Sermo synodalis
A Latin religious tract which a bishop could use to address priests at a diocesan synod. It was written on the continent, possibly in the 10th century, and enjoyed wide dissemination across western Europe. In some versions, it is falsely attributed to Pope Leo IV (fl. 9th c.). A version of it is also extant in the 15th-century Irish manuscript known as the Leabhar Breac, where it is prefixed to a homily on the Lord’s Prayer.
Manuscript witnesses
Sources
Primary sources Text editions and/or modern translations – in whole or in part – along with publications containing additions and corrections, if known. Diplomatic editions, facsimiles and digital image reproductions of the manuscripts are not always listed here but may be found in entries for the relevant manuscripts. For historical purposes, early editions, transcriptions and translations are not excluded, even if their reliability does not meet modern standards.
This article examines a text known as the ‘Admonitio synodalis’ as evidence for episcopal expectations of local priests in the tenth and eleventh centuries. The ‘Admonitio’ is generally considered a stable text that represented and fostered continuity within the Church, but this article highlights instead its early development. It begins by identifying a previously unedited version of the text found in some tenth-century manuscripts, arguing that this long recension is the closest to the original form. It then turns to how the text was adapted in the tenth century, notably by Bishop Rather of Verona. It finally examines the changes made to the text when it was incorporated into the liturgy of synodal ordines in the early eleventh century. A transcription of the tenth-century recension, based on a Brussels manuscript, is provided as an appendix.
English translation based on the text in IER 4, with occasional emendations in the footnotes.
Incl. an edition of the text in Brussels MS 495-505, with varia in footnotes.