SOURCE: Muessig, Carolyn A. “Audience and Sources in Jacques de Vitry's Sermones Feriales et Communes.” In Medieval Sermons and Society: Cloister, City, University, edited by Jacqueline Hamesse, Beverly Mayne Kienzle, Debra L. Stoudt, and Anne T. Thayer, pp. 183-202. Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium: Fédération Internationale des Instituts d'Études Médiévales, 1998.

In the following essay, Muessig discusses the themes of Jacques's sermons, explaining that they were originally intended for clerics.

Jacques de Vitry's (c. 1160-1240) dedication to preaching, reform, and pastoral care attracted him to various places. He studied in Paris and was a product of Peter the Chanter's circle¹. His post-Parisian activities took him to Liège where, as an Augustinian canon, he became involved with the lay spiritual movement represented by Marie d'Oignies. In 1213, he was commissioned to preach against the Albigensians and subsequently he preached the Fifth Crusade. His episcopal appointment to the see...