| Recent scholarship on the development of preaching in Renaissance and Early Modern Catholicism has directed much attention to the influence of humanism while continuity with the traditions of the medieval preaching Orders has been overlooked. In this study, I attempt to readjust the focus in the case of one important Italian preacher.;Cornelio Musso (1511-74) was known in his own day as a great preacher. But recent scholarship has centered more on Musso's contributions as a bishop, Tridentine reformer, and theologian than on his preaching. When his preaching has been discussed, the focus has been on its humanist style. Musso was indeed a "humanist" preacher, depended on classical and patristic ideas and models, and shared the concerns of other Catholic sacred rhetoricians in the sixteenth century. His primary self-identification, however, was as a Franciscan preacher. Furthermore, his theory and practice of preaching are consonant with the preaching values and traditions of the Franciscans. In this thesis, I provide evidence for the Franciscan influence on Musso's preaching and explore the relationships between the tastes of his humanist culture and the values of his Franciscan heritage in his published Italian sermons. |
