Excerpt from Medieval Sermon-Books and Stories

Lyons. Further details are furnished in his work itself (l. De La Marche, pp. Iv. Et seq). He studied at the University of Paris, and relates some ih teresting stories of student life (0. He probably entered the order of St. Dominick at Lyons, where he became well acquainted with the Wal densian heresy. Like most of his order, he became a missionary, and preached the crusade against the Albigenses, as L. De la Marche says, probably at the time of the expedition of Louis VIII, in 1226. He was made an inquisitor by the Pope, and gives many curious anecdotes about his way of dealing with heretics. His long life, for he must have been nearly seventy at his death, was spent in the discharge of the busy duties of his office, which took him on frequent missions, some of which have left their traces in his work. One of the objects of the book, like those already mentioned, was to furnish preachers with exempla. These he does not giveseparately, and in alphabetical order, but incidentally in the course of a treatise on the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost (isaiah xi. 2, 3) Timo'r, Pizzas, Scientist, Fortitudo, Consilz'um, Intellectus, and Sapientia, whence the usual title Libc/r dc Septem Donz's.* Each of the seven parts is divided into titan, these again into chapters. Unfortunately, the learned author was overtaken by death in the midst of his fifth division (consilium). In the prologue he conscientiously cites his authorities, and an interesting list it is, giving an excellent idea of the state of learning at that day. The editor notices the comparatively few classic authors cited on the other hand, Etienne de Bourbon was perfectly acquainted with the Whole range of mediaeval theology, and borrowed freely from the excempla contained in the sermons of Jacques de Vitry. The editor roughly divides the ave/mph in Etienne de Bourbon into two classes First, those taken from previous writers, historical works, sacred or profane, theological compilations, lives of the saints, legends, poetry, fables, etc. Secondly, those borrowed from events contemporaneous with the author, from his own recollection or that of his friends, and from traditions communicated to him by word of mouth. We shall follow, in the main, these divisions and mention first those stories which have no historical value, but are of importance for comparative storiology, indica ting by means of his initials those which are borrowed from Jacques de Vitry.

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