200. His work has its 12th-century predecessors in the sermon collections of Honorius of Autun, Maurice of Sully and Peter the Chanter. One of the earliest works on preaching that led directly to the later is the of Guibert of Nogent (1084).
Although Alan of Lille's treatise may be the first , its title is a later invention. He did not use the phrase. The first person to use the technical term in reference to preaching appears to be William of Auvergne in his of the second quarter of the 13th century, although Thomas of Chobham may have used it slightly earlier.
Scholastic sermons The were written for a specific type of sermon that was in vogue between the early 13th and late 15th centuries. This is usually known as the scholastic sermon or university sermon, but has also been called the thematic sermon or modern sermon., has "thematic preaching". It is distinct from the typical homily, in which a longer biblical text (lection) is read and explained according to the four senses of Scripture, a form that dated back to antiquity and continued to be popular into modern times.
The scholastic sermon, on the contrary, began with a prologue, stating its theme, followed by a short biblical text. The theme was then divided and subdivided before being developed to conclusions, supported by reference to authorities, such as Scripture, the Church Fathers or . This threefold structure—, division, and development—is the backbone of the scholastic sermon. The rise of this sermon type "accompanied, and perhaps caused" the appearance of .
Content and types Although central to the was sermon composition and structure, they could cover all aspects of preaching, including the preacher's moral rectitude and study habits and the physical act of preaching.: "the formal composition of sermons, the modes of preaching, the moral behaviour of the preacher, and the delivery of sermons.": "the preacher's moral life and study, his articulation and gestures while preaching, and the actual form of his sermon." Siegfried Wenzel identified three main types of depending on how much material they cover: "comprehensive" cover all the aforementioned areas; "complete" cover composition and structure only; and "limited" cover only a single aspect of sermon structure.
Influence How the were actually used in practice is an open question in scholarship. Few of them are well preserved in manuscript, although it may be that as well used and well worn manuscripts they had a poor survival rate. Only one manuscript copy of any text shows signs of use—marginal notes and glosses—Alan of Lille's in Cambridge University Library MS Ii.1.24. Siegfried Wenzel has, however, detected adherence to the prescriptions of the even in vernacular sermon texts of the 14th and 15th centuries. Moreover, many make reference to actual practices. Robert of Basevorn distinguishes practices typical at the University of Paris from those of Oxford University.
The influence of the has also been detected in the structure of the Gawain poet's poems Cleanness and Pearl.
Authors and texts The latest were written in the 16th century. The tradition came to an end with the Reformation. Over 300 texts have been identitified.: "more than three hundred treatises". : "over 300 have survived from the 13th to the 16th cent." But refers to "more than 300 [manuscripts]". , counts "over 230 numbered items" in and . : "roughly two hundred forty know to exist". Only about 30 of these have modern editions.
Many works are pseudepigraphal, either deliberately so (whether by their authors or by scribes or printer) in order to increase readership or else misattributed through confusion or error. in both manuscripts and printed editions are attributed to three famous theologians—Albert the Great, Bonaventure and Thomas Aquinas—but none of the attributions are genuine. In the case of that misattributed to Albert, its actual author, William of Auvergne, is known.
Many works with known authors also circulated anonymously in the manuscripts. Authors sometimes borrowed material from each other, creating composite works that defy easy attribution. Difficulties like these have sometimes been compounded by editors misidentifying similar texts.
The popularity of the genre was not even across space and time. In the 13th century, most known authors were active in France and England. In the 14th century, there is an increase in authors from Italy, the Iberian Peninsula and the Low Countries. Authors from Germany and further east appear later.
Manuscripts were rarely bound alone but are usually found alongside other works in composite manuscripts. These come in two types: higher quality folio-sized sermon collections in which the serve as introductions or epilogues and more practical quarto-sized collections of preacher's aids. The longest text is just over 100 leaves in quarto format, but most are much shorter.
List of known authors Among the authors of are:Taken from , and , except where noted. In the case of Caplan, the identification of lost works as is sometimes speculative. These are indicated by a question mark.
Afonso de Alprão Alan of Lille Alexander of Ashby Alexander of Somerset Arnold de Puig Antoninus of Florence Austentius Baldo degli Ubaldi Christian Borgsleben Francesco da Fabriano Francesc Eiximenis Friedrich von Nürnberg Gauthier de Château-Thierry Geoffrey Schale Géraud du Pescher Gozewijn Haeks Guibert of Tournai Heinrich Aeger von Kalkar Henry of Hesse Hermannus Teutonicus Hugo de Sneyth Hugo Sunfeld Humbert of Preuilly Humbert of Romans Jacob of Juterbogk Jacobus de Saraponte Jacobus de Varagine Jacques de Lausanne (?) James of Fusignano Jean de Châlons Jean de la Rochelle Jodok Weiler von Heilbrunn Johann Ulrich Surgant Johannes Keck John Felton John Folsham John of Gwidernia John of Wales Landolfo Caracciolo
Ludovico da Rocha Martín Alonso de Córdoba
Mauricius Leydis Michael of Hungary Nicholas Eyfeler Nicholas Trivet Nicolas Denisse (?) Nicolaus Heritius Nicole Oresme Nikolaus Schreiter von Koburck Olivier Maillard de Went Pietro Bompietro Paulus Kölner Ramon LlullIn Wenzel, but his works are rejected as by . Ranulph Higden Richard of Thetford Robert of Basevorn Robert Holcot (?) Silvestro da Marradi (?) Simon Alcock Stephan Hoest Thomas of Chobham Thomas of Cleves Thomas of Pavia (?) Thomas Penketh Thomas of Salisbury Thomas de Tuderto Thomas Waleys Walter of Bruges (?) William of Auvergne
List of anonymous texts Among anonymous texts that have been edited and published, many known by their incipits, are:
, a Pseudo-Bonaventuran work
, a Pseudo-Aquinan work
References
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