The Sermons of William Peraldus: An Appraisal

The French Dominican William Peraldus or Guillaume Peyraut (died c. 1275) produced two cycles of sermons, on the Epistle and the Gospel readings for the Sundays of the Church year. This study analyzes them in some detail and argues that, instead of collecting sermons he had preached earlier, Peraldus wrote these sermons systematically for the use of other preachers. They are compared with other cycles of Peraldus's time. The Epistle sermons for the first Sunday in Advent and the Gospel sermons for the third Sunday in Advent are presented in the original Latin with an English translation as samples to demonstrate Peraldus's dealing with the biblical text, his moral concerns, and his literary style. One chapter gathers information about the continuing popularity of his work.