Francis & Dominic: The Rise of the Mendicant Orders

Week 9: Francis and Dominic - Poverty and City Life: Tutorial Discussion Post
By: Will, Joe, Ollie and Emily


Will's thoughts,


The readings this week reflect the formation of a new society in medieval Europe. That is to say, that a great deal of influential changes come into effect. Urbanisation occurred, and this is particularly influential as it changed the whole mind-frame of the society. The concept of feudalism was disbanded and society valued things not on birth and family, but on possessions and property, on material wealth. We also take note of the fusion between military orders of the religious and the warrior in that the religious life and the code of chivalry seemed to merge. Law changed as well, as practices of justice were now observed upon the basis of the seriousness of faults and crimes, considered in relation to the scale of facts, and to the situation and intention of the sinner. Perhaps most interesting, however, is the Church itself also changed, seemingly plunging into one of its darker periods in history, perhaps corresponding to the new mind-set for material wealth. With a series of reforms (It must be noted that the reforms of the Church were also in response to the changing world, in an effort to adapt to outside events as well as inspired by other less noble factors), some revealing setbacks such as the crusades deviating from their original purpose, to the inability of the Church to adapt to a new society of money, new forms of violence, and a new sense of temptation inflicted upon citizens of medieval Europe, it is made clear that the Church too had dramatically changed, at the turning of this new society. It would seem that as urbanisation occurred, the Church seemed to spiral into one of its most morally incorrect points in its expansive history. It is likely for this reason that Francis of Assisi is also mentioned in the readings, for he was a child of the town, growing up a merchant's son, and fixed firmly into the newly urbanised society. However, he also wanted to live a life of devout poverty and redefine the values of the Church, attempting to prove that even the lay people were worthy and capable of leading a truly apostolic life. I find the most interesting segment of this chapter, however, is the greed that seems to form, and how the Church responded to said greed.

Painting of Pope Innocent III

From Celano’s stories, how do you understand Francis’ relationship with the natural world?

Francis relationship with the natural world seems initially to be of an odd nature, as his entire life and comprehension of the world was based on his urban upbringing. In terms of his initial reaction with the natural world, he would have been a man concerned with material wealth and maximised utility. However, in achieving what seems to be an overwhelming epiphany, Francis disbanded his life of material wealth for a life of total poverty and worship to God. Hence his relationship with the natural world is particularly intimate, as he no longer saw it as a means to improve wealth, but as a creation of God, that must be comprehended and respected everyday, as is reflected in his constant and touching intimacy with the animals he encountered on his journeys. Thus, his relationship is one of great spirituality, as his life moved so drastically in terms of priorities, from that of one concerned with harvesting the world for wealth, to coexisting with the world, to achieve peace. 

St Francis after
reforming his life

A painting of urban life during the time of St Francis

Ollie's thoughts,

We see initially in the first reading that life, especially in the agricultural sector, was beginning to flourish. This dramatic improvement in the agricultural way of life is demonstrated by the use of more efficient farming techniques, i.e horses used instead of oxen, better and more diverse crops and the start of mechanisation. In this time of change, like in the agricultural sector, we see urbanisation take place, where the towns now became focal points and places where trade could be undertaken.

The second reading by Slocum goes into detail about the Inquisition where heretics were persecuted by the Church who regarded heresy “as treason against society”. This attempt to find the heretics demonstrates in my eyes, that the Church at this point was beginning to feel s

omewhat threatened and needed to assert its authority over society. Slocum also includes information on two Mendicant orders, the Franciscan and Dominican orders. These orders were groups of friars who went around Europe exerting the Christian faith and reaffirming heretics’ trust in the Christian Church. Interestingly we see that in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries that Christ was now not portrayed as a ruler but as a kind and loving person who gave his life for others.

In the third article on Francis of Assisi we are given an insight into why this famous saint was canonized and what made him an extraordinary human being. Overall I found these readings to be quite interesting, in that it gave a sense of what life was like for Christians and the Church during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

Q1. Summarise Slocum’s explanation of the foundation of the Franciscan Order

The foundation of the Franciscan Order is one of preaching the positive attributes that the apostolic life has to offer by example. The Franciscans believed that one should only need the very basics for life and there was no need for great wealth. The Order proceeded to eat only what they needed, posses only what they had on their backs and to give whatever wealth they had to the poor.  Similarly we see that the Order as well had to live with and amongst the people instead of becoming isolated in their quest to become closer to God. Unlike many other orders the Franciscans did not have to answer to any bishop or cardinal, they spoke directly to the Pope since they were given approval by the Pope. In the simplest terms the Franciscan Order attempted to follow in Jesus' footsteps and to live life the way he did, which was for others.

Q2. Summarise Slocum’s explanation of the foundation of the Dominicans order

The Dominicans unlike the Franciscans emphasized learning and education in such a way that resembles early Christian teachings. The Dominicans, with their focus being on education, went from town to town to instil the Christian message without any formal place of residence. Unlike the Franciscans who lived as Christ did the Dominicans attempted to live their life as apostolic as possible, where they would preach the word of Christ through education. Furthermore, one of the most pivotal features of the Dominican order was the hierarchy system. Each member was voted into certain ranks, that person would then be responsible for the rest of the members below him. In addition, unlike many other orders the Dominicans did not have to answer to any bishop or cardinal, they voiced their opinions directly to the Pope since they, like the Franciscans, were accepted by the Pope as a ‘legitimate’ order. Overall the Dominicans lived a life of education, where life was lived on the road as they believed that it was the best way to expand the teachings of the Christian Church.

St Francis preaching to the birds - by Giotto

Joe's thoughts,

This week’s readings focused on two religious groups, the Franciscans and the Dominicans. Both of which focused on living a holy life, however, they did have some minor differences. It seems as though both were driven by their leaders Francis of Assisi and Dominic Guzman. The rise of both groups highlights the power and significance of religion in medieval Europe, as these men were able to encourage others to join their groups and live lives heavily focused around piety and spirituality. 

In Celano’s account of Francis’s life, with what values does he imbue the figure of Francis? Discuss with examples from the text.

Celano uses his account of Francis’s life to imbue values such as humility, divinity, spirituality and an amazing affinity with nature and animals.

Celano suggests Francis became a man of profound humility after rejecting “his former life and father’s” ideologies, which were focused around trade and material wealth, rather then spiritual development. This is clear through Celano’s description of Francis as a “servant of the most high”, and is further compounded when Francis “stripped off his clothes and threw them aside… and stood in front of everyone”. Furthermore Celano explores “the Franciscan emphasis on humility”, implying that it is a pivotal aspect of the order as a whole, along with being a key value held by Francis himself.

Celano also explores Francis’ deep divinity and piety, suggesting that it was one of his foremost values. This is initially established after “the crucifix moved its lips and began to speak” while Francis was visiting “the church of St. Damien”. This divine moment acted as a major catalyst in Francis’s life, prompting a change leading to “holy passion [which was] deeply imprinted in his heart”. Similarly Celano highlights Francis’s divinity after a bishop sensed that he was “divinely inspired”. This is compounded as Francis discovered that “Christ’s disciples were supposed to possess neither gold… nor bread… nor tunics”, prompting him to claim “This is what I want! This is what I’m looking for!” A discovery which lead Francis to abandon his “shoes… staff… [and be] satisfied with a single tunic”.

St Francis receiving the stigmata - by Giotto

Emily's thoughts

The readings this week follow the shift in social culture, in turn affecting every aspect of medieval life such as the economy, social hierarchy and religion.  With the rapid expansion of urbanization we see towns entering a form of industrialization and social environments adapting to its time. This adaption sees the role of power falling into the hands of people such as merchants who run trade, therefore the money. Consequently society no longer recognizes power in terms of birth and family but rather possession and property. The power of wealth is undoubtedly a main cause of the deterioration of feudalism.

In the mist of this transition a new form of spirituality was adopted with Christ portrayed as suffering rather then righteous. The readings also examine heavily Francis Assisi and his reasons towards an apostolic life, which is mirrored in the rise of urbanization.

Q. Le Goff places Francis life in the context of increased urbanization. What argument does Le Goff make about the impact of urban life upon Francis’ religious life?

With the dramatic increase in population and movement of urbanization in the medieval West it is no surprise that the surrounding environment affected Francis’s life and in turn his religious life. In a sense the powerful movement of urbanization also saw a movement of social structure. Social inequality was based on possession and poverty rather than birth and family. Le Goff’s focus point of his argument is stated in the first few lines of the text when discussing increasing population, ‘All these people had to be fed, materially and spiritually’, which is soon followed by the introduction of urbanization. In times of social and economic shifts the doors to foreign ideologies appear to gain more ground and appeal to the public. With the rise of urbanization Le Goff explains that the holy burghers, lay people and Mendicant friars accepted towns. Merchants controlled the trade, which in turn controlled the money. With the merchants following Christendom, which was very fragmented due to the economic and social environment, a new form of currency system was developed which took over the function of the monasteries. Therefore, with Christendom being run by those powerful in towns, the shift of religion shifted with the growth of urbanization. Le Goff illustrates that with urbanization promoting the power of possession and property, consumerism and ‘greed’ were seen to mirror society. This new form of society changed the Church. The social and economical environment opened the doors for Francis’s religious beliefs in greed and bourgeoisies consumerism, resulting in the introduction of apostolic life.