IMC 2009: Sessions

Session 1312: Heresy and Orthodoxy in Medieval Sermons, II

Wednesday 15 July 2009, 16.30-18.00

Sponsor:	International Medieval Sermon Studies Society
Organiser:	Suzanne Paul, Parker Library, Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge
Moderator/Chair:	C. Matthew Phillips, Department of Social Sciences, Concordia University, Nebraska
Paper 1312-a	The Silesian Inquisitor Johannes Frankenstein OP (d. 1446) and his Preaching on Heresy (Language: English) Anna Zajchowska, Faculty of History, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Kraków Index terms: Religious Life, Rhetoric, Sermons and Preaching
Paper 1312-b	Jacobus de Marchia and the Foundation of New Ecclesiae (Language: English) Mara Ioriatti, Dipartimento di Scienze Umane & Sociali, Università degli Studi di Trento Index terms: Lay Piety, Religious Life, Sermons and Preaching
Paper 1312-c	Saints or Heretics?: Caterina de Ricci on Savonarola (Language: English) Eliana Corbari, Department of Theology & Religious Studies, University of Bristol Index terms: Lay Piety, Religious Life, Sermons and Preaching
Abstract	Medieval preachers often stood on the frontline between heresy and orthodoxy. This session examines various ways in which late medieval sermons define, disseminate, strengthen, and combat religious beliefs and practices. It demonstrates how the inquisitors de Marchia and Frankenstein used sermons to assert their authority and help maintain orthodoxy in the face of new lay religious movements and Hussite heresy respectively. As a female preacher Caterina de Ricci could not rely on such authority but the final paper shows how she deployed her rhetorical skills and learning in praise of the controversial and heretical friar Savonarola.