Editio Textus
(Paris, B.N. n.a.l. 1742 (s. xiv) ff.216v-217r). In medio tractatus Humberti de Romanis De Eruditione Praedicatorum subito interpolatur sermo 'P. de Re.' (Petri de Remis, ut videtur) qui nihil ad rem Humberti habet:
In die iouis in cena domini.
P. de Re.
'Dedit illi nomen quod est super omne nomen' [Phil 2:9]. In epistola hodierna Pauli. Nomen Ihesu Christi est super omne nomen tocius creature. Nam supra angelos, archangelos, beatam Mariam, apostolos et breuiter omnes sanctos. Est autem excellentia istius nominis in quatuor. Primum inuocatio istius nominis impetrat et dat peccatorum remissionem, ut patet in baptismo, in latrone pendente in cruce. Item miraculorum operationem, ut in actibus apostolorum Petrus in nomine domini Ihesu et alii apostoli curabant infirmos, Laurentius et alii sancti. Item omnium creaturarum subiectionem. 'In nomine domini Ihesu omne genu flectatur celestium, terrestrium et infernorum [Phil. 2:10].' Item quarto demonum expulsionem. Unde legitur de quodam exercente artem magicam quod cum dyabolus uocatus ab eo nollet sibi respondere, uoluit eum compellere ut sibi diceret causam quare, qui omnino recusabat, et tandem dixit dyabolo, Nisi tu dicas michi causam ego in perpetuum tibi non sacrificabo. Tunc diabolus dixit, Ego dicam tibi et tamen scio quod te amittam. Quidam sacerdos deportabat corpus dei tui Ihesu Christi ad quendam infirmum et adhuc transibit per locum istum et reportabit; in presentia sua non possum loqui. Hoc magicus narrauit magno uiro et confessus peccata rediit ad penitentiam et renunciauit dyabolo [Fontem huius exempli non reperi].
Simon Tugwell OP
Sermons From Bonus Homo OP
In the Archives Nationales of Paris, among many other fragments taken from bindings, are three bifolios of parchment under the signature ABxix (Côte d'Or) which are the poor remains of quite a large collection (at least 226 ff. according to one reference) of Parisian sermons. None of these bifolios is complete, but we can see that two (A-D and B-C) were contiguous in the same quire with something lacking in the middle; the last recto (D) was numbered 166. The third bifolio was farther on with ff. 210 (E) and 213 (F). Some of the columns were cut in such a manner that only the right or left half remains and it is often very difficult to guess what is missing. The complete collection would have been very interesting, as the rubrics were very precise. Among the sermons of which the titles are still legible we read:
f.Ara Frater Stephanus ad predicatorum dominica prima septembris. Bene omnia fecit et surdos fecit et mutos loqui. Rogemus illum qui omnia fecit quod det michi sufficienter proponere verbum suum et dicamus pater noster etc. Bene omnia fecit etc. Postquam dominus miraculo restituit linguam muto, populus exclamans laudauit dominum ...
f.Ava <Orietur stella ex Ia>cob etc. Apostolus sufficien<ter> ... beatus Paulus dicit quod ... dicit ei dominus surge ... <R>ogemus ergo dominum etc. Ori<etur stella ex Iac>ob et consurget uirga de <Israel et percutiet d>uces Moab. In hac na<tiuitate ...> eo de hac dicendum. Legimus ...
f.Avb Collatio eiusdem fratris Stephani. Bene omnia fecit etc. Audiuimus in mane quomodo dominus omnia bene fecit creando, sed homo peccato decreauit, et audiuimus quomodo deus recreauit optime. Restat uidere quomodo ... et tandem consummauit remunerando ...
f.Bva ... beati? Mathei ad predicatorum fr. Bonus Homo (upper margin). <Spiritu ambulate et d>esideria carnis non perficietis. Caro enim concupiscit <... In mansue>tudine suscipite insitum uerbum. Tangit modum <... Iac>obum. Insitum est uerbum in corde. Quod reseruatur ... Spiritu ambulate. ... monet nos ad duo, scilicet ad uitam spiritualem ... uitam carnalem. Et primo monet ut ambulemus ...
f.E(210)ra Finis sermonis fratris Stephani predicatoris ad s.Germanum de Pratis. Inuenerunt dominum. Item? domus mea domus orationis uocabitur sed quidam faciunt eam domum latronum, non solum latronum sed prostibulum ...
f.E(210)rb Collatio fratris Stephani predicatoris. Videntes stellam etc. et procidentes ado<rauerunt eum. In> hiis uerbis tria notantur in generali, scilicet ma<gorum gaudium> in inuentione pueri?, secundo stelle ductio, tertio ...
Other sermons with rubrics are: Bra Sequenti dominica sermo ad Magd. Sermo in mane fuit de beata uirgine. Ihu preceptor miserere nostri. Cra Dominica ... festum omnium sanctorum cancellarius in ecclesia beati Bartholomaei super? pontem. Simile factum regnum celorum homini regi qui uoluit ponere rationem ... Crb Dominica ante festum omnium sanctorum collatio. Nolite dare locum diabolo. Crb <Domin>ica post festum omnium sanctorum. Confortamini in domino. D(166)ra Eodem die episcopus Parisiensis ad sanctum Nicholaum in cardineto. Negociamini dum uenio. D(166)rb Eodem die in campellis. Simile est regnum celorum homini regi qui fecit nuptias filio suo etc. E(210)vb Cancellarius in capella regis. Die ueneris infra octauam. Apertis tesauris suis etc.
It is nearly certain that the 'frater Stephanus predicator' of f.Er is the same as the 'frater Stephanus' who preaches ad predicatorum (f.Ara). As he is together with Bonhomme who was magister regens c.1253-55 and was still alive in 1269, there is some probability that he may be Stephanus de Venizy who is documented from 1241 to 1248, but Stephanus de Catelonia, Stephanus de Gaigni, Stephanus the Norman and even Stephen of Bourbon cannot be ruled out.
It would be difficult to attach dates to the whole collection, as the pericopes do not seem to be in liturgical order, but we can with some probability ascribe to 1253 the first sermon of Stephen and the sermon of Bonhomme. This latter was preached probably on the feast of St Matthew (Sept. 21) in a year when the feast fell on a Sunday, as the thema is taken from the epistle for the 14th Sunday after Trinity according to the Dominican rite. Sept. 21 fell on a Sunday in 1242, 1253 and 1264; if 1242 seems too early, the two other years fit Bonhomme, but only 1253 fits Stephen of Venizy.
The sermon and the collation by Stephanus ad predicatorum are for the 1st Sunday of September with a thema taken from the gospel for the 12th Sunday after Trinity, which corresponds to a year when Easter was between 14 and 20 April. If we note that between the sermon and the collation there is another sermon for the Nativity of Mary, this gives a probability that Stephen preached on Sunday 7 Sept. and that the Nativity sermon was delivered on the same day for the 1st Vespers of the feast of the Virgin. If this hypothesis is correct, Stephen's sermon would be from the same year as Bonhomme's.
There exists another sermon by Bonhomme in Wilhering 36. A list of the sermons in this very interesting collection is given in Schneyer's Repertorium VI pp.231-237, but with some mistakes, especially at n.43, 'Vide Bonaventura, n.191, 192'. Actually there is no connection with Bonaventure, and the attribution (f.81r) is to be read: 'fratris boni ho<minis>'. The occasion is specified: 'Dominica in media XLe'. The incipit is: 'Illa que sursum est Ierusalem ... Viuus est sermo dei et efficax ... Istud uerbum secundo propositum est apostoli ad Hebreos IIII et licet hoc dicatur de filio dei qui est uerbum increatum ... (82v) Illa que sursum est Ierusalem. Verbum propositum scribitur ad Gal. et recitatur in epistola hodierna in quibus ecclesia consolatur filios suos ... ' The Collatio is f.83r: 'Illa que sursum est Ierusalem etc. Sicut dictum est ciuitas superna Ierusalem in uerbo proposito describitur a V, primo ab excellenti singularitate ...' It ends f.85r: 'Sic igitur patet quod illa superna Ierusalem in uerbo isto commendatur'.
The first part of the MS (ff.2-109) bears at f.2r the indication: Isti sunt sermones LVI anni; the second (ff.110-132) has: hic incipiunt sermones quinquagesimi anni. Some marginal references are given with indications of the year: sermones LVII anni (f.59v); sermones quos notaui anno LVIII (f.103r). Thus there was probably a series of dated collections of sermons. If we verify the themata of the first part, the year 1256 fits very well and there is a serious probability that Bonhomme's sermon was preached on 26 March 1256.
The marginal notes give other references to sermon collections: sermones Arnulfi (f.42r, 68r, 71v); sermones fratris Vincencii (34v, 59v, 62v). Many of these marginal notes refer to a liber pilutus, which must have been a very big book written at least in part by the annotator; the most interesting of these marginalia is probably another mention of Bonhomme: 'Item XII caterno in libro piluto teyma cum ieiunasset XL diebus etc. Bonhomi ad populum.'
L.J.Bataillon OP
©1999
Table of Contents | Home
Webmaster