"This volume contains translations or summaries of the most important panegyrics in praise of Saint Bernard that were preached during the reign of Louis XIV. Some of the preachers were and are regarded as the greatest orators ever to grace the French pulpit. All the translations are extensively annotated, and there are three introductory chapters providing a necessary background for appreciating the sermons. Sixteen preachers are represented, and, with one exception, none of the material has ever appeared in English. For those interested in the afterlife of Saint Bernard, as he was used, and sometimes abused, in the reign of the Sun King, this collection provides essential primary sources"--

The Background -- The Quietist Controversy -- Sermons and Panegyrics -- Paving the Way: Divisions and Subdivisions in Jacques Biroat -- Moving Forward: Commonplaces and Curiosities in Jean-François Senault, Bernard Planchette, Claude Texier, and Jean-Louis de Fromentières -- The Bernard of the Strict Observance: Armand Jean de Rancé -- Bernard Returns to Metz: Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet -- Touching, Moving, Converting: The Unction of François Fénelon -- Bernard in Battle: The Anti-Quietist Polemic of Charles de La Rue -- The Flames Die Down: The Revised Panegyric of Charles de La Rue -- Bernard the Mystic: Henri-Marie Boudon -- Panegyrical Plagiarism? Claude Lion, François Ogier, and Esprit Fléchier -- Last of the Fathers and Angel of the Lord: Antoine Anselme and Louis-Bénigne Bourru -- Bernard the Second Samuel: The Psychological Acuity of Jean-Baptiste Massillon -- Conclusion: The Saint in the Sun -- Appendix I: Technical Terms -- Appendix II: Personalities.