The sermon is a religious speech made in a church to inform the Fidèle S. Since the liturgical reform of the Vatican II, one speaks rather about Homélie.

History

The Moyen-âge was rich in Prédicateur S, but one has relatively few French sermons, having arrived the majority of the texts having been written and us in Latin.

The principal preachers until the 17th century were, in France:

• Holy Bernard (1091 - 1153) which left us approximately eighty-four French sermons, translated, at the beginning of the 13th century, on the Latin text.

• Maurice de Sully (? - 1196), bishop of Paris, which left us a collection of its French sermons, prepared by itself for its priests.
• Jacques of Vitry (? - 1240), author of several historical and mystical works, who joined together many sermons with the use of the preachers, in a kind of handbook.
• Gerson (1363 - 1429). Jean Charlier, born with Gerson, chancellor of the University, preached initially before the court, in the Saint-Paul church. He became then cleaned of Saint-Jean-of-Strike, and he made especially popular preaching. We have an about sixty French sermons of Gerson.
• Menot (1440 - 1518), cordelier, which mélait, in a burlesque way, French and Latin. Its more famous sermons are those on holy Madeleine and the Prodigal son .
• Olivier Maillard (? - 1502) was general vicar of the Cordeliers of France, confessor of Charles VIII, preached everywhere of 1460 to 1502. The many sermons of Maillard were written in Latin; we have only three in French of them: the Confession, Passion and the Sermon of Bruges or sermon tousseux (because, one says, the author marked there by hem! hem! places where it would have stopped to cough).
• Bossuet
• Louis Bourdaloue (1632, 1704), which preached with the church Saint-Paul Saint-Louis, whose famous homélies reached us; Madam de Sévigné frequently evoked them in its letters.

See too

Homélie