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by his pupils, and of a prelate by his subjects. In the following sections,
the first three subthemes are developed before the sermon is summed up
with a prayer.
In a study of the fragmentary Icelandic liturgical material, Lilli Gjerløw
presented the Þorlákr sermon as an Icelander’s adaptation of an unknown
continental sermon. according to Gjerløw, the sermon resembles those
written by nicolas de Gorran in style and execution, which would bring
them in line with the rest of the Themata collection or a similar school.19
Closer analysis of the text, however, reveals that this is not quite the case.
The other Themata sermons have been described as “dry and telegraphic”,
giving only a series of scriptural or exegetical quotations to support each
subtheme.20 this schematic, list-like nature makes them rather unsuitable
for reading. the Þorlákr sermon, on the other hand, is much more verbose.
It contains connecting sentences to link the quotations together – at least
for the first and third subthemes. In general, most sermons by the same
preacher would resemble each other in style. the opening and concluding
phrases employed by nicolas de Gorran in the Themata sermonum are
quite different to what we find in the Þorlákr sermon.21 Since the Þorlákr
sermon diverges significantly from the rest of the collection in its treat-
ment of quotations, rhetoric and phrasing, it is highly unlikely that nicolas
de Gorran is the author of the model. If there is any similarity to be found
between nicolas de Gorran’s work and the Þorlákr sermon, it must be
sought in the general principles of sermon composition, such as the divi-
sion into subthemes and the employment of arguments from the Bible.22
19 Gjerløw, Liturgica Islandica, vol. 1, 72.
20 David D’avray, The Preaching of the Friars: Sermons Diffused from Paris before 1300 (oxford:
Clarendon, 1985), 139.
21 according to Schneyer, nicolas de Gorran preferred a tripartite structure. Common open-
ing phrases are “antiquitus”, “Secundum (philosophum, augustinum, Gregorium etc.)”,
“Sicut dicit (Sapiens, Job etc.)”, “Sicut dicitur (1. reg., Prov. etc.)”, “tria sunt – triplex”,
or “Solent”. See Johannes Baptist Schneyer, Wegweiser zu lateinischen Predigtreihen des
Mittelalters, Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für die Herausgabe ungedruckter texte
aus der Mittelalterlichen Geisteswelt 1 (München: Verlag der bayerischen akademie der
Wissenschaften. C.H. Beck in Kommission, 1965), 569.
22 for a detailed description of generic features, see Beverly Mayne Kienzle, “Introduction,”
The Sermon, ed. Beverly Mayne Kienzle, (turnhout: Brepols, 2000).
FORGOTTEN PREACHING