John XXII as a Wavering Preacher

Abstract

In a sermon delivered on All Saints’ Day in 1331, Pope John XXII put forward his own hypothesis about the beatific vision, which sparked an intense theological controversy resulting in a torrent of communications including sermons, quaestiones disputatae, pamphlets, letters, notarial instruments and oral utterances until 3 December 1334 when he retracted his position on his deathbed. The main focus of controversy was naturally on doctrinal matters, but the fact that the pope used sermons as a locus to deliberate over what seemed to him an open question of theology became a point of contention for those who opposed him or his views. This chapter analyses the records of the sermons of the pope and his opponent, Thomas Waleys, as well as other prominent preachers at Avignon such as Clement VI. William Ockham is also examined as the reporter of the pope’s preaching. In so doing, this chapter explores what the records tell us about these preachers’ skills, messages and authority. By mapping their differences in the contemporary preaching landscape and in the context of controversy, it becomes clear that Pope John XXII faced peculiar difficulty in identifying and communicating his authority as preacher.