Fragments of a World: William of Auvergne and His Medieval Life

Description

The first modern biography of medieval French scholar and bishop William of Auvergne.   Today, William of Auvergne (1180?–1249) is remembered for his scholarship about the afterlife as well as the so-called Trial of the Talmud. But the medieval bishop of Paris also left behind nearly 600 sermons delivered to all manner of people—from the royal court to the poorest in his care. In Fragments of a World, Lesley Smith uses these sermons to paint a vivid picture of this extraordinary cleric, his parishioners, and their bustling world. The first modern biography of the influential teacher, bishop, and theologian, Fragments of a World casts a new image of William of Auvergne for our times—deeply attuned to both the spiritual and material needs of an ever-changing populace in the medieval city. Contents Preface and Acknowledgments Maps One. Seeing in a Smoky Mirror Two. Home and Family Three. Teachers and Teaching Four. Paris Five. Bishop Six. Language Seven. Knowing Eight. Jews Nine. Women Ten. The Weak Eleven. Poverty Twelve. The Landed and the Monied Thirteen. Animals Fourteen. Food and Drink Fifteen. Death and Beyond Sixteen. Face to Face List of Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index