Orality in its Written Traces: Bilingual reportationes of Sermons in France (Thirteenth Century)

Abstract

The intense practice of preaching became a prominent feature of religious life in the Western Church during the thirteenth century and afterwards. The new orders of mendicant friars considered preaching as their main duty, and equipped the libraries of their convents with many tools for putting together sermons. At the same time, attending sermons and taking down notes which could be reused for delivering new sermons became a habit with theology students in Paris. Manuscripts written by these students for private use document this process in various states of composition. Bilingualism, either with the juxtaposition of French and Latin words or in the use of a Latinised French which could be easily transposed into the vernacular, does not reflect the oral performance. But these reportationes, which are a selection of what the preacher said, suggest that their authors paid particular attention to the challenge of integrating elements of biblical commentary into the culture of the laity: interpretations of biblical narratives, verses and proper nouns are prevalent and, reversing the process, we find an exploration of the rich resources of words which belong to common culture but also have a resonance in the field of religious experience.