From the last decades of the fourteenth century to the first part of the sixteenth, preaching acquired a central role within the religious, social and political life of Western Europe. By the end of the fourteenth century, preachers were already at the forefront in disseminating ideas of reform, whether in England, first with John Wyclif (1320-84), and later with the Lollards, or in Bohemia, with Jan Hus (c. 1370-1415) and his followers. In the first decades of the sixteenth century, both the supporters of religious renewal and the proponents of the Reformation used preaching from the pulpit as a way of promoting their respective ideas.
A wide range of contemporary documents all attest to the fact that preaching had been established as an event which drew crowds of listeners whose sizes varied according to the fame of the preachers and the size of the town. Sometimes all commercial and manufacturing activities were suspended so that a city's population could assemble in the town square to hear a sermon; the inhabitants of the countryside were also drawn to the event.908
As we know from the iconographical representations of fifteenth-century preaching, pulpits were erected in the piazzas of many cities. The preachers themselves were depicted in devotional art as saints or blessed (beati) by virtue of their preaching. To make them recognisable to the faithful, preachers' individual attributes were developed which were associated with the devotions
They promoted in their vernacular sermons: for the Friar Minor of the Observance Bernardino da Siena (1380-1444), the symbol of the Name of Jesus; for Friar Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419) of the Order of the Preachers, Christ enthroned at the Last Judgement. Giacomo della Marca (1394-1476) of the Observant Franciscans was depicted with a vial containing the blood of Christ, Giovanni da Capestrano (1386-1456) with the crusaders' banner, and Bernardino da Feltre (1439-94), with the Christus patiens (the emblem of the Monti dipietd, whose foundation he promoted).909
The activity of the preachers, beyond the personal charisma which many of them possessed, was characterised by an institutional holiness, which became even more marked after they were made saints by the Roman papacy. Bernardino da Siena was canonised during the Jubilee of 1450 for the Friars Minor, and Vincent Ferrer for the Order of Friars Preacher a few years later in 1458. This was preceded in 1446 by the 'retrieval' of a friar from the previous century, Nicola da Tolentino (1245-1305), for the Order of Hermits of St Augustine.
Preaching to the faithful in the vernacular, in particular by the friars of the mendicant orders, should be seen as part of a tradition towards renewal of ecclesiastical pastoral work, which began in the early thirteenth century. At this time, the friars embarked on their widespread programme of teaching Christian doctrine and devotions, and hearing confession of the laity. They preached every Sunday and on the (very numerous) feast days in their churches, and would also preach every day during Advent and Lent in the major towns (during which time every Christian was instructed to make confession and to take communion).910
By the fifteenth century preaching took on some distinctive characteristics of its own, and this placed it more centrally than before at the heart of the social and legal structures of late medieval society. The authorities which held power, particularly in the Italian cities, were highly aware of the effectiveness of the preachers' words (as were the preachers themselves, of course) and so preaching was politically mobilised. It was directed towards the inculcation of economic and social rules of conduct, and more broadly towards inspiring religious renewal and political reform.
World History
