Rhetoric or Grammar (Syntax)? On the Literary Traditions of the Holy Cross Sermons

Abstract

The author critically addresses the opinion expressed by Tomasz Mika that in the Holy Cross Sermons we are dealing with an instance of a text where rhetoric dominates grammar. Recalling numerous medieval sources Obremski argues that grammar was deemed at the time superior to rhetoric. He draws attention to the fact that the Sermons contained rhymed expressions, which rendered the text less difficult to memorise and deliver in public.