In the 1970s and early 1980s, James M. Powell drew the attention of the scholarly community to the sermons of Pope Honorius III (1216–27) with a series of magisterial articles. Honorius's sermons had not been the subject of much research, probably because they were not very popular in the Middle Ages and only survive in very few manuscripts, and possibly also because Honorius's pontificate long held little interest for historians who instead focused on the pontificates of his immediate predecessor and successor, Innocent III (1199–1216) and Gregory IX (1227–41). However, Honorius's sermons are a valuable source for insights into the ideas of Honorius III, as Powell so clearly showed, and thus well worth our attention. After a brief outline of the historiography of these sermons and of the manuscripts in which they have been preserved, this article will discuss their audience, language, purposes, style, form, use of authorities, and finally, their interest for historians.

Honorius's Sermons: a brief historiography

Scholars have so far identified sixty-eight sermons – for Sundays, feast days, and extraordinary occasions – from Honorius. All but one were published in the late nineteenth century by César-Auguste Horoy in his Opera omnia Honorii III. Horoy's edition is based solely on Hieronomo Bottiono's transcription of one manuscript containing Honorius's sermon collection, namely Rome, Biblioteca Nazionale, Sessoriano MS 51.