John Bromyard - Life

Life

Little is known of his personal life. Two dates can be cited: in 1326, he was granted a license to hear confessions in the diocese of Hereford, and in 1352, that license was granted to another Dominican, presumably after Bromyard's death. There is evidence in his works that he had served in the diocese of Llandaff in South Wales, and he shows familiarity with customs and circumstances in France and Italy. But because the Dominicans were an international order with lively internal communication, this cannot be taken as proof that he had travelled abroad. He was evidently trained in canon law, perhaps at Oxford.

He spent most of his career at the newly-founded Dominican priory at Hereford. The Dominicans had been fighting for a foothold here for eighty years against the resistance of the Dean and Chapter, before they were finally established under the patronage of Edward II in 1322. Bromyard must therefore have been among the first friars to join the fledgeling priory. In an age when manuscript books were prohibitively expensive, it is likely that he embarked on the task of compiling preaching aids as a means of providing the priory with a library to support its preaching mission. The sheer volume of his work suggests that it may well have been produced by a collaborative process involving the other friars at the Hereford priory, with Bromyard acting as editor in chief.