La parole des prédicateurs

Abstract

Preaching is a performance and the written text is only an imperfect reflection of this. Yet, medieval sermons show many signs of oral language, more than other contemporary literary genres. This article concentrates on the extraordinary evidence provided by the reportationes of sermons preached by Giordano da Pisa at the beginning of the fourteenth century and of another Dominican, Giovanni Dominici, who preached in the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence between 1400 and 1406. On the basis of this evidence from the Dominican school, it is possible to examine the way in which the preachers may be compared to the jongleur, the teller of tales: both are in fact actors able to use words and gestures in order to hold the attention of an audience. From masters of the word, preachers gradually change into “stars” of the word who can leave even notaries and merchants absolutely spell-bound.