John Mirk's Festial is an early fifteenth century collection of sermons for the major saints and festivals of the church year, for use by priests who were not learned or ambitious enough to find sermon materials for themselves. These sermons rely heavily on legends, exempla and popular tales.
Festial was a runaway bestseller and went through multiple editions.
With my project, I'm opening myself up to possibilities. I'm going to be hanging around in the church, fully receptive to interaction with the spirits of medieval people who might have enjoyed these down-to-earth sermons with their somewhat humorous, bawdy and gory dimensions.
In fact, to mark the start of the project (in advance of the celebratory imbibing of ale mentioned in a previous post, that is!) I intend to make a kind of vigil in the church. Just sitting there in meditation, being present to the space, without feeling I should be recording things or taking photographs or making anything. Just seeing what happens: something will.
