The art of preaching had become a highly formal science by the late twelfth century. Taught at universities of western Europe, the meticulous construction of sermons satisfied a scholastic desire for order and exactness.

Alan of Lille, the Doctor Universalis, was acknowledged by his contemporaries to be an exceptionally learned man. His manual on the Art of Preaching is an explanation of the theory of sermon composition as it was developing in the schools of his day. A handbook for future preachers, it gives moderns an insight into the techniques and the contents of medieval sermons.