Polemic, Preaching, and Early Dominican Assessments of Prophetic Authority

This chapter examines the emergence of theoretical treatises devoted to understanding the nature of prophecy. Emerging out of polemical works against Islam and its prophet, such treatises eventually addressed disagreements within Christianity itself about the nature of inspiration and the boundaries of sacred authority. A significant element of theoretical reflection, particularly among the Dominican Order, came from discussions of the nature of preaching, which was often viewed as a contemporary manifestation of prophecy. Preaching as prophecy raised questions about the relationship between natural virtue or talent and supernatural gifts. The chapter concludes by focusing on the contributions of Hugh of St Cher and Albert the Great to a Dominican tradition of prophetic theory, and it shows that they did not agree on how to assess those claiming to be current-day prophets within the Church.