Crusade Propaganda and Ideology: Model Sermons for the Preaching of the Cross (review)

Abstract

Sermon literature presents difficult problems to the historian. Even though sermons are among the most abundant of medieval sources, only a small amount of this vast literature has found its way into print. This is even more true for the sermones ad status, which deal with specific groups of people, for example, women, merchants, crusaders, etc. Until now, the most accessible crusade sermons were those edited by Penny J. Cole in her fine monograph, The Preaching of the Crusades to the Holy Land, 1095-1270, which contained editions of four crusade sermons. Christoph T. Maier, already known for his Preaching the Crusades: Mendicant Friars and the Cross in the Thirteenth Century, has now edited and translated seventeen model sermons by such important figures as James of Vitry, Eudes of Chateauroux, and Humbert of Romans. He has also written a lengthy introduction, which will prove very helpful to students and others new to crusade sermons who use this collection.