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Preaching was one of the main tools available in the Middle Ages in
order to reach an intended audience.[1] This was grasped by
Caesarius of Arles who in the sixth century presided over the council
of Vaison in 529 where it was agreed to allow priests in all
parishes to preach to the people. Prior to this, only bishops had the
right to preach.[2] Gregory the Great wrote the first manual for
preachers which makes up a part of his Regula pastoralis and during the
Carolingian period large collections of sermons were produced. Very
illuminating in this regard is one of the decrees of the Fourth
Lateran Council of 1215, where the bishops are told to find
suitable men to perform the function of preaching in order to spread the
gospel of an increasingly powerful Church.[3] Literacy was not
widespread in this period and if the Church wished to teach and spread
its message to its adherents, the way to reach the greatest number was
by having the priest preach in Church during the Mass on a Sunday and
on Feast days. This was the immediate aim of preaching and it was for
this purpose that manuals were written for priests explaining the best
methods of preaching, giving exempla of sermons and suggesting what a
sermon should contain on any given day of the liturgical year. Even
before the arrival of the mendicant orders on the scene, this
phenomenon had become large and unwieldy, as itinerant preachers
travelled from place to place spreading the word of God and calling for
reform of the Church and the clergy in market places and
Churches.[4] With the appearance of the Dominicans and
Franciscans, preaching became more of an art and an important tool in
the fight against heresy, with a wide variety of handbooks being
composed and readily available on the subject.[5] These travelling
monks were a bone of contention for many bishops, who resented this
intrusion into their private domains, and more often than not,
resented the content of the sermons as well. As the problem worsened,
legislation was passed in an attempt to control the place and content of
this preaching.[6]
The Artes praedicandi took on a more defined shape as the genre
developed. The structure of the sermons themselves were generally very
simple, although the content could be very sophisticated. A short
quotation would be taken generally from the liturgy or biblical readings
of the day and that served as the basis for the rest of the sermon.
There were normally three or four parts with as many subdivisions.
Some sermons started with a prothema, an invitation to pray for the
success of the preaching and asking God to open up the minds and hearts
of the audience. Sometimes the sermon would have rhymed divisions and
the preacher would use proverbs, as well as allusions to secular
literature and exempla.[7]
Preaching was also recognised as a valuable tool for conversion,
mainly as a result of its use in combating heresy. It was realised
that by preaching in the synagogues and mosques, a good preacher might
be able to persuade the infidels of the error of their ways and convince
them to convert. The Church was very much in favour of this method
and tried to force the secular leaders to support this endeavour,
making it obligatory for all Jews to attend these sermons. Early on,
the Jews were expected to come to the main Church or the town square
to hear the sermons. But the danger involved in this for the Jewish
audience was soon realised, and in the Kingdom of Catalonia and
Aragon, James I legislated that these sermons should take place
within the call, either in the synagogue or elsewhere within its
boundaries.[8] However, at this time nobody could be forced to
attend these sermons. The Church's struggle to make these sermons
obligatory succeeded in 1279 through a bull issued by pope Nicholas
III (1277-80) on 4 August 1278 ordering
preachers to be sent out to all the Jews in order to convert
them.[9] These excursions into the aljamas or calls invariably
ended with loss of life and property as the monks were attended by a
large retinue who would take the opportunity to riot and destroy Jewish
property. Eventually, this problem became so grave as to demand royal
legislation as to the conduct of these expeditions and as to the number
and type of people to be allowed to go on them. Thus, we find James
I limiting the amount of people allowed to accompany the monks to ten,
and Peter III limiting the number to between fourteen and eighteen
people and eventually to four honourable companions.[10]
It is clear from the extensive correspondence in the archives regarding
this issue that the extent of preaching in the synagogues was very
widespread and encompassed all the major centres of Jewish population
in Catalonia and Aragon. There are letters regarding these sermons
addressed to Barcelona, Gerona, Huesca, Saragossa, Vich,
Manresa, Tarragona, Jaca and Majorca among other places.[11]
What also emerges from this correspondence is that these affairs were
not very friendly, nor were they conducive to frank and open exchange
of opinions or ideas. The friars would arrive in the aljama, not
necessarily on a Saturday, and would deliver their prepared sermons
flailing at the Jews for their stubbornness in not accepting Jesus as
the Messiah and exhorting them to convert to Christianity. It is
probable, that at the time when large crowds were able to accompany the
friars, that their lack of success may have made the friars incite the
crowds to riot and destroy Jewish property as well as causing bodily
harm to members of the audience. This was quite common in the sermons
delivered in churches before Easter. Jews would normally not venture
out of the call during the Easter week.[12]
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