Everyday Decretists: Date Eleemosynam and Innocent III’s Exhortation to Alms

ABSTRACT This article argues that the sermon of Pope Innocent III (r. 1198–1216), Date Eleemosynam, contains twelfth-century canonical theory meant for instruction of and utilisation by the laity. Historians have not understood the impact of this sermon, due to a miscategorisation in the Patrologia Latina, which lists the sermon as the Libellus de Eleemosyna. An important text for understanding medieval charity, the error in genre has obfuscated the intended contemporary audience and impact of the sermon. This article shall examine this eleemosynary text through the lens of its original composition, as a sermon. This correct understanding shows Innocent translating his elite education into a lay context, as he utilises the canonical debate regarding the proper means of almsgiving to inform his audience how alms ought to be given. This article shall establish Date Eleemosynam’s sermonic genre and present a fascinating example of Innocent’s elite education being utilised in a lay context.