Main References

1

• Main References
• Baldwin, John W. The Scholastic Culture of the
  Middle Ages, 1000-1300. Lexington Heath, 1971.
• Brooke, Rosalind B. The Image of St. Francis
  Responses to Sainthood in the Thirteenth Century.
  Cambridge Cambridge U. Press, 2006.
• Englebert, Omer. Saint Francis of Assisi a
  Biography. Ann Arbor Servant Books, 1979.
• Grundmann, Herbert. Religious Movements in the
  Middle Ages the Historical Links between Heresy,
  the Mendicant Orders, and the Womens Religious
  Movement in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Century,
  with the Historical Foundations of German
  Mysticism. Nortr Dame, Ind. U. of Notre Dame
  Press, 1995.

2

• Lawrence, C.H. The Friars the Impact of the
  Early Mendicant Movement on Western Society.
  London Longman, 1994.
• -------------------. Medieval Monasticism Forms
  of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle
  Ages. London Longman, 1989.
• Maier, Christoph T. Preaching the Crusades
  Mendicant Friars and the Cross in the Thirteenth
  Century. Cambridge Cambridge U. Press, 1994.
• Robson, Michael. St. Francis of Assisi the
  Legend and the Life. London G. Chapman, 1997.

3

• Roest, Bert. A History of Franciscan Education
  (c. 1210-1517). Leiden Brill, 2000.
• Short, William J. Poverty and Joy the
  Franciscan Tradition. New York Orbis Books,
  1999.
• Talbot, J.M. The Lessons of St. Francis How to
  Bring Simplicity and Spirituality into Your Daily
  Life. New York Dutton, 1997.
• Tugwell, Simon, ed. Early Dominicans Selected
  Writings. New York Paulist Press, 1982.
• Ugolino, di Monte Santa Maria. The Little
  Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi. New York
  Vintage Books, 1998.

4

• I. The Scholastic/Monastic Culture in 12th
  century Europe
• II. The Mendicant Movement -- The Dominicans and
  the Franciscans
• It was said that medieval scholasticism was a
  kind of philosophy for medieval Europe.

5

• Scholastik
• Characteristics (1) It was a kind of religious
  philosophy, its essence was theology, its
  theories were about Christian doctrines, and its
  targets were on Christianity and theology (2)
  The Holy Bible and Christian doctrines were its
  absolute sources, theses, and themes, for
  instance, Thomas Aquinas on The Existence of God
  -- he based his arguments on the Bible and its
  footnotes, etc., so it provided the theoretical
  foundation for medieval Christianity and
  theology, strengthening medieval Christian faith
  (3) its methodology -- (A) quoting and citing the
  Holy Bible and (B) analyzing with arguments,
  replies, and refutations, etc., such as those by
  Thomas Aquinas.

6

• From 8th to 15th centuries Europe, monastery
  focus of learning (theology and philosophy.
• 3 Schools/Main Streams
• 1. 5th century onward, St. Augustine (Plato) --
  traditional theology by faith (contemplation) --
  orthodox main stream

7

• 2. 12th to 13th centuries, the philosophy of
  Aristotle, especially his scientific thoughts,
  returned from the Middle East (because of the
  Crusades) -- by observation and experiments --
  became a new kind of Christian philosophy, but it
  had been a kind of heresy or side stream until
  Thomas Aquinas who tried to merge faith and
  reason
• 3. 14th century, mysticism, a kind of religious
  philosophy became popular, but it was considered
  a kind of heresy, and was trialed in the
  Inquisition (and heretics were to be burned at
  stakes.

8

• Scholasticism added notes and explanation to
  Christian faith and doctrines, thus, it was said
  to be serving the Christian Church as its
  arguments and theories were protecting and
  defending the principles of the Church (even
  though it was using scientific and rational
  methods.

9

• II. Mendicantism
• Mendicants beggars
• Mendicare to beg
• Vowed absolute poverty in voluntary imitation of
  the poverty and humility of Christ and the
  Apostles opposite to the medieval Church, which
  had a lot of wealth (because of donation, etc.),
  and it became corrupted.

10

• Therefore, 2 religious ordered (A) the
  Dominicans and (B) the Franciscans
• Devoted to a life of poverty, preaching and doing
  charitable deeds
• Rejecting wealth, luxury, corruption
• Dedicated themselves to religious works

11

• Meanwhile, there were heretics (mysticism)
  rebelling against the Christian Church
  (orthodoxy, main stream) and the Papacy used
  Inquisition to put them on trial and then burnt
  them at stake, which caused grievances.
• Now, with the Dominicans and the Franciscans,
  they became more effective tools to deal with the
  heretics (or opposing forces).
• And these Dominicans and Franciscans were
  mendicants, thus, starting a mendicant movement.

12

• The Dominicans
• St. Dominic (1170-1221) well-educated Spaniard,
  mid-30s to Rome, met Pope Innocent III, asking to
  start a religious order for preaching
• 1205-1215 St. Dominic won himself fame
• 1215 The Dominicans became the Order of Friars
  (brothers) preachers.
• Spread rapidly

13

• 1221 St. Dominic died. (There were 500 friars and
  60 priories organized in 8 provinces especially
  attractive to those who could not be satisfied
  with the enclosed life of earlier monasticism).
• The Dominicans -- traveling and preaching
• Strictness of the discipline
• Albertus Magnus (1206-1280)
• Thomas Aquinas (1226-1274)
• Concerned with education and knowledge

14

• St. Francis (1182--1226) son of a wealthy cloth
  merchant of the Italian town of Assisi, a warm,
  appealing man youth generous, high-spirited,
  and popular soon became the leader of a
  boisterous but harmless teenage gang then in his
  20s, sick of fever, underwent a profound
  religious conversion (dramatic)cf. Muhammad, Tai
  Ping leaders, etc.

15

• Then, St. Francis devoted himself to solitude,
  (as a hermit), prayer, and service to the poor.
• On his pilgrim to Rome, he exchanged clothes with
  beggars, and begging with beggars.
• When St. Francis returned to Assisi, he spent his
  time to the service for the lepers and hospitals
  thus, his bourgeois father disinherited him.
• 1209 St. Francis started preaching
• 1220 Pope Innocent III saw the potential of St.
  Francis, confirmed his religious mission, thus,
  expanding.

16

• The Franciscans, instead of living in a
  monastery, they worked and preached in the
  outside world.
• 1204 St. Francis died. (There were 1000 friars,
  active in France, Holy Roman Empire, England,
  Spain, and Hungary)
• St. Francis preached the imitation of Christ
  poverty, humility, working serving, and
  preaching (I strictly command all the brothers
  never to receive coin or money either directly or
  through an intermediary).

17

• According to The Oxford Illustrated History of
  Christianity (Edited by John McManners, Oxford
  Oxford U. Press, 1992.), Francis, A charismatic
  personality of tremendous charm, he devoted
  himself to a life of complete poverty and
  alternated his ministry between the crowded
  cities and his beloved hermitages

18

• The Dominicans and Franciscans were much in tune
  with the thirteenth century than their older
  monastic brethren, for the Dominican and
  Franciscan friars, as the newer groups were
  called, forsook the ascetic life of contemplation
  in monasteries and went into the world to bring
  religion to people everywhere. The friars
  answered an important social need. The
  population of Europe had grown so rapidly that by
  the thirteenth century the establishment of
  parishes lagged far behind. The people of town
  and city,

19

• They resented the wealth of the Church and the
  worldliness of the clergy. They felt little
  attachment to the great institution that seemed
  to pay so little attention to their spiritual
  needs. The friars served where there were no
  priests, living with the townspeople, teaching
  them, and administrating the sacraments to them.
  At the same time, the friars set an example of
  simple faith and poverty, fixed firmly to rigid
  orthodoxy. They seemed to the troubled souls of
  thirteenth-century Europe a reincarnation of the
  Apostles.

20

• The Order of Friars Minor, or Franciscans, was
  founded in 1210 when Pope Innocent III gave his
  approval to the primitive rule drawn up by St.
  Francis of Assisi and his followers. They
  refused to live in isolation and practiced
  poverty so complete that they insisted they did
  not even own the ragged garments on their backs.
  Furthermore, they preached an inspirational brand
  of Christianity that might easily slip over into
  heresy. But Innocent saw their worth the Church
  needed men such as these to help revive once more
  the ideals of the Founder.

21

• St. Francis (1182-1226) was repelled by the
  materialism he saw around him and gave up the
  life of business his father had intended for him.
  He soon began to preach humbly to whoever
  would listen, even to the birds and the beasts.
  In 1223, again against his wishes, he
  prescribed a more elaborate rule the Franciscans
  were organized and disciplined and made a part of
  the institution of the Church in spite of
  themselves.

22

• Throughout the thirteenth and fourteenth
  centuries the Franciscans grew in numbers and
  influence, for their simple lesson of humility
  and love touched the hearts of all men. the
  anti-materialist doctrine conflicted with profit
  making was ... a reason for its success.
  Bankers and merchants renounced their wealth
  while humble people, already poor, gained hope
  The ideal of St. Francis and his followers
  became, indeed, the most powerful psychological
  force among Europeans of the late Middle Ages.

23

• Within the order itself, however, the ideal began
  to be questioned soon after Francis death.
  Popularity brought many gifts of property, and
  with wealth came a bitter controversy between the
  Spiritual Franciscans, who wished to live as St.
  Francis had lived, and the majority called
  Conventuals, who wished to modify his absolute
  stand against property.

24

• The Dominicans were founded by St. Dominic
  (1170-1221), a Spanish priest, to extirpate
  heresy through preaching. Like the Franciscans,
  the Dominicans traveled about, living in the
  world, bringing the Word to the faithful. Like
  the Franciscans, too, they were mendicants, but
  relaxed the rules against owning property early
  in their career. There the similarity stopped.
  The Dominicans were the Churchs guardians of
  orthodoxy -- hounds of the Lord (domini canes, a
  pun on dominicani, Dominicans) to keep the sheep
  from straying from the flock. As scholars, they
  were unrivaled as inquisitors, they were
  tireless in their search for heretics.

25

• Together the Franciscans and Dominicans revived
  the Church by bringing it once again into harmony
  with the changing times. As we shall see, they
  turned the new learning of the twelfth century to
  the Churchs advantage, creating systems of
  theology that took Aristotle account. They
  protected the interests of the Church in urban
  Europe, where it was in the greatest immediate
  danger. Above all, they gave the Church and
  late medieval man an ideal, one that was rarely
  achieved but one that would prevail until the
  Renaissance. The Oxford Illustrated History of
  Christianity. Edited by John McManners, (Oxford
  Oxford U. Press, 1992.), pp. 213-214, 414-417.