The topos of the ages of the world and man in the first sermon on Dominica Septuagesimae of Mikołaj of Błonie

Abstract

This article aims to investigate how Mikołaj of Błonie, a Polish preacher from the first half of the fifteenth century, employs the motif of the ages of the world and man in the first sermon on Dominica Septuagesimae from his collection de tempore. In order to determine its function in respect to the medieval text and its role in religious instruction, this study identifies the sources of this theme and how it was adapted by the preacher according to the requirements of the sermon genre. A comprehensive analysis of Mikołaj of Błonie’s sermon demonstrates that the preacher employs the topos of the ages of the world and man as a persuasive literary device carrying a powerful, charismatic exhortation, in line with the didactic and moralizing nature of the sermon as a rhetorical genre. I will argue that the preacher exerted meticulous care in selecting and adapting source materials to make it relevant and appealing to his audience.

Keywords

• medieval preaching
• polish medieval literature
• medieval sermon
• the ages of the world
• medieval conception of time