The First Series of Catholic Homilies

1968 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 160
Author(s):  
R. M. Wilson ◽  
AElfric ◽  
N. Eliason ◽  
P. Clemoes
Keyword(s):  
1988 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 35-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce Hill

Augustine, Jerome, Bede, Gregory, Smaragdus and Haymo, the exegetical authorities acknowledged by Ælfric in the Latin preface to the Catholic Homilies, frequently used etymologies as one of their techniques for penetrating the words of the biblical text in order to arrive at their spiritual essence. To the modern student of language their interpretations often seem arbitrary, even bizarre, but the idea that there was an intimate connection between the signifying name and the person, place or thing signified was well established within the scriptural canon and was extended and confirmed by the cumulative authority of the exegetes themselves. It was Isidore of Seville, in his Etymologies, who provided the most systematic definition of this tradition of etymologizing. As he explained it, it was a method for determining the true essence of the thing designated by the process of penetrating its appellation, since all things and all activities which were named ‘secundum naturam’ (as opposed to those arbitrarily named ‘secundum placitum’) were designated by those words which had etymologies enshrining the very quality or idea so designated. Given this definition, with its underlying philosophical and linguistic assumptions, it is easy to understand why etymologies were exploited in Christian exegesis and teaching. It was accepted that biblical names were in the category ‘secundum naturam’ since they were God-given or at least divinely sanctioned, and the rationale and method of their penetration had the advantage of harmonizing closely with the general interpretative process that was employed.


Traditio ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 457-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cyril L. Smetana
Keyword(s):  

Besides the version of Paul the Deacon's Homiliary which Aelfric probably used for most of the patristic material in the Catholic Homilies, he also made use of a compilation of brief excerpts from the works of the Fathers by Smaragdus, and the homiliary of Haymo of Halberstadt. A re-examination of the sources of the Catholic Homilies has led to the conviction that Aelfric's debt to Haymo is considerably greater than has been recognized. Besides the two homilies where Aelfric specifically mentions Haymo as his source, we can point out some twenty-five more homilies where Aelfric's text is beholden to Haymo's work.


Stylistyka ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 265-287
Author(s):  
Marzena Makuchowska

The paper discusses the problem of transferring the memory of Jews through Polish contemporary Catholic homilies. In the biblical pericopies read throughout the liturgical year during Catholic mass, generally Jews play a negative role – as persecutors and killers of Jesus. According to the provisions of the Second Vatican Council, anti-Jewish content cannot be proclaimed in the Catholic Church, and the Bible, which according to the doctrine must remain unchanged, should be adequately commented on in homilies. The paper – on the example of about 40 homilies – shows, however, that priests who preach homilies do not use modern exegetic knowledge, but replicate stereotypes deeply rooted in culture, thus reproducing the centuries-oldmyth of the Jews as killers of God.


Verbum ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 59-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lina Inčiuraitė

The phenomenon of deixis is still the dominant topic for investigation in the field of pragmatics. The study seeks to analyze distinct types of deictic categories in the medieval world heritage, namely Ælfric’s Catholic Homilies. Deictic expressions are considered to be highly relevant for the research of these homilies as they perform a leading role in the connectivity of sermons. Moreover, incorrect use of deictic elements can give rise to misunderstanding and unsuccessful communication betwixt the speaker and the addressee. The search for deictic expressions which are encoded in pronouns or adverbs in the selection of Ælfric’s Catholic Homilies has been assisted by an excessive use of Benjamin Thorpe’s English translation (1844). The context of sermons lets us determine and decipher the meaning of deictic expressions which change in distinct contexts with the speaker’s position either in time or space. The study uses the framework of deixis proposed by Stephen Levinson (1983) as well as a pragmatic approach for the analysis of distinct types of deictic elements in Ælfric’s Catholic Homilies. The findings of the study reveal that the sermons exhibit various deictic categories, namely person, place, time, and discourse. Moreover, these categories as well as the predication clearly show the proximity or distance of the speaker to the referred object. As far as tense is concerned, it is a temporal deictic device. In Ælfric’s Catholic Homilies, the present tense is the proximal form, whereas the past tense is the distal form.


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