David N. Bell is professor emeritus of religious studies at Memorial University and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He retired as head of the department of religious studies at the end of 2011. He has published some two dozen books, more than a hundred articles, and a great number of book reviews. His most recent book, published in 2017, is A Saint in the Sun: Praising Saint Bernard in the France of Louis XIV (Cistercian Publications).

Contents

List of Abbreviations
Preface
1 The Background
2 The Quietist Controversy
3 Sermons and Panegyrics
4 Paving the Way: Divisions and Subdivisions in Jacques Biroat
5 Moving Forward: Commonplaces and Curiosities in Jean-François Senault, Bernard Planchette, Claude Texier, and Jean-Louis de Fromentières
6 The Bernard of the Strict Observance: Armand-Jean de Rancé
7 Bernard Returns to Metz: Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
8 Touching, Moving, Converting: The Unction of François Fénelon
9 Bernard in Battle: The Anti-Quietist Polemic of Charles de La Rue
10 The Flames Die Down: The Revised Panegyric of Charles de La Rue
11 Bernard the Mystic: Henri-Marie Boudon
12 Panegyrical Plagiarism? Claude Lion, François Ogier, and Esprit Fléchier
13 Last of the Fathers and the Angel of the Lord: Antoine Anselme and Louis-Bénigne Bourru
14 Bernard the Second Samuel: The Psychological Acuity of Jean-Baptiste Massillon
15 Conclusion: The Saint in the Sun
Appendix 1: Technical Terms
Appendix 2: Personalities
Bibliography
Index of Names and Places

This volume contains translations or summaries of the most important panegyrics in praise of Saint Bernard that were preached during the reign of Louis XIV. Some of the preachers were and are regarded as the greatest orators ever to grace the French pulpit. All the translations are extensively annotated, and there are three introductory chapters providing a necessary background for appreciating the sermons. Sixteen preachers are represented, and, with one exception, none of the material has ever appeared in English. For those interested in the afterlife of Saint Bernard, as he was used, and sometimes abused, in the reign of the Sun King, this collection provides essential primary sources.