Throughout the history of the order some of the friars were concerned to encourage a purer observance of the rule and the ideals of poverty; in the fourteenth century some even supported the extreme position of the Franciscan Spirituals. The first extant register of a prior general, that of Gregorio da Rimini (1357–8), is less radical but opens with Ordinationes addressed to the provincial priors in which he exhorted them to reform the observance in their areas, insisting for example on the importance of attending the Office, eating together in the refectory, supervising young friars, and attending sermons preached in the community. It was to be followed by numerous letters to individuals and provincials directing them to reform particular abuses.

There were certainly serious difficulties in the order by this date. A general decline in the number of students was in large part due to the Black Death. The plague of 1348 left numerous communities decimated: in the province of Saxony-Thuringia alone, the prior provincial Jordan of Quedlinburg reported 244 deaths. Such losses may have encouraged inappropriate recruitment. In 1351 the general chapter relaxed the usual qualification requirements in an attempt to make up the numbers. Seven years later, nonetheless, in response to a request from the provincial prior of Spain, the prior general Gregorio da Rimini was still able to send him only one non-Spanish lector, Francesco di Amelia, protesting that he could not even fill all the vacant positions in Italy.