IMC 2009: Sessions

Session 1212: Heresy and Orthodoxy in Medieval Sermons, I

Sponsor:	International Medieval Sermon Studies Society
Organiser:	Suzanne Paul, Parker Library, Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge
Moderator/Chair:	Suzanne Paul, Parker Library, Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge
Paper 1212-a	Why Heretics Loved Muhammad: A Comparison of Heretical Sermons and the Quran (Language: English) Preston Shires, Southeast Community College, Lincoln, Nebraska Index terms: Islamic and Arabic Studies, Sermons and Preaching
Paper 1212-b	Preaching against Beghards (Language: English) Martina Wehrli-Johns, Independent Scholar, Zürich Index terms: Manuscripts and Palaeography, Sermons and Preaching
Paper 1212-c	War Propaganda through the Looking-Glass of Orthodox Preaching in England during the Hundred Years War (Language: English) Catherine Hemet, Faculté des Affaires Internationales, Université du Havre Index terms: Rhetoric, Sermons and Preaching
Abstract	Medieval preachers often stood on the frontline between heresy and orthodoxy. The session investigates various ways in which sermons were used to define, disseminate, bolster, and combat religious and political beliefs. It will demonstrate the rhetorical means used by preachers to neutralise potential threats and strengthen community identities, by looking at the heretical and orthodox sermons of the early church and their relationship to Islamic writings, at an orthodox reaction to the Beghards and Beguines and at the patriotic role of English preachers in a time of war.