Fragments of a World

"Smith’s insightful discussion of these colorful sermons provides us not only with a valuable insight into a fascinating medieval mind, worthy of comparison with the better-known Robert Grosseteste, but also an engaging portrait of Paris and its inhabitants at a pivotal time in the city’s history." * Times Literary Supplement *
"Neither a straightforward biography nor a modern summation of William of Auvergne’s philosophical and theological works, Lesley Smith’s new biography offers something much richer: the reconstruction of the life, thoughtworld, and audiences of William of Auvergne (d. 1249) from the massive surviving corpus of his sermons and scholarly works. . . . an immersive plunge into the fascinating world of late twelfth- and early thirteenth-century France. This book should inspire scholars and advanced undergraduate and graduate students interested in microhistory, biography, and the integration of intellectual and social history." * The Medieval Review *
"An absorbing and illuminating portrait . . . Fragments of a World is unusually accessible for a book about a relatively little-known medieval bishop." * H-France *
"In this extraordinary book, Smith presents a biographical sketch, analysis, and description of the life and philosophical theology of William of Auvergne, 13th-century Bishop of Paris, canon of Notre Dame Cathedral, and academician at the University of Paris. Smith takes up the rather prolific and sometimes difficult themes primarily, but by no means exclusively, from William's sermons (some 600) and fits them within some 16 brief chapters, some examples of which include "Teachers and Teaching," "The Landed and Married," "Animals," "Food and Drink," "Death and Beyond," "Jews," "Home and Family," "Women," and "Poverty." The interested reader will come away with a treasure of philosophical theology and a whole new picture of the 13th-century medieval world. Smith produces outstanding scholarship tucked into an engaging literary style. Includes 37 pages of endnotes and an excellent bibliography. Essential." * Choice *
“In this thoughtful and accessible study, the thirteenth-century theologian and bishop of Paris William of Auvergne comes alive through an especially close reading of his sermons. Smith has a light touch that complements her thorough mastery of the details of William’s worldview and the context within which he taught and provided pastoral care. Fragments of a World is a stunning achievement, one of the finest biographies of a medieval figure that I know and a sheer pleasure to read.” -- William Chester Jordan, Princeton University
“This book is a vivid portrait of an attractive and original mind in the intellectual, cultural, and social landscape of early thirteenth-century Paris, based on hundreds of sermons to the laity and clergy as well as academic writings that have a much more individual tone and color than most of the works by the famous scholastic synthesizers. Fragments of a World is a distinguished addition to the genre of Southern’s study of Grosseteste or Clanchy’s of Peter Abelard. It will be enlightening for specialists and students but also deserves to reach a wider public: no prior knowledge is assumed and everything is explained in an most engaging and readable style.” -- David d’Avray, University College London
“Fragments of a World draws renewed and deserved attention to William of Auvergne, who played a key role in medieval French history, but it does more than that. While Smith plumbs new evidence to reveal William’s perspective on the biggest moral and social questions of his time, she also presents a three-dimensional portrait of thirteenth-century Paris in a book that will be as interesting to those who never knew about William as it will be useful to specialists.” -- Lucy Pick, University of Chicago