The Pastoral Pedagogy of Medieval Sermon and Preaching

The medieval sermon was perhaps the most important educational institution for the laity, reaching far more people than universities ever could and shaping the religious imagination of an entire civilization. Yet the pedagogical dimensions of medieval preaching have often been overshadowed by studies focusing on sermon content, social functions, or theological controversies. This book argues that we cannot fully understand medieval Christianity without recognizing how preachers functioned as public teachers and how their sermonic performances constituted a sophisticated, though often overlooked, system of popular education.