1 - Bonaventure, the Franciscans, and the Homiletic Revolution of the Thirteenth Century

Summary

In Chapter 1, “Bonaventure, the Franciscans, and the Homiletic Revolution of the Thirteenth Century,” I provide some historical and cultural context of the Itinerarium. I argue for the cultural importance of what has been called the “homiletic revolution of the thirteenth century,” especially in the education of students in sacred doctrine at the University of Paris. Since learning to preach using the sermo modernus style was an important part of Bonaventure’s formation at Paris and it was a skill in which he had become proficient, he made creative use of it when he wrote the Itinerarium. Gaining a better understanding of the style, therefore, can help us better appreciate and understand Bonaventure’s text. I also make clear in this chapter why I believe Bonaventure is best understood as both a faithful Franciscan and a dedicated student of scholastic theology and that these two are not mutually exclusive in ways that are sometimes assumed. So, for example, the Itinerarium is both a profound work of Christian mysticism as well as a sophisticated expression of scholastic thought. Bonaventure shows that the two are not mutually exclusive.