Denys the Carthusian and the Invention of Preaching Materials

“Denys the Carthusian and the Invention of Preaching Materials." Exceptionally for a Carthusian monk, Denys the Carthusian produced a huge number of sermons and many works designed to aid preaching. He collected and ordered his materials, drawn from every type of medieval Christian literature and embracing hundreds of authors, according to techniques developed in the thirteenth century for compiling and organizing moral and preaching summas and research tools. He "recycled" texts originally collected in large commentaries, which served as "data-bases" for his literary activity, from one treatise or sermon to another. Untypically for his time and milieu, Denys emphasized the rational foundation of moral behavior and the importance of Scholastic speculation for the progress of the moral and spiritual life. Returning to older sources-especially from the thirteenth century-he sought to reform the popular piety of his time and gently correct prevailing attitudes among the devout.