Franciscan Studies

ST. BERNARDINE S UNEDITED PREDICHE VOLGARI (Florence, 1424 and 1425; Siena, 1425; Padua, 1443) T HE fifth centenary of St. Bernardine affords an opportune occa­ sion to study some of the unedited popular sermons of this great Sienese preacher. The work done on Bernardine’s sermons in the past half century was mainly dependent on the monumental edition1of the Saint’s course given in Siena in 1427 and published by Luciano Banchi (1880-1888). Since that time interest in the princeps praedkatorum has steadily mounted. Banchi’s three vol­ umes were a gold mine for many writers. While the Saint gave an excellent course in Siena in 1427, it is not just to limit our appre­ ciation of him merely to that course. Yet most of what we find about St. Bernardine’s work harks back to Banchi or gives random references to other sermons— a situation which leaves much to be desired from a critical viewpoint. R e c e n t W o rk o n t h e Sa in t ’s U nedited Serm o n s The critical edition Banchi presented in the last century was ex­ cellent for the time, from both a literary and a historical viewpoint. His learned notes proved a signpost to later writers in seeking for further material. Banchi’s choice of the Siena, 1427, course was felicitous because St. Bernardine at that time was fortunate in having an excellent and self-appointed stenographer in the person of the fuller, Benedict di Messer Bartolomeo, who took down the entire course word for word. During other courses of sermons there were trained stenographers who gave the gist of the preacher’s thought even though not exactly as he spoke. The codices of these courses vary in their fidelity to Bernardine’s words. The task, therefore, of editing these other courses is more difficult. In the last three decades we have become indebted to various men who have undertaken truly heroic work in searching the codices 1. Luciano Banchi, Le Prediche volgari di S. Bernardino da Siena, dette nella Piazza del Campo di Siena l’anno 1427, 3 vols. (Siena, 1880-1888). 7 8 FRANCISCAN STUDIES of Bernardine’s unedited popular sermons. We cannot here do full justice to these men, nor do we pretend to name all of them. We think, however, that those whom we have selected for mention are so distinguished that no one will consider us unjust for failing to include other writers. The first praise in the order of time goes to Fr. Salvatore Tosti, O. F. M. He it was who began to open the secrets of the unedited sermons left by the "Trumpet of Heaven.” In a masterful paper2 Fr. Tosti treated of certain codices containing popular sermons of St. Bernardine and also gave an appreciation of some sermons. His work was based on the Florentine codices of the Saint’s sermons in Florence, 1424 and 1425, in Siena, 1425 and 1427, and in Padua, 1443. Fr. Tosti’s painstaking labor gave a new impetus to the study of Bernardine’s works, especially in the Franciscan order. Bishop Vittorino Facchinetti, O. F. M., did St. Bernardine and the order a splendid service in producing a monumental work on the Saint.3 A huge quarto volume of 635 pages, the book is worthy of the highest praise. The author’s prodigious literary activity especially in the fields of Franciscan history and art were crowned by three works on Saints Francis, Anthony, and Bernardine respec­ tively. From the historical, literary, and artistic viewpoints each of these is a true encyclopedia. The work on St. Bernardine not only is a worthy companion to the other two, but its material is more sur­ prising and new; moreover, it is the fruit of more mature labor. Here Bishop Facchinetti displays the full wealth of his immense cul­ ture. He worked at least seven years on this volume, searched libra­ ries in all Italy and even in foreign lands to get at the original sources, and shows complete mastery of the Bernardine question and 2. Salvatore Tosti, "Di alcuni codici delle prediche di S. Bernardino da Siena con un saggio di...