New Advent
 Home   Encyclopedia   Summa   Fathers   Bible   Library 
 A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z 
New Advent
Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > O > Odo of Cheriton

Odo of Cheriton

Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99...

Preacher and fabulist, d. 1247. He visited Paris, and it was probably there that he gained the degree of Master. Bale mentions a tradition that he was a Cistercian or a Præmonstratensian; but he can hardly have taken vows if, as seems most likely, he was the Master Odo of Cheriton mentioned in Kentish and London records from 1211 to 1247, the son of William of Cheriton, lord of the manor of Delce in Rochester. In 1211-12 William was debited with a fine to the crown, for Odo to have the custodia of Cheriton church, near Folkestone. In 1233 Odo inherited his father's estates in Delce, Cheriton, and elsewhere. A charter of 1235-6 (Brit. Mus., Harl. Ch. 49 B 45), by which he quitclaimed the rent of a shop in London, has his seal attached, bearing the figure of a monk seated at a desk, with a star above him (St. Odo of Cluny?).

Like Jacques de Vitry, he introduced exempla freely into his sermons; his best known work, a collection of moralized fables and anecdotes, sometimes entitled "Parabolæ" from the opening words of the prologue (Aperiam in parabolis os meum), was evidently designed for preachers. Though partly composed of commonly known adaptations and extracts, it shows originality, and the moralizations are full of pungent denunciations of the prevalent vices of clergy and laity. The "Parabolæ" exist in numerous manuscripts, and have been printed by Hervieux (Fabulistes Latins, IV, 173-255); a thirteenth century French version is extant, also an early Spanish translation. Some of the contents reappear, along with many other exempla, in his sermons on the Sunday Gospels, completed in 1219, extant in several manuscripts; an abridgment of which, prepared by M. Makerel, was printed by J. Badius Ascensius in 1520. The only other extant works, certainly authentic, are "Tractatus de P nitentia", "Tractatus de Passione", and "Sermones de Sanctis"; but the "Speculum Laicorum" also cites him as authority for many other exempla. Hauréau's contention (Journaldes Savants, 1896, 111-123), that the fabulist was a distinct person from the author of the sermons and treatises, is not supported.

Sources

Hervieux, Fabulists Latins, IV, Eudes de Cheriton et ses Dérivés (Paris, 1896); Herbert, Catalogue of Romances, III, 31-78, 371-405.

About this page

APA citation. Herbert, J. (1911). Odo of Cheriton. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11212a.htm

MLA citation. Herbert, John. "Odo of Cheriton." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11212a.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by William D. Neville.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.

Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.

Copyright © 2023 by New Advent LLC. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

CONTACT US | ADVERTISE WITH NEW ADVENT