Chapter Three. Form and function

Abstract

This chapter attempts to delve more deeply into the manner in which the Limburg sermons were constructed. The first section provides a schematic overview of one complete Limburg sermon, in order to give an impression of the way in which the texts are structured. The second section delves more deeply into the possible reasons behind the marked preference by the compiler of the Limburg sermons. The next section discusses the most important stylistic feature in the collection, namely allegory, and its links with the medieval practice of Biblical exegesis. Section four deals with the pronounced influence of the Song of Songs on especially the interpolated Limburg sermons, and seeks to understand the significance that this book of the Bible had for its intended audience. The chapter concludes with a consideration of the question of why the compiler of the Limburg sermons preferred prose, given the dominance enjoyed by rhymed verse.Keywords: allegory; Bible; Limburg sermons; prose