The first modern biography of medieval French scholar and bishop William of Auvergne.
 
Today, William of Auvergne (1180?–1249) is remembered for his scholarship about the afterlife as well as the so-called Trial of the Talmud. But the medieval bishop of Paris also left behind nearly 600 sermons delivered to all manner of people—from the royal court to the poorest in his care. In Fragments of a World, Lesley Smith uses these sermons to paint a vivid picture of this extraordinary cleric, his parishioners, and their bustling world. The first modern biography of the influential teacher, bishop, and theologian, Fragments of a World casts a new image of William of Auvergne for our times—deeply attuned to both the spiritual and material needs of an ever-changing populace in the medieval city.

"Smith’s insightful discussion of these colorful sermons provides us not only with a valuable insight into a fascinating medieval mind, worthy of comparison with the better-known Robert Grosseteste, but also an engaging portrait of Paris and its inhabitants at a pivotal time in the city’s history." - Times Literary Supplement

"Neither a straightforward biography nor a modern summation of William of Auvergne’s philosophical and theological works, Lesley Smith’s new biography offers something much richer: the reconstruction of the life, thoughtworld, and audiences of William of Auvergne (d. 1249) from the massive surviving corpus of his sermons and scholarly works. . . . an immersive plunge into the fascinating world of late twelfth- and early thirteenth-century France. This book should inspire scholars and advanced undergraduate and graduate students interested in microhistory, biography, and the integration of intellectual and social history." - The Medieval Review

"An absorbing and illuminating portrait . . . Fragments of a World is unusually accessible for a book about a relatively little-known medieval bishop." - H-France

"In this extraordinary book, Smith presents a biographical sketch, analysis, and description of the life and philosophical theology of William of Auvergne, 13th-century Bishop of Paris, canon of Notre Dame Cathedral, and academician at the University of Paris. Smith takes up the rather prolific and sometimes difficult themes primarily, but by no means exclusively, from William's sermons (some 600) and fits them within some 16 brief chapters, some examples of which include "Teachers and Teaching," "The Landed and Married," "Animals," "Food and Drink," "Death and Beyond," "Jews," "Home and Family," "Women," and "Poverty." The interested reader will come away with a treasure of philosophical theology and a whole new picture of the 13th-century medieval world. Smith produces outstanding scholarship tucked into an engaging literary style. Includes 37 pages of endnotes and an excellent bibliography. Essential." - Choice