II

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]