In 1215, Innocent III. being pope, the Lateran council passed the
following law: “Whereas the excessive diversity of these [monastic]
institutions begets confusion, no new foundations of this sort must be
formed for the future; but whoever wishes to become a monk must attach
himself to some of the already existing rules.” This same pope approved
the two Mendicant orders, urging them, it is true, to unite themselves
to one of the older orders; but, nevertheless, they became distinct
organizations, eclipsing all previous societies in their achievements.
The reason for this disregard of the Lateran decree is doubtless to be
found in the alarming condition of religious affairs at that time, and
in the hope held out to Rome by the Mendicants, of reforming the
monasteries and crushing the heretics.
The failure of the numerous and varied efforts to reform the
monastic institution and the danger to the church arising from the
unwonted stress laid upon poverty by different schismatic religious
societies, necessitated the adoption of radical measures by the church
to preserve its influence. At this juncture the Mendicant friars
appeared. The conditions demanded a modification of the monastic
principle which had hitherto exalted a life of retirement. Seclusion in
the cloister was no longer possible in the view of the remarkable
changes in religious thought and practice.
Innocent III. was wise enough to perceive the immediate utility of
the new societies based upon claims to extraordinary humility and
poverty. The Mendicant orders were, in themselves, not only a rebuke to
the luxurious indolence and shameful laxity of the older orders, but
when sanctioned by the church, the existence of the new societies
attested Rome's desire to maintain the highest and the purest standards
of monastic life. Hence, the Preaching Friars were permitted to
reproach the clergy and the monks for their vices and corruptions.
“The effect of such a band of missionaries,” says John Stuart Mill,
“must have been great in rousing and feeding dormant devotional
feelings. They were not less influential in regulating those feelings,
and turning into the established Catholic channels those vagaries of
private enthusiasm which might well endanger the church, since they
already threatened society itself.”
Two novel monastic features, therefore, now appear for the first
time: 1. The substitution of itineracy for the seclusion of the
cloister; and 2. The abolition of endowments.
1. The older orders had their traveling missionaries, but the
general practice was to remain shut up within the monastic walls. The
Mendicants at the start had no particular abiding place, but were bound
to travel everywhere, preaching and teaching. It was distinctly the
mission of these monks to visit the camps, the towns, cities and
villages, the market places, the universities, the homes and the
churches, to preach and to minister to the sick and the poor. They
neither loved the seclusion of the cell nor sought it. Theirs to tramp
the dusty roads, with their capacious bags, begging and teaching. Only
by this itinerant method could the people be reached and the preachers
of heresy be encountered.
2. One of the chief sources of strength in the heretical sects was
the justness of their attack upon the Catholic monastic orders, whose
immense riches belied their vows of poverty. The heretics practiced
austerities and adopted a simplicity of life that won the hearts of the
people, by reason of its contrast to the loose habits of the monks and
clergy. Since it was impossible to reform the older orders, it became
absolutely essential to the success of the Mendicants that they should
rigorously respect the neglected discipline. As the abuse of the vow of
poverty was particularly common, the Mendicants naturally emphasized
this vow.
While it is true that a begging monk was by no means unknown, yet
now, for the first time, was the practice of mendicity formally adopted
by entire orders. Owing to the excessive multiplication of mendicant
societies, Pope Gregory X., at a general council held at Lyons in 1272,
attempted to check the growing evil. The number of Mendicant orders was
confined to four, viz., the Dominicans, the Franciscans, the Carmelites
and the Augustinians or Hermits of Augustine. The Council of Trent
confined mendicity to the Observantines and Capuchins, since the other
societies had practically abandoned their original interpretation of
their vow of poverty and had acquired permanent property.
When Francis tried to enforce the rule of poverty, his rigor gave
rise to most serious dissensions, which began in his own lifetime and
ended after his death in open schism. Some of his followers were not
pleased with his views on that subject. They resisted his extreme
strictness, and after his death they continued to advocate the holding
of property. The popes tried to settle the quarrel, but ever and anon
it broke out afresh with volcanic fierceness. They finally interpreted
the rule of poverty to mean that the friars could not hold property in
their own names, but they might enjoy its use. Under this
interpretation of the rule, the beggars soon became very rich. Matthew
of Paris said: “The friars who have been founded hardly forty years
have built even in the present day in England residences as lofty as
the palaces of our kings.” But the better element among the Franciscans
refused to consent to such a palpable evasion of the rule. A portion of
this class separated themselves from the Franciscans, rejected their
authority, and formed a new sect called the Fratricelli, or
Little Brothers. It is very important to keep the history of this name
clearly in mind, for it frequently appears in the Reformation period
and has been the cause of much misunderstanding. The word “Fratricelli"
came to be a term of derision applied to any one affecting the dress or
the habits of the monks. When heretical sects arose, it was applied to
them as a stigma, but it was used first by a sect of rigid Franciscans
who deserted their order, adopted this name as their own, and exulted
in its use. The quarrel among the monks led to a variety of
complications and is intricately interwoven with the political and
religious history of the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries. “These rebellious Franciscans,” says Mosheim, “though
fanatical and superstitious in some respects, deserve an eminent rank
among those who prepared the way for the Reformation in Europe, and who
excited in the minds of the people a just aversion to Rome.”
The Mendicants were especially active in educational work. This is
to be attributed to several causes. Unquestionably the general and
increasing interest in theological doctrines and the craving for
knowledge affected the monastic orders. Europe was just arousing from
her medieval slumbers. The faint rays of the Reformation dawn were
streaking the horizon. The intellect as well as the conscience was
touched by the Spirit of God. The revolt against moral iniquity was
often accompanied by skepticism concerning the authority and dogmas of
the church. Questions were being asked that ignorant monks could not
answer. Too long had the church ignored these symptoms of the approach
of a new order of things. The church was forced to meet the heretics on
their own ground, to offset the example of their simplicity and purity
of life by exalting the neglected standards of self-denial, and to
silence them, if possible, by exposing their errors. Then came the
Franciscans, with their austere simplicity and their insistence upon
poverty. Then also appeared the Dominicans, or as they were called,
“The Watch-dogs of the Church,” who not only barked the church awake,
but tried to devour the heretics.
Francis halted for some time before giving encouragement to
educational enterprises. A life of devotion and prayer attracted him,
because, as he said, “Prayer purifies the affections, strengthens us in
virtue, and unites us to the sovereign good.” But, he went on,
“Preaching renders the feet of the spiritual man dusty; it is an
employment which dissipates and distracts, and which causes regular
discipline to be relaxed.” After consulting Brother Sylvester and
Sister Clara, he decided to adopt their counsel and entered upon a
ministry of preaching. The example and success of the Dominicans
probably inspired the Franciscans to give themselves more and more to
intellectual work.
Both orders received appointments in all the leading universities,
but they did not gain this ascendency without a severe conflict. The
regular professors and the clergy were jealous of them for various
causes, and resisted them at every point. The quarrel between the
Dominicans and the University of Paris is the most famous of these
struggles. It began in 1228 and did not end until 1259. The Dominicans
claimed the right to two theological professorships. One had been taken
from them, and a law was passed that no religious order should have
what these friars demanded. The Dominicans rebelled and the University
passed sentences of expulsion. Innocent IV., wishing to become master
of Italy, sided with the University, but the next month he was
dead,—in answer to their prayers, said the Dominicans, but rumor
hinted an even blacker cause. The thirty-one years of the struggle
dragged wearily on, disturbed by papal bulls, appeals, pamphlets and
university slogans. At last Alexander IV., in 1255, decided that the
Dominicans might have the second professorship and also any other they
thought proper. The noise of conflict now grew louder and boded ill for
the peace of the church. The pulpits flashed forth fiery utterances.
The monks were assailed in every quarter. William of Amour published
his essay on “The Perils of the Last Times,” in which he claimed that
the perilous times predicted by the Apostle Paul were now fulfilled by
these begging friars. He exposed their iniquities and bitterly
complained of their arrogance and vice. His book was burned and its
author banished. Although meaning to be a friend of Rome, he
unconsciously contributed his share to the coming reform. In 1259, Rome
thundered so loud that all Europe was terrified and the University was
awed into submission.
Another interesting feature in the history of their educational
enterprises is the entrance of the Mendicants into England, where they
acted a leading part in the educational and political history of the
country. The Dominicans settled first at Oxford, in 1221. The
Franciscans, after a short stay at Canterbury, went to Oxford in 1224.
The story of how the two Gray friars journeyed from Canterbury to
Oxford runs as follows: “These two forerunners of a famous brotherhood,
being not far from Oxford, lost their way and came to a farmhouse of
the Benedictines. It was nearly night and raining. They gently knocked,
and asked admittance for God's sake. The porter gazed on their patched
robes and beggarly aspect and supposed them to be mimics or despised
persons. The prior, pleased with the tidings, invited them in. But
instead of sportively performing, these two friars insisted, with
sedate countenances, that they were men of God. Whereat the
Benedictines in jealousy, and displeased to be cheated out of their
expected fun, kicked and buffeted the two poor monks and turned them
out of doors. One young monk pitied them and smuggled them into a
hay-loft where we trust they slept soundly and safe from the cold and
rain.” The two friars finally reached Oxford and were well received by
their Dominican brothers. Such was the simple beginning of a brilliant
career that was profoundly to affect the course of English history.
Both at Cambridge and Oxford the monastic orders exercised a remarkable
influence. Traces of their labors and power may still be seen in the
names of the colleges, and in the religious portions of the university
discipline. They built fine edifices and manned their schools with the
best teachers, so that they became great rivals of the regular colleges
which did not have the funds necessary to compete with these wealthy
beggars. Another cause of their rapid progress was the exodus of
students from Paris to England. During the quarrel at Paris, Henry III.
of England offered many inducements to the students, who left for
England in large numbers. Many of them were prejudiced in favor of the
friars, and they naturally drifted to the monastic college. The secular
clergy charged the friars with inducing the college students to enter
the monasteries or to turn begging monks. The pope, the king, and the
parliament became involved in the struggle, which grew more bitter as
the years passed. After a while Wyclif appeared, and when he began his
mighty attack upon the friars the joy with which the professors viewed
the struggle can be appreciated.