Thousands of medieval sermons have survived in manuscripts all over Europe, in Latin, but also in the vernacular languages (?). Most of these sermons have been written down to keep the wise words of an important clergyman (e.g. Bernard of Clairvaux, Augustin of Hippo, Gregory the Great, etcetera), and could be used as instructions for writing sermons, or as a good text to be read during meals in the monastery. Other sermons, however, were never spoken out on the pulpit, but were intended to be read at home by lay people from the start, as instruction for leading a good life.
In the manuscripts in this exhibition we only encounter one sermon: Text 76 in the Geraardsbergen Manuscript.