A Super Sermoniser
FERRER, Vincent, Saint.
Sermones … de tempore pars hiemalis [– de tempore pars estivalis; – de sanctis]. Strasbourg, [Printer of the 1483 Jordanus de Quedlinburg (Georg Husner)], 1493 [– 20 December 1493; – 31 January 1494].
Three parts in one volume, folio, ff. [209], [256], [135]; [π]9 a–b8 c–q6/8 r–z6 A–F6 G8, 2[π]8 aa–bb8 cc–vv6/8 xx–yy6 zz8 AA–NN6 OO8, 2a–g6/8 2h–t6 2v7 (without blanks [π]1 and 2v8, HH3.4 supplied in contemporary manuscript); tables bound at front of each section; gothic letter, initials, initial strokes, underlining and paraphs supplied in red ink (those on kk1 also in blue), first initial with elaborate penwork decoration, some initials and paraphs with traces of silver; inscription excised from head of first leaf with paper repairs to head and foot, first few leaves slightly dampstained at head, small section of foredge of G2 excised, some damage to head of final part with occasional loss of paper affecting some headlines, a few small marginal wormholes, final two leaves repaired at foot, otherwise a good, wide-margined copy; bound in late eighteenth-century German mottled calf-backed boards with speckled paper sides, spine lettered in gilt, edges speckled red; binding somewhat rubbed and scraped, corners bumped, joints rubbed and cracked, small paper shelflabel at foot of front board; bookplate of John Vertue to front pastedown.
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Sermones … de tempore pars hiemalis [– de tempore pars estivalis; – de sanctis].
A substantial volume of sermons by the prolific sermoniser St Vincent Ferrer (Vicente Ferrer, 1350–1419), a Dominican from Valencia who travelled widely across Europe to preach the word of God. In particular he preached to the Jews of Castile, in line with the anti-Jewish sentiment of the Antipope Benedict XIII, to whom he acted as confessor; many of Vincent Ferrer’s numerous ‘converts’ were motivated by fear or financial concerns rather than religious conviction, and many soon reverted to their original faith.
His sermons could be long – sometimes lasting up to six hours – and dramatic, making full use of the pulpit as a theatrical domain. He preached predominantly in his native Catalan, with his words being noted down by scribes as he spoke, and he used his sermons to address problems of society as well as theology. ‘He was steeped in theology, fully aware of popular sermons’ limits, in subject and ideology, and became one of the most famous preachers of his time through his original and fearsome message, and his zeal to communicate. Thus he became a social agent whose efforts make him a prime medieval example of social, moral, and cultural “communication”’ (Losada, pp. 207–8).
The three parts were often bound separately, so copies are often incomplete; ISTC records eight copies in the US, of which only two or three copies may be complete. The surviving copies are particularly found in Germany, Austria, and Poland, indicating the market for this particular edition of his sermons.
Provenance:
John Vertue (1826–1900), appointed the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Portsmouth in 1882.
HC 7009; BMC I 143 (part II only); GW 9841; Goff F136; BSB-Ink F-90; ISTC if00136000. See Losada, ‘Powerful words: St Vincent Ferrer’s preaching and the Jews in Medieval Castile’, in Spoken Word and social Practice: Orality in Europe (1400–1700) (2015).