The Form of Preaching is a 14th-century style book or manual about a preaching style known as the "thematic sermon", or "university-style sermon", by Robert of Basevorn. Basevorn’s text was not the first book about this topic to appear but was popular because it is very thorough.
Contents
Author
Little is known about its author Robert of Basevorn, and what little is known about him has been extracted from his lone work. This includes Basevorn’s own name, which he hints at in writing that "Should any one wish to know who and of what status is that friend to whom this work is dedicated, and who I am and what is my status - I write all this from beginning to end - let him look at the capital letters and he will learn" (p. 111). Combining the first letter from each of the book's chapters spells Domino Willelmo abbati de Basingweek Robertus de Basevorn which translates to: To Lord William, Abbot of Basingwerk, [from] Robert of Basevorn. A known manuscript of the text is dated 1322, and beyond this, there is no other knowledge about Basevorn.
Basevorn wrote The Form of Preaching in response to a large number of impostors who were posing as preachers and representatives of the church but who were not granted the authority to do so. His text makes the qualifications of what is necessary to be a preacher, and provides a manual-style instruction on the rhetorical and stylistic skills one must have to excel at preaching. His importance is in the historical study of rhetoric, particularly 14th Century rhetoric, because The Form of Preaching is the text that best encapsulates the thematic sermon, a preaching style that developed in the early 14th century, and continues to be used today.
Subject matter
The preaching style first appeared in 1230-1231, at the University of Paris. The format of a university-style sermon takes a single theme from scripture and continuously develops the theme over the course of the sermon. A thematic sermon consists of six parts which are as follows:
Opening remarks
The Form of Preaching can be divided into three sections. The first section deals with Basevorn’s introductory remarks. This include his intentions for writing the text as a teaching manual. Basevorn considers preaching an art, so there are aesthetic characteristics to preaching in addition to having a wide knowledge of Christianity. The introduction also includes his criteria for one to be given the title of preacher. They are, first, that one must live a moral and just Christian life. Second, one must have adequate knowledge of sacred texts, including the Bible, Ten Commandments, and scripture. Third, one must be given the authority of the church (from a bishop or Pope) to practice as a preacher. He makes clear, however, regardless of how well schooled and knowledgeable a woman is about Christianity, she cannot preach.
Ornamentation of a sermon
The Form of Preaching’s third focus is the ways in which a sermon can be ornamented. Ornamentation includes aesthetic techniques but also formal characteristics that comprise a sermon’s structure. In all, Basevorn cites twenty-two ornaments. The list of ornaments can be divided into two main categories: ornaments that are intrinsic to a sermon’s content, and ornaments that deal with the presentation of the sermon. The first fifteen ornaments are intrinsic to a sermon, and the list of intrinsic ornaments is as follows:
While the intrinsic ornaments deal with the composition and structure of a sermon, the extrinsic ornaments are:
These ornaments are presentational and are a means for delivering an effective sermon.