DESCRIPTION
The third volume in Hughes Oliphant Old's multivolume history of the reading and preaching of Scripture focuses on the Middles Ages.
Surveying the development of preaching over the span of a thousand years, Old explores the preachers of sixth-century Byzantium, the church's mission to the barbarians, the preaching of the gospel during Charlemagne's Holy Roman Empire, the era of the great monastic orders, and the prophetic preachers of Renaissance Italy. Giving special attention to preaching greats like Bernard of Clairvaux and Bonaventure, Old also provides extensive analyses of several sermons from the period in order to show how the church presented the gospel in this little-known era.
REVIEWS
Sewanee Theological Review
"One of the most ambitious writing projects ever undertaken by one person. . . Old has much to teach us."
New Theology Review
"The great merit of Old's prodigious work . . . is that is makes accessible in English a study of the rich and varied preaching of the Christian church without losing sight of its liturgical and pastoral contexts. . . Old's discussions are a model of ecumenical appreciation of traditions different from his own which allow him to make illuminating comparisons. . . This is not a book for specialists but rather for the theologically and pastorally aware reader. Old's constant focus on the word of God as central to authentic witness and the relevant mission of the Christian churches throughout the centuries will make contemporary ministers of the gospel more conscious of their own responsibility."