Fraticelli
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The Fraticelli (Italian for "Little Brethren")[1] or Spiritual Franciscans opposed changes to the rule of Saint Francis of Assisi, especially with regard to poverty,[2] and regarded the wealth of the Church as scandalous, and that of individual churchmen as invalidating their status[citation needed]. The Fraticelli were declared heretical in 1296 by Boniface VIII.
The name Fraticelli is used for various sects, which appeared in the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, principally in
The
Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose is set against the persecution of Fraticelli.
Word origin
Etymologically, Fraticelli is a diminutive derived from the Italian frate (plural frati),[3] itself derived from Latin Frater 'brother', in Italian often shortened to Fra when referring to members of religious orders.
Frati was a designation of the members of the
Background
Early Franciscans were itinerant preachers, who, following their founder Francis of Assisi, took to heart Christ's injunction in Luke 9:3: "Take nothing for the journey – no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt."[5] Living by such a rule required constant begging for alms, and over time this produced tensions, both with potential benefactors faced with repeated appeals from mendicant friars, and with established monastic orders accustomed to aid from the same pool of benefactors.
Over time, as the order grew, it faced the demands of caring for sick or elderly friars, and providing for its members sent to university for theological training.
In support of the friars' commitment to "holy poverty", Pope Gregory IX adopted a legal construct whereby gifts given to the Franciscans were vested in the Holy See, which granted the friars the mere use of it. In this way, they need not be perennially destitute. Pope Innocent IV gave the Franciscans permission to appoint "procurators" to buy, sell and administer goods given to them. Pope Nicholas III confirmed the arrangement in 1279, in the bull Exiit qui seminat. The "Zelanti" or "Spirituals" felt that this abrogated the spirit of the founder, and believed a restricted use of property was more in keeping with the rule. The differences were not fully adjusted nor was unity ever completely restored between the Spirituals and the main body of the order, the Community.
Various Fraticelli
Angelo da Clareno and the "Clareni"
The first Fraticelli group was begun by Brother
After the abdication of Celestine V, his successor,
Angelo remained in Central Italy until 1311, when he went to
Early in 1317
It appears from the papal Bulls that the followers of Angelo established themselves in Central Italy, i.e., in the province of
His adherents considered their rule as representing the Gospel, and as the Pope, they reasoned, cannot dispense from the Gospel, so he cannot dispense from, or even explain, the rule in any other than a literal sense.[11] After the controversy regarding poverty broke out (1321–1328), all the Fraticelli showed a stronger opposition to the papacy.
With the election of
Angelo was able to move from Subiaco, heading towards the Kingdom of Naples, where the presence of Philip of Majorca and Provençal and Catalan Spirituals at the court of Queen Sancia guaranteed continuous assistance.[9] Angelo died 15 July 1337, and the congregation, deprived of its leader, loosely organized to begin with, and hard pressed by the Inquisition, seems to have split into a number of groups.
Angelo was highly esteemed by the Augustinian Hermits, with whom he was on friendly terms, especially with Gentile da Foligno and Simone da Cassia, an ascetic writer of great repute. He corresponded with both, and, after the death of Angelo, Simone bitterly lamented the loss of a friend and spiritual adviser. It is likely that the Fraticelli whom Simone afterwards successfully defended against the Dominicans in the civil courts at Florence (c. 1355), where he was then preaching, were adherents of Clareno.
In April 1389, Fra Michele Berti, from
The "Poor Hermits" of Monte della Majella, near
Fraticelli de paupere vita
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Chronologically the second main group of Fraticelli were the Spirituals who fled from Tuscany to Sicily, and were surnamed at first the Rebellious Brothers and Apostates, but later the "Fraticelli de paupere vita".
When, in 1309, the differences between the Relaxati and the Spirituals had reached a critical point, Clement V cited representatives of both parties to appear before the Curia with a view to adjusting their disputes. The result of this conference was the Constitution "Exivi de Paradiso",[14] enacted at the final session of the Council of Vienne (6 May 1312). This Constitution contained an explanation of the Rule of St. Francis along stricter lines than those of the Bull "Exiit qui seminat"[15] of Nicholas III (14 August 1279), and justified the Spirituals in various matters. This proceeding, however, only provoked the Relaxati superiors to take energetic measures against the Zelanti.
Towards the end of 1312 a number of Tuscan Spirituals left their monasteries and took forcible possession of the monasteries of Carmignano (near Florence), Arezzo, and Asciano, putting the Relaxati to flight. About fifty, fearing punishment, fled to Sicily. Clement V, hearing of these events, commanded the Archbishop of Genoa and two other bishops to force them to return to obedience under penalty of excommunication. As nearly all disregarded this mandate, the prior of San Fidele at Siena, who had been commissioned to execute it, declared them excommunicated and placed their monasteries under interdict (14 May 1314). As it soon became impossible for them to remain in Tuscany, they all fled to Sicily,[16] where they were joined by numerous Zelanti from Northern Italy and Southern France. King Frederick of Sicily, brother of King James II of Aragon, admitted them after they had submitted their statutes to his inspection. Fra Enrico da Ceva was now their leader.
John XXII (15 March 1317) admonished King Frederick to take severe measures against them. In a letter of the same date addressed by the cardinals at Avignon to the entire hierarchy of Sicily, special stress was laid on the fact that the fugitives had elected a superior general, provincials, and guardians. On 23 January 1318, Pope
Banished from Sicily, where, however, some remained till at least 1328, they established themselves securely in Naples.
Michaelites
This third group of the Fraticelli derive their name from Michael of Cesena (died 1342), their chief representative and natural leader. It must be premised that this name was in vogue during the fifteenth century and that the party it designated exerted great influence in doctrinal matters on the other groups as early as 1329.
The controversy began at Narbonne in 1321 between the Dominicans and Franciscans. The main question at issue seems to have been whether it is heretical to assert that Christ and His Apostles possessed no property either in particular or in common. In 1321 the Dominican Inquisitor at Narbonne, John of Belna, declared heretical the teaching of an imprisoned Beghard of that region, who asserted that Christ and the Apostles owned nothing either individually or in common. The Franciscan lector, Bérenger Talon, defended the Beghard. Berenger refused to retract and was threatened with punishment by the inquisitor. The matter soon developed into a general controversy between the Dominicans and Franciscans. On this particular issue the Relaxati and Zelanti agreed citing the Bull of Nicholas III, Exiit qui seminat, which had defined the poverty of the Franciscans, both individually and collectively, as equivalent to that of the Apostles, and had therefore transferred to the Roman Church all their holdings in land and houses, as had already been enacted by Innocent IV (14 November 1245).
Because of the important bearing of the controversy on the rule of the Friars Minor, a general chapter of the order was convoked at Perugia, in June of the year 1322, and the minister general, together with the other members of the chapter, caused two letters or communications to be published in which the mind of the chapter regarding the controversy is set forth at considerable length.[17] Anticipating, on the advice of the Franciscan Cardinals Vitalis and Bertrand, the definitive decision of the pope, the chapter solemnly declared in favor of the "absolute poverty" of Christ (4 June 1322). This pronunciamento was signed by the general, Michael of Cesena, the provincial ministers of Southern Germany, England (William of Nottingham, not Occam), Aquitania, Northern France, and others, as well as by several renowned scholars. On 11 June the chapter solemnly published its decrees to all Christendom.
Indignant at the action of the chapter at Perugia, Pope John XXII published the Bull Ad conditorem canonum (8 December 1322), in which he renounces the dominion of all the goods of the Friars Minor hitherto assumed by the Roman pontiffs. He declared that the Roman Church renounced all its claims to the movable and immovable properties of the Franciscan Order and therewith returned them. John echoed Gerard of Abbeville, declaring that the ownership of a thing cannot be separated from its actual use or consumption.[17] The Franciscans objected to this attack on their longstanding beliefs and customs and the poverty that was their hallmark.
In the name of the order
The controversy between the pope and the order soon took on a political character, the Minorites having been appointed counselors to
On 8 June 1327, Michael received instructions to present himself at Avignon, a command which he obeyed in December 1327. The pope having sharply reproved him in public (9 April 1328) for the chapter's action at Perugia, he drew up a secret protest and, fearing punishment, fled, despite the orders of the pope, to
In the meantime, Louis the Bavarian had entered Rome with a German army, and had himself solemnly crowned Emperor of Rome by Sciarra Colonna (17 January 1328); on 12 May he nominated and had consecrated as antipope Pietro Rainalducci of Corvara, a Franciscan, under the name of Nicholas V. The three fugitives from Avignon accompanied Louis to Bavaria, where they remained till their deaths. After Louis IV had returned to Bavaria, Nicholas V, deprived of all support, took refuge with the Count of Donoratico.
John XXII deposed Michael as general of the order and appointed the Minorite Cardinal
The proceedings against Michael were published in various localities. On 5 September 1328, John XXII commanded the imprisonment of Fra Azzolino, who was acting as Michael's vicar, and on 18 August 1331, the arrest of another vicar, Fra Thedino, who represented Michael in the March of Ancona.
Prominent among the followers of Michael were the more or less numerous Minorites in the monasteries of Todi and Amelia (against whom proceedings were instituted in 1329–30), of Cortona (1329), and of Pisa (1330), where, however, they appeared openly as late as 1354, and at Albigano, and Savonna (1329–1332). Papal decrees reveal the presence of Michaelites in England (1329), Germany (1322), Carcassonne, Portugal (1330), Spain (1329), Sicily and Lombardy (1329, 1334), Sardinia, Armenia, and other places.
The records of a process (1334) conducted in irregular form against the Fraticelli of the Franciscan monastery at Tauris, who had been reported by Dominicans, show that they inveighed openly against John XXII and upheld the views of Michael of Cesena, although in their apocalyptic manner they declared that the order of the Friars Minor was divided in three parts, and that only those would be saved who would journey to the East, i.e. themselves. It is uncertain whether these were identical with the Fraticelli in Armenia, Persia, and other oriental localities, where all bishops were commanded by Clement VI to prosecute them (29 May 1344). For a long time, the sect prospered exceedingly in the Duchy of Spoleto on account of the continual political turmoil. In a process instituted against a particular Umbrian group of Fraticelli in 1360, it is noted that Fra Francesco Niccolò of Perugia was their founder. They pretended to observe the
They imitated the Sicilian Fraticelli in their doctrines and methods of instruction. A letter is still extant which the Fraticelli of the Campagna (1353–1355) wrote to the magistrates of Narni when they heard that one of their number (Fra Stefano) had been cruelly imprisoned by the Inquisition of that city twelve or fifteen years before. In this letter, they petitioned the magistrates to liberate him according to the example of the cities of "Todi, Perugia, Assisi, and Pisa".
Naples
It subsequently becomes difficult to differentiate these groups with precision. In Naples and Calabria, where King Robert and Queen Sanzia exhibited special veneration for St. Francis and his humble followers, the chaplaincies were held by Franciscans. There resided Fra Philip of Majorca, a brother of the queen. Like his father, James II of Majorca, Philip was sympathetic towards the Spiritual Franciscans. He was also a great admirer of Angelo da Clareno. In 1328 Philip had petitioned John XXII for permission for himself and other Franciscans to observe literally the Rule of St. Francis, independently of the superiors of the order; the pope had refused.[19] In a letter dated 10 August 1333, the pope was obliged to settle some doubts of the queen relating to the observance of "holy poverty", and the king had even composed a treatise favouring the views of the Chapter of Perugia (1322). The papal condemnations of the Fraticelli, therefore, had produced but slight results in the Kingdom of Naples.
On 1 August 1322, John XXII issued a general decree against the "Fraticelli de paupere vita", and after sending
On 8 July 1331, the pope admonished King Robert to withhold no longer the papal decrees against Michael of Cesena nor prevent their publication in his kingdom. Philip of Majorca, however, preached openly against the pope. It was due to the influence of the royal family that Fra Andrea of Galiano, a court chaplain at Naples, was acquitted in the process instituted against him at Avignon in 1338, as he still continued his intercourse with Michael of Cesena and with the fifty Michaelites who resided for some time under the king's protection in the castle of Lettere near Castellamare, but who later (1235) humbly submitted to their lawful superiors.
In 1336, "short-robed" Fraticelli still occupied the monastery of Santa Chiara at Naples, founded by Queen Sanzia, and were established in other parts of the kingdom; their expulsion was demanded on 24 June 1336 by Benedict XII (1334–1342). In 1344, Clement VI (1342–1352) found it necessary to reiterate the earlier decrees.
Several followers of Clareno were in the territory of Naples in 1362.
Between 1363–1370, it at last became possible for Franciscans to take possession of several monasteries in Calabria and Sicily from which the Fraticelli had been expelled; but
Other areas
The Fraticelli enjoyed complete liberty in Perugia. They lived where it best suited them, principally in the country-houses of the rich. They became so bold as to publicly insult the Minorites (Conventuals) in the monastery of San Francesco al Prato. It appears that these Fraticelli had elected their own popes, bishops and generals, and that they were split into various factions. The Conventuals, as their one means of defence, called in Fra Paoluccio of Trinci, the founder of the Observants, and ceded to him the small monastery on Monte Ripido near the city (1374). Fra Paoluccio was successful in his disputations with the Fraticelli, and when they had been clearly exposed as heretics, the people drove them from the city. These Fraticelli, and probably all the others of that period, were designated Fraticelli della opinione, perhaps on account of their opinion that the Roman papacy had ceased to exist with John XXII (1323) or Celestin V, and that they alone constituted the true Church. About this time, Fra Vitale di Francia and Fra Pietro da Firenze exercised a sort of generalship over the Fraticelli. They received protection and hospitality from rich and influential families in Apulia, around Rome, and in the March. One of their protectors was the knight Andreuccio de Palumbario, who sheltered them in his castle near Rieti, for which he was sharply called to account by Urban VI (4 May 1388). On the same day, the Benedictine Abbot of Farfa was reprimanded for a similar fault.
On 14 November 1394, Boniface IX empowered the Minorites of Terra di Lavoro to take possession of the monasteries deserted by the Fraticelli. Martin V conceded the same rights to the Franciscans of the Roman Province (14 November 1418) and, on 7 April 1426, transferred to them as a special grant the monastery of Palestrina, which had been a stronghold of the Fraticelli. In the same year, Martin V nominated St. John Capistran (27 May) and St. James of the Marches (11 October) as inquisitors general to take action against the Fraticelli. These promoters of order among the Franciscans fulfilled the duties of their office strictly and energetically and succeeded in striking at the very vitals of the sect. In 1415, the city of Florence had formally banished the "Fraticelli of the poor life, the followers of Michelino of Cesena of infamous memory", and in Lucca five Fraticelli, on trial, had solemnly abjured their error (1411). Martin V also ordered the Bishops of Porto and Alba to take steps against all Fraticelli "in the Roman province, the March of Ancona, the Duchy of Spoleto and other localities" (7 June 1427).
On 27 January of the same year, Martin V permitted the
Later history
A form of Fraticelli was also represented by Philip of Berbegni, a fanatical and eccentric Observant of Spain (1433), who attempted to establish a strict society de la Capuciola, but met vigorous opposition from
James of March, commissioned by Nicholas V to proceed against them (1449), wrote the "Dialogus contra Fraticellos", which he first published in 1452, making some additions to it later on. According to this the main establishments of the Fraticelli were situated in the valley of Jesi, at Maiolati, Poggio Cupo, Massaccia, and Mergo. They had also constituted bishops in other districts where there were a sufficient number of adherents. They made frequent journeys for propaganda purposes, especially in Tuscany. Some dressed partly as Minorites, some as hermits, often disguising themselves for the sake of protection. Their doctrine was a résumé of their former sectarian errors: the whole Roman Church had deserted the true Faith since the time of John XXII (1323); they alone constituted the true Church and retained the sacraments and the priesthood.
Only once again are measures known to have been taken against the Fraticelli, viz., in 1466, when a number of Fraticelli from
During this period numerous pamphlets were published controverting the errors of the Fraticelli. While the campaign was going on at Rome, information was brought concerning another sect similar to the Fraticelli, which had been discovered in Germany; but though these visionaries, led by Brothers Johann and Livin of Wirsberg, found adherents among the Mendicants in Bohemia and Franconia, they cannot be considered as Fraticelli. In spite of all persecutions, remnants of the original Fraticelli still survived, but their strength was crippled.
References
- ^ "Definition of FRATICELLI". merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
- ^ Keen 1969, p. 157-158.
- ^ a b c Bihl, Michael. "Fraticelli." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 31 December 2019 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Matthew Mills, "Fraticelli", in The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 4th ed. (Oxford University Press, 2022).
- ^ Gospel of Luke 9:3, New International Version: "When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 He told them: 'Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. 5 If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.' 6 So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere."
- ISBN 9780888442871
- ISBN 1-84383-221-6.[page needed]
- ^ Donovan, Stephen. "Angelo Clareno da Cingoli." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b "Angelo Clareno", Treccani (Dizionario-Biografico)
- ^ Douie, Decima Langworthy. The Nature and the Effect of the Heresy of the Fraticelli, Chapter III "Angelo da Clareno", Manchester University Press, 1932
- ^ Oliger, Livarius. "Spirituals." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 31 December 2019 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b Mollat 1965, p. 31.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-7179-3.
- ^ "Exivi de Paradiso". Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ^ "Exiit qui Seminat". Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ^ a b c Brackney 2012, p. 131.
- ^ a b "Bonagratia of Bergamo." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 1 January 2020 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Cum inter nonnullos". Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ISBN 978-0271041384.
Bibliography
- Keen (1969). The Pelican History of Medieval Europe. Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140210859.
- Angelus (Clarenus) (2005). Angelo Clareno: A Chronicle Or History of the Seven Tribulations of the Order of Brothers Minor. Translated by David Burr; Emmett Randolph Daniel. St. Bonaventure, NY USA: Franciscan Institute Publications. ISBN 978-1-57659-198-7.
- Burr, David (2010). Spiritual Franciscans: From Protest to Persecution in the Century After Saint Francis. University Park PA USA: Penn State Press. ISBN 978-0-271-04138-4.
- Douie, Decima Langworthy (1932). The Nature and the Effect of the Heresy of the Fraticelli. Manchester England UK: Manchester University Press. GGKEY:85K67SXS83A.
- Duba, William and Christopher David Schabel, ed. (2009). Gerald Odonis, Doctor Moralis and Franciscan Minister General: Studies in Honour of L. M. de Rijk. New York/Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-17850-2.
- Ehrle, Franz (1886). "Die Spiritualen, ihre Verhaltniss zum Franciscanerorden und zu den Fraticellen". Archiv für Literatur- und Kirchengeschichte des Mittelalters. 2: 108–336. (in German and Latin)
- Havely, Nick (2004). Dante and the Franciscans: Poverty and the Papacy in the 'Commedia'. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-83305-9.
- Mollat, Guillaume (1965). The Popes at Avignon, 1305-1378. Harper & Rowe.
- Muzzey, David Saville (1907). The Spiritual Franciscans. New York: Columbia university.
- Ginther, James R., ed. (2009). The Westminster Handbook to Medieval Theology. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-22397-7.
- Hughes, Philip (1979). "Chapter II, part 2 and part 3". History of the Church: Volume 3: The Revolt Against The Church: Aquinas To Luther. London: Sheed and Ward/A&C Black. pp. 125–187. ISBN 978-0-7220-7983-6.
- Mäkinen, Virpi (2001). Property Rights in the Late Medieval Discussion on Franciscan Poverty. Leuven/Louvain: Peeters Publishers. ISBN 978-90-429-0940-3.
- Piron, S., Le mouvement clandestin des dissidents franciscains au milieu du XIVe siècle, Oliviana, 3, 2009, on-line http://oliviana.revues.org/index337.html
- Robson, Michael and Jens Röhrkasten, ed. (2010). Franciscan Organisation in the Mendicant Context: Formal and Informal Structures of the Friars' Lives and Ministry in the Middle Ages. Münster: LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 978-3-643-10820-3. [especially the article by M. Brunner, pp. 353–375]
- Scalisi, Gabriella (1973). L'idea di chiesa: negli spirituali e nei fraticelli. Studi e testi francescani, v. 52 (in Italian). Roma: L.I.E.F.
- Tierney, Brian (1972). Origins of papal infallibility, 1150-1350: 1150 – 1350 ; a study on the concepts of infallibility, sovereignty and tradition in the Middle Ages. Leiden: Brill. GGKEY:UTAT6JZ4N46.
Other
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Bihl, Michael (OFM) (1909). "Fraticelli". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. VI. New York: Robert Appleton Company. pp. 244–249.