The importance of early vernacular sermons for the theological horizons of a lay (aristocratic) audience and the history of piety has been gravely underestimated. The present volume is the first to provide systematic access to the content discussed in what, in quantitative terms, was the most significant text genre in existence around 1200. As such it offers a methodologically substantiated foundation for the evaluation of the impact these sermons had. The key role of this text variety in the control and assurance of discourse on religious topics in the vernacular revolves around the standardization and communication of certain canons and systems of knowledge.

Regina D. Schiewer, Universität Augsburg und Universität Basel, Schweiz.