Recruits to the order were its life-blood, just as converts had revitalised the apostolic community (Acts 6:1 and 6:7). Chroniclers were inclined to view admissions to the order as a mark of providence and divine approbation. Novices were accustomed to adopt a new identity and name. The friars’ vigorous ministry attracted a torrent of vocations to their ranks, as the first three collationes demonstrate. The second chapter of St Francis’s Regula non bullata speaks of those divinely inspired to seek admission to the order. Informed by this profound conviction, Eccleston emphasises the spiritual dimension which united men of different backgrounds in the fraternity:

Salimbene de Adam adopted a more scathing tone in sketching some of the more eccentric friars whom he encountered in various friaries of the Tuscan province, beginning with his unnamed socius in Pisa c.1240. Chroniclers delighted in recounting the prodigious success of reform movements in the monastic world. Orderic Vitalis reported that within approximately thirty-seven years of its foundation a flood of recruits had hastened to the Cistercian monastery at Cîteaux, which had founded sixty-five daughter houses. Eccleston likewise rejoices that so many impressive young men and admirable adults were clothed as friars and went on to play a pivotal role in the life of the fledgling province. His narrative focuses especially on the first indigenous vocation, Solomon, who is depicted as virtually flawless, a friar adorned with all the virtues.

Solomon and the first vocations in London

Given the speed with which the order spread throughout England and reached Wales, where three foundations were made (at Llanfaes, Carmarthen and Cardiff), it is probable that Eccleston regarded the recruitment at London as a symbol of what was taking place elsewhere. The first five vocations were introduced and each one was associated with the capital city. The first was Solomon, who embodied the fervent spirit of the order in its fidelity to the ideals of St Francis. He was a commendable friar, the first to be admitted by Agnellus of Pisa. Eccleston was at pains to show that the proto-vocation was closely attuned to the principles enunciated by the founder.