FranciscanFranciscans is the common name used to designate a variety of mendicant religious orders of men or women tracing their origin to Francis of Assisi and following the Rule of St. Francis. The official Latin name is the Ordo Fratrum Minorum. A member of the order is nicknamed a greyfriar. Important Franciscans\n:Francis of Assisi\n:Anthony of Padua\n:Bonaventure\n:John Duns Scotus\n:Roger Bacon\n:Alexander of Hales\n:William of Ockham\n:Giovanni da Pian del Carpini
The Rule of 1221\nThe rule of 1221 is more adapted to the needs of\na monastic order intended to further the general\nends of the Church and based upon the three usual\nvows, but laying special stress on that of poverty.\nIt was drawn up by Francis himself, but under the\ninfluence of Cardinal Ugolino, as well as of the\nlearned and practical Caesarius of\nSpeyer and apparently of Brother\nLeo, who from 1220 on was the \nconstant companion of the founder. The matter of\nthe primitive rule was included in it, but scattered\namong a large part of detailed directions, besides\nmany edifying thoughts and pious outpourings of\nthe heart, probably the work of Francis. But\nthere is much in the new rule which breathes a\ndifferent spirit. The humble founder, though \nrefusing the title of general of the order, and appearing \nsimply as "minister-general," sometimes with\nthe addition "the servant of the whole brotherhood," \nappears now at the head of a regular \nmonastic hierarchy, consisting of provincial ministers\nover the provinces, custodes over smaller districts,\nand guardians over single houses. Definite rules\nfor the novitiate, the habit, hours of prayer, and the\ndiscipline of the houses were modeled after the\nolder monastic tradition. In place of the informal\nyearly gatherings of the brotherhood, there are\nnow regular chapters at fixed times. Of special\ninterest are the provisions for apostolic poverty\nand the ascetic life in general, which show this rule\nto be essentially a development of the older \ndiscipline, with the obligation of poverty made more\nstrict while that of other ascetic practises was \nmitigated, partly for the reason that the new \nFratres minores \nwere expected to be diligently occupied\nin exhausting labors.\nThe Third Rule\nThe third rule, confirmed by Honorius III on\nNovember 29, 1223, has still less of Francis' own work\nin it. The edifying tone, the citation of the \nScriptural texts, have disappeared from it. Instead of\nthe strong emphasis upon Christ's admonitions to\nhis disciples with which the rule of 1221 had begun,\nthe enumeration of the three \ntraditional monastic vows is here \nsubstituted. The character of the order as a\nmendicant order, pledged to an ideal of the strictest \npoverty, comes out here, it is true; but these\nconcessions to the spirit of the earlier rules are \nintermingled with a number of other prescriptions\nwhich clearly show the externally official character\nof the new statutes, framed in the interest of the\npapacy and in conformity with the other organs\nof the hierarchy. A cardinal appointed by the\npope as protector of the whole order was to \nsupervise its activity. The conditions for entrance are\nmore definitely laid down; the Roman Breviary\nis expressly named as the obligatory basis of the\ndaily devotions of priests belonging to it; and the\npreaching brothers have a more dependent position\nthan before. In a word, the life here regulated is\nno longer the old free, wandering life of the first\nyears, marked by apostolic poverty and loving,\nsimple-hearted devotion to the Lord, but rather a\ncarefully arranged quasi-monastic system, shorn\nof much of its original freedom.\nThe Testament\nFrancis, as may be seen from more than one\npassage in the accounts of his last years, was \nunhappy about these changes. As a demonstration\nagainst them, he left what is called his \n"Testament," whose occasional reading \ntogether with the rule was enjoined on\nthe brethren. Its tone is rather plaintive \nthan angry; it looks back in a spirit of regret\nto the primitive days of the first love. It urges\nunswerving obedience to the pope and the heads\nof the order, but at the same time emphasizes the\nnecessity of following its principles, especially the\nimitation of the poverty of Christ. The brethren\nare commanded to oppose the introduction of any\nfuture secularizing influences, and at the same time\nare forbidden to ask for any special privileges from\nthe pope. In spite of the direct command in the\n"Testament" against considering it as a new\nrule, the Observantist section of the Franciscans\npractically regarded it as even more binding than\nthe formal rule, while the advocates of a less strict\nobservance paid little attention to it, especially to\nits prohibition of asking for ecclesiastical privileges.Development of the Order after the Death of Francis\nDissentions During the Life of Francis\nThe controversy about poverty which\nextends through the first three centuries of \nFranciscan history began in the lifetime of the founder.\nThe ascetic brothers Matthew of Narni and \nGregory of Naples, to whom Francis had\nentrusted the direction of the order\nduring his absence, carried through\nat a chapter which they held certain\nstricter regulations in regard to \nfasting and the reception of alms, which really \ndeparted from the spirit of the original rule. It did\nnot take Francis long, on his return, to suppress\nthis insubordinate tendency; but he was less \nsuccessful in regard to another of an opposite nature\nwhich soon came up. Elias of Crotona originated\na movement for the increase of the worldly \nconsideration of the order and the adaptation of its\nsystem to the plans of the hierarchy which \nconflicted with the original notions of the founder and\nhelped to bring about the successive changes in the\nrule already described. Francis was not alone in\nopposition to this lax and secularizing tendency. On\nthe contrary, the party which clung to his original\nviews and after his death took his "Testament"\nfor their guide, known as Observantists or Zelanti,\nwas at least equal in numbers and activity to the\nfollowers of Elias. The conflict between the two\nlasted many years, and the Zelanti won several\nnotable victories, in spite of the favor shown to\ntheir opponents by the papal administration-- until\nfinally the reconciliation of the two points of view\nwas seen to be impossible, and the order was\nactually split into halves.\nDevelopment to 1239. The Laxer Party\nSt. Anthony of Padua has usually been\nregarded as the first leader of the Observantists; but\nrecent investigations have shown that he was\ninclined to the opposite side. When Elias sent a\ndelegation to Rome in 1230 to obtain papal \nsanction for his views, Anthony was one\nof the envoys; and there is little doubt\nthat the bull Quo elongati of Pope Gregory IX, favoring this side, was due in\nlarge measure to his influence. The\nearliest leader of the strict party was rather Brother\nLeo, the witness of the ecstasies of Francis on\nMonte Alverno and the author of the Speculum\nperfectionis, a strong polemic against the laxer\nparty. Next to him came John Parens, the first\nsuccessor of Francis in the headship of the order.\nIn 1232, however, Elias succeeded him, and\nadministered the affairs of the order in the interest of\nhis own, party for seven years. Much external\nprogress was made during these years; many new\nhouses were founded, especially in Italy, and in\nthem, without regard to the founder's depreciation\nof secular learning, special attention was paid to\neducation. The somewhat earlier settlements of\nFranciscan teachers at the universities (in Oxford,\nfor example, where Alexander of Hales was teaching)\ncontinued to develop. Contributions toward\nthe promotion of the order's work came in\nabundantly, and Elias authorized his subordinates to get\naround the provision of the rule against the receiving\nof money, usually by the appointment of agents\noutside the order, who had the custody of the\nfunds. Elias pursued with great severity the\nprincipal leaders of the opposition, and even Bernardo\ndi Quintavalle, the founder's first disciple, was\nobliged to conceal himself for years in the forest of\nMonte Sefro.\nTo 1274. Bonaventure\nAt last, however, the reaction came. At the\ngeneral chapter of 1239, held in Rome under the\npersonal presidency of Gregory IX., Elias was\ndeposed in favor of Albert of Pisa, the former\nprovincial of England, a moderate\nObservantist. None the less, Elias'\nattitude remained widely prevalent in the\norder. The next two ministers-general\nHaymo of Faversham (1240-44) and Crescentius of Jesi (1244-47), governed to a great extent in this\nsense, and had the new Pope Innocent IV on their\nside. In a bull of November 14, 1245, he even\nsanctioned an extension of the system of financial\nagents, and declared the funds in their custody the\nproperty of the Church, to be held at the disposal\nof the cardinal-protector and not to be alienated\nwithout his permission. The Observantist party\ntook a strong stand in opposition to this ruling,\nand carried on so successfully an agitation against\nthe lax general that in 1247, at a chapter held in\nLyons, where Innocent IV. was then residing, he\nwas replaced by the strict Observantist John of\nParma (1247-57). Elias, who had been\nexcommunicated and taken under the\nprotection of Frederick II., was now forced to give up all hope of\nrecovering his power in the order. He died in\n1253, after succeeding by recantation in obtaining\nthe removal of his censures. Under John of\nParma, who enjoyed the favor of Innocent IV. and\nPope Alexander IV, the influence of the order was\nnotably increased, especially by the provisions of the\nlatter pope in regard to the academic activity of\nthe brothers. He not only sanctioned the\ntheological institutes in Franciscan houses, but did all\nhe could to facilitate the entrance of their teachers\nto the universities, especially Paris, the\nheadquarters of theological study. It was due to the action\nof his representatives, who were obliged to threaten\nthe university authorities with excommunication,\nthat the degree of doctor of theology was conceded\nto the Dominican Thomas Aquinas and the\nFranciscan Bonaventure (1257), who had previously\nbeen able to lecture only as licentiates. In the\nsame year Bonaventura succeeded John of Parma.\nIn spite of his adherence to Observantist \nprinciples, Bonaventura took a decided stand against\nthe teaching of Joachim of Fiore, which John of\nParma had been inclined to favor. Not a few of\nthe "Spiritual" party, as they were now coming\nto be called, were condemned to lifelong \nimprisonment; and for the purpose of discouraging their\nextreme tendency a new life of the founder was\ncompiled by Bonaventura, at the request of the\ngeneral chapter held at Narbonne in 1260, and\nauthorized by that of Pisa three years later as the\nonly approved biography. Apart from the severe\nmeasures taken against Joachim's followers, \nBonaventura seems to have ruled (1257-74) in a \nmoderate spirit, which is represented also by various works\nproduced by the order in his time-- especially by\nthe Expositio regulae written by David of Augsburg\n(q.v.) soon after 1260.\nTo 1300. Continued Dissensions\nThe successor of Bonaventura, Jerome of Ascoli\n(1274-79), the future Pope Nicholas IV, and his\nsuccessor, Bonagratia (1279-85), also followed a\nmiddle course. Severe measures were taken\nagainst certain extreme Spirituals who, on the\nstrength of the rumor that Pope Gregory\nX was intending at the Council of\nLyons (1274-75) to force the mendicant \norders to tolerate the possession\nof property, threatened both pope and council\nwith the renunciation of allegiance. Attempts\nwere made, however, to satisfy the reasonable \ndemands of the Spiritual party, as in the bull Exiit\nqui seminiat of Pope Nicholas III (1279), which \npronounced the principle of complete poverty \nmeritorious and holy, but interpreted it in the way of\na somewhat sophistical distinction between pos-\nsession and usufruct. The bull was received \nrespectfully by Bonagratia and the next two\ngenerals, Arlotto of Prato (1285-87) and Matthew of Aqua Sparta (1287-89); but the Spiritual party under\nthe leadership of the fanatical apocalyptic Pierre\nJean Olivi regarded its provisions for the\ndependence of the friars upon the pope and the division\nbetween brothers occupied in manual labor and those\nemployed on spiritual missions as a corruption of\nthe fundamental principles of the order. They were\nnot won over by the conciliatory attitude of the\nnext general, Raymond Gaufredi (1289-96), and\nof the Franciscan Pope Nicholas IV (1288-92).\nThe attempt made by the next pope, Pope Celestine V,\nan old friend of the order, to end the strife by\nuniting the Observantist party with his own order of\nhermits (see Celestines) was scarcely more\nsuccessful. Only a part of the Spirituals joined the\nnew order, and the secession scarcely lasted beyond\nthe reign of the hermit-pope. Pope Boniface VIII\nannulled Celestine's bull of foundation with his other\nacts, deposed the general Raymond Gaufredi, and\nappointed a man of laxer tendency, John de Murro,\nin his place. The Benedictine section of the\nCelestines was separated from the Franciscan section,\nand the latter was formally suppressed by\nBoniface in 1302. The leader of the Observantists,\nOlivi, who spent his last years in the Franciscan\nhouse at Narbonne and died there in 1298, had\npronounced against the extremer "Spiritual"\nattitude, and given an exposition of the theory of\npoverty which was approved by the more\nmoderate Observantists, and for a long time constituted\ntheir principle.\nTemporary Success of the Stricter Party. Persecution\nUnder Pope Clement V (1305-14) this party succeeded\nin exercising some influence on papal decisions.\nIn 1309 Clement had a commission sit at Avignon\nfor the purpose of reconciling the conflicting parties.\nUbertino of Casale, the leader,\nafter Olivi's death, of the stricter\nparty, who was a member of the\ncommission, induced the Council of Vienne\nto arrive at a decision in the main\nfavoring his views, and the papal \nconstitution Exivi de paradiso (1313) was\non the whole conceived in the same sense. \nClement's successor, Pope John XXII (1316-34), favored the\nlaxer or conventual party. By the bull \nQuorundam exigit \nhe modified several provisions of the constitution\nExivi, and required the formal submission of\nthe Spirituals. Some of them, encouraged by the\nstrongly Observantist general Michael of Cesena,\nventured to dispute the pope's right so to deal\nwith the provisions of his predecessor. Sixty-four\nof them were summoned to Avignon, and the most\nobstinate delivered over to the Inquisition, four of\nthem being burned (1318). Shortly before this all\nthe separate houses of the Observantists had been\nsuppressed.\nRenewed Controversy on the Question of Poverty\nA few years later a new controversy, this time\ntheoretical, broke out on the question of poverty.\nThe Spirituals contended eagerly for the view that\nChrist and his apostles had possessed absolutely\nnothing, either separately or jointly. This\nproposition had been declared heretical in a trial before an\ninquisitor. A protest was now made against this\ndecision by the chapter held at Perugia in 1322,\nas well as by such influential members of the order\nas William of Ockham, the English\nprovincial, and Bonagratia of\nBergamo. John XXII ranged himself\ndecidedly with the Dominicans, who\ncombated the theory, and by the\nbull Cum inter nonnullos of 1322\ndeclared it erroneous and heretical. Appealing\nfrom this decision, Bonagratia, Occam, and Michael\nof Cesena were imprisoned at Avignon for four\nyears, until they escaped by the help of the\nEmperor Louis the Bavarian. Supported by him,\nthey carried on a literary war against the papal\nand Dominican denial of the absolute poverty of\nChrist and his apostles. The pope deposed Cessna\nand Occam from their offices in the order, and\nexcommunicated them with the Franciscan antipope\nPeter of Corvara (Nicholas V.) and all their\nadherents. Only a small part of the order, however,\njoined them, and at a general chapter held in Paris\n(1329) the majority of all the houses declared their\nsubmission to the pope. The same step was taken\nin the following year by the antipope, later by the\nex-general Cesena, and finally, just before his death,\nby Occam.\nSeparate Congregations\nOut of all these dissensions in the fourteenth\ncentury sprang a number of separate\ncongregations, almost of sects. To say nothing of the\nheretical parties of the Beghards and Fraticelli,\nsome which developed within the order on both\nhermit and cenobitic principles may\nhere be mentioned:The Clareni\nor Clarenini, an association of hermits\nestablished on the river Clareno in\nthe march of Ancona by Angelo da Clareno\nafter the suppression of the Franciscan Celestines\nby Boniface VIII. It maintained the principles\nof Olivi, and, outside of Umbria, spread also\nin the kingdom of Naples, where Angelo died\nin 1337. Like several other smaller\ncongregations, it was obliged in 1568 under Pope Pius V to\nunite with the general body of Observantists.The Minorites of Narbonne\nAs a separate \ncongregation, this originated through the\nunion of a number of houses which followed Olivi\nafter 1308. It was limited to southwestern France\nand, its members being accused of the heresy\nof the Beghards, was suppressed by the\nInquisition during the controversies under John XXII.The Reform of Johannes de Vallibus\nThis was founded\nin the hermitage of St. Bartholomew at Brugliano\nnear Foligno in 1334. The congregation was\nsuppressed by the Franciscan general chapter in 1354;\nreestablished in 1368 by Paolo de' Trinci of\nFoligno; confirmed by Gregory XI. in 1373, and spread\nrapidly from Central Italy to France, Spain,\nHungary and elsewhere. Most of the Observantist\nhouses joined this congregation by degrees, so that\nit became known simply as the "brothers of the\nregular Observance." It acquired the favor of\nthe popes by its energetic opposition to the\nheretical Fraticelli, and was expressly recognized by the\nCouncil of Constance (1415). It was allowed to\nhave a special vicar-general of its own and legislate\nfor its members without reference to the conventual\npart of the order. Through the work of such men as\nBernardin of Siena John of Capistrano, \nand Dietrich Coelde\n(b. 1435? at Munster; was a member of the\nBrethren of the Common Life, died December 11, 1515), it gained great prominence during the\nfifteenth century. By the end of the Middle Ages,\nthe Observantists, with 1,400 houses, comprised\nnearly half of the entire order. Their influence\nbrought about attempts at reform even among the\nConventuals, including the Observantists of the\nCommon Life, founded by Boniface de Ceva and\nspreading principally in France and Germany; the\nreformed congregation founded in 1426 by the\nSpaniard Philip de Berbegal and distinguished by\nthe special importance they attached to the little\nhood (cappuciola); the Neutri, a group of\nreformers originating about 1463 in Italy, who tried\nto take a middle ground between the Conventuals\nand Observantists, but refused to obey the heads\nof either, until they were compelled by the pope\nto affiliate with the regular Observantists, or with\nthose of the Common Life; the Caperolani, a\ncongregation founded about 1470 in North Italy by\nPeter Caperolo, but dissolved again on the death of\nits founder in 1480; the Amadeists, founded by\nthe noble Portuguese Amadeo, who entered the\nFranciscan order at Assisi in 1452, gathered around\nhim a number of adherents to his fairly strict\nprinciples (numbering finally twenty-six houses) and,\ndied in the odor of sanctity in 1482.\nUnsuccessful Attempts to Unite the Order\nProjects for a union between the two main\nbranches of the order were put forth not only by\nthe Council of Constance but by several popes,\nwithout any positive result. By direction of\nMartin V., John of Capistrano drew\nup statutes which were to serve as a\nbasis for reunion, and they were \nactually accepted by a general chapter at\nAssisi in 1430; but the majority of the\nConventual houses refused to agree to\nthem, and they remained without effect. At\nCapistrano's request Eugenius IV. put forth a bull (Ut sacra\nminorum, 1446) looking to the same result, but again\nnothing was accomplished. Equally unsuccessful\nwere the attempts of the Franciscan pope Sixtus\nIV., who bestowed a vast number of privileges on\nboth the original mendicant orders, but by this\nvery fact lost the favor of the Observantists and\nfailed in his plans for reunion. Julius II. succeeded\nin doing away with some of the smaller branches,\nbut left the division of the two great parties\nuntouched. This division was finally legalized by\nLeo X., after a general chapter held in Rome, in\nconnection with the reform-movement of the Fifth\nLateran Council, had once more declared the\nimpossibility of reunion. The less strict principles\nof the Conventuals, permitting the posesssion of\nreal estate and the enjoyment of fixed revenues,\nwere recognized as tolerable, while the\nObservantists, in contrast to this usus moderatus, were held\nstrictly to their own usus arctus or pauper. The\nlatter, as adhering more closely to the rule of the\nfounder, were allowed to claim a certain superiority\nover the former. The Observantist general\n(elected now for six years, not for life) was to have\nthe title of "Minister-General of the Whole Order\nof St. Francis" and the right to confirm the choice\nof a head for the Conventuals, who was known as\n"Master-General of the Friars Minor Conventual"--\nalthough this privilege never became practically\noperative.Spread of the order in Modern Times\nSee: Franciscan Order in modern timesDistinguished Names\nAlthough surpassed in the number of prominent\nand influential theological authors by the Jesuits\nand Dominicans, the order still boasts a number of\ndistinguished names. The first century of its\nexistence produced the three great scholastics\nAlexander of Hales, Bonaventure, and Duns Scotus,\nthe "Admirable Doctor" Roger Bacon, and the\nwell-known mystic authors and\npopular preachers David of Augsburg and\nBerthold of Regensburg. Among Franciscan celebrities of the later\nMiddle Ages may be mentioned Nicholas of Lyra,\nthe Biblical commentator, Bernardin of Sienna,\nJohn of Capistrano, Mollard and Menot as\npreachers, and the famous canonists Astesanus, \nAlvarus Pelagius, and \nWilliam of Ockham. Later again came sound\nhistorical investigators such as Luke Wadding and\nPagi. In the field of Christian art, during the\nlater Middle Ages, the Franciscan movement\nexercised considerable influence, especially in Italy.\nSeveral great painters of the thirteenth and\nfourteenth centuries, especially Cimabue and Giotto,\nwere spiritual sons of Francis in the wider sense,\nand the plastic masterpieces of the latter, as well\nas the architectural conceptions of both himself\nand his school, show the influence of Franciscan\nideals. The Italian Gothic style, whose earliest\nimportant monument is the great convent church\nat Assisi (built 1228-53), was cultivated as a rule\nprincipally by members of the order or men under\ntheir influence. The early spiritual poetry of Italy\nwas inspired by Francis himself, who was followed\nby Thomas of Celano, Bonaventura, and Jacopone da Todi; \nand in a certain sense even Dante may be\nincluded within the sphere of Franciscan influence\n(cf. especially Paradiso, xi. 50). \nThe Clarisses or Poor Clares\nFor the history\nof the female branch of the order, founded in the\nlifetime of Francis, see Poor Clares.The Third Order\nOrigin and RuleThe Tertiary rule which\npasses under the name of St. Francis not only can\nnot have been drawn up by him, but does not even\nshow a basis of his original instructions. There\nmust have been, however, in his lifetime a\nfollowing of devout laity who composed a sort of third\norder, beside the Friars Minor and the\nClarisses.External links\n*http://www.ofm.org/Books\n*A History of the Franciscan Order: From Its Origins to the Year 1517 by John Moorman ISBN 0198264259 Category:Roman Catholic Orders and Societies |
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