medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
As a student of the liturgical ordines used at medieval church councils, I was hoping that I might be able to cast some light on the council at Etampes in February 1147. But after reading Odo's account I realized that this was unlikely because this was a ROYAL council, for which I know of no special liturgy. Instead, I think a few liturgical elements were inserted in what was essentially a council of war.
One clue is Odo's assertion that the Holy Spirit was not invoked on the second day but was on the third. Usually a prayer for his guidance and inspiration (there were quite a few) would be included every day. The closest analog that comes to hand is the 3-day council of Reims in October 1049 (Mansi 19.736c-743a), at which the pope was present and which was more concerned with business than with devotion. The Holy Spirit is invoked only on the third day by singing the "Veni creator Spiritus," followed by a "collecta de Spiritus sancto" and a reading of John 10:11-16 ("Ego sum pastor bonus"). Perhaps it was meant to confirm, rather than inspire, the previous proceedings. This may similarly have been the intention at Etampes.
As for Bernard's sermon, I would think it was a pep talk, and very likely a re-hash of the one he had recently used to inspire the Emperor Conrad. Consequently, it probably did not take its text from the gospel appointed for that Tuesday or the preceding Sunday. Sermons of Bernard's sort were not a regular feature of ecclesiastical councils; diocesan synods of this century frequently did include a canned "Allocutio" on the duties of priests; when the terms "sermo" or "sermo dei" occur, they refer to the discussion of the business of the day on the first and second days.
Richard Kay
The University of Kansas
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From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Christopher Crockett
Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2012 12:38 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [M-R] Bernie's methods of sermoniacal composition
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
From: Steve Cartwright <[log in to unmask]>
> I had always thought--or at least was taught--that Bernard's sermons
> were
not so much sermons preached to a listening audience but literary compositions intended for wider dissemination (though given reading practices at that time, they would likely have been read out loud, perhaps in Chapter or the refectory).
yes, definitely (again, i speak with the Authority of Blissful Ignorance) a "literary genre" --rather like letter collections, in that way(?)-- but one apparently based (like letters) on a seminal "performance," assembled from the
(perhaps) extemporaneous delivery made as the Spirit Moved the Man of God, then polished up for later "publication" (and, no doubt, recitation in, as you say, the Chapter or refectory of every Cistercian house in Europe).
as i said in the first post i made to this string, it is the source of the quotation
>http://www.salon.com/2012/04/25/information_hoarders_salpart/?source=ne
>wsletter
>"Taking notes during sermons started in the Middle Ages. The work of a
>great
sermonist like Bernard of Clairvaux survived because he would plant a secretary in the audience to take notes while he preached. Bernard would finalize his sermon based on these notes and release it for 'publication' by copying."
which i am particularly interested in finding --and the more detailed discussion which surely went with it.
i suspect that that is to be found somewhere in Jean Leclercq's "Recueil d’études sur Saint Bernard et ses ecrits" (Rome: Edizioni di Storia e letterature, 1962), but where?
alternatively, the source for the idea in the secondary literature must surely be based upon one of the several primary Lives of Bernie --at least one of which much have made something close to the statement that "he would plant a secretary in the audience to take notes while he preached."
where's the expert on the _vitae_ of Bernie in this audience?
c
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