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Reform at the council of Constance: the Franciscan case

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2016

Duncan Nimmo
Duncan Nimmo*
Affiliation:
Cartmel CollegeUniversity of Lancaster
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Extract

In the history of Christian renewal, the council of Constance (1414–18) holds an important, and on the whole unhappy, position. It embodied the highest aspirations: as is well known, its aim was the regeneration of the Roman church at every level—the familiar ‘reform in head and members’; this cause was the council’s chief preoccupation from mid-1415 until its close; yet by common consent its achievement was, if not null, then negligible, in relation both to the task it had set itself, and to the real requirements of the day; and thus—it is tempting to conclude—in failing to reform itself, the medieval church made necessary the different and in many respects regrettable reform of the sixteenth century.

Type
Research Article
Information
Studies in Church History , Volume 14: Renaissance and Renewal in Christian History , 1977 , pp. 159 - 173
Copyright
Copyright © Ecclesiastical History Society 1977

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References

1 For a detailed account of the council’s quest for reform see FM 14, 1 (1962) pp 188-215.

2 This conclusion is advanced in the writer’s PhD thesis for the university of Edinburgh, The Franciscan Regular Observance 1368-1447 and the divisions of the Order 1214-1528 (1974), which, subject to revision, has been accepted for publication by the Capuchin Historical Institute, Rome. The present paper is based on part of this study.

3 Basic accounts: Gratien, P., ‘Les débuts de la réforme des cordeliers en France et Guillaume Josseaume’, Etudes Franciscaines 31 (Paris 1914) pp 415-39Google Scholar; Holzapfel, [H.], Handbuch [der Geschichte des Franziskanerordens] (Freiburg 1909) pp 101-6Google Scholar; Moorman, [J. R. H.], [A] History [of the Franciscan Order from its origins to the year 1517] (Oxford 1968) pp 380-3Google Scholar. The narrative which follows will not again cite these accounts, but only the relevant primary sources, or more specific secondary studies. The one important contemporary narrative is that of the observants themselves, given in their ‘Quaerimoniae [propositae in concilio Constantiense]’, in Speculum Minorum (Rouen 1509) fols 175r-84r.

4 The literature on the spirituals is extensive. Introductions in Poulenc, J., ‘Spirituali’, Enciclopedia delle Religioni, 5 (Florence 1970) cols 1313-17Google Scholar; Oliger, L., ‘Spirituels’, DTC 14 (1941) cols 2522-49Google Scholar. A substantial account in English is Lambert, M.D., Franciscan Poverty (London 1961)Google Scholar. Fundamental historically are the studies and documents published by Ehrle, F. in Ehrle, F. and Denifle, H., A[rchiv für] L[iteratur- und] K[irchen] G[eschichte des Mittelalters], 7 vols (Berlin/Freiburg 1885-1900)Google Scholar, in particular: ‘Die Spiritualen, ihr Verhältniss zum Franciscanerordenund zu den Fraticellen’, 1 (1885) pp 509-69, 2 (1886) pp 106-64, 249-336, 3 (1887) pp 553-623, 4 (1888) pp 1-190; ‘Zur Vorgeschichte des Concils von Vienne’, 2 pp 353-416, 3 pp 1-195; ‘Petrus Iohannis Olivi, sein Leben und seine Schriften’, 3 pp 409-552.

5 Printed in ALKG 3 (1887) 51-89.

6 ‘Quaerimoniae’ fol 177v.

7 B[ullarium] F[ranciscanum], 7 (Rome 1904) pp 350-1, 361.

8 Ibid pp 417-18.

9 For particular cases see ‘Quaerimoniae’ fols 177v-9v; Oliger, [L.], ‘De relatione [inter Observantium quaerimonias Constantienses (1415) et Ubertini Casalensis quoddam scriptum]’, Archivum Franciscanum Historicum 9 (Quaracchi 1916) pp 3–41 Google Scholar, at pp 39-41; Schmitz, C., ‘Der Anteil der suddeutschen Observantenvikarie an der Durchführung der Reform’, F[ranziskanische] S[tudien] 2 (Münster 1915) pp 359-76Google Scholar, esp 360-4; Gratien, P., ‘Le grand schisme et la réforme des cordeliers à St. Omer (1408-9)’ Franciscana 5 (Iseghem 1922) pp 5–15 Google Scholar, 142-80; BF 7 p 483.

10 That of St. Jean d’Angély, in the province of Touraine: ‘Quaerimoniae’ fol 179r/v.

11 This is established by Oliger, ‘De relatione’; see particularly the printing of extracts from the two documents side by side, pp 27-34. The article includes an account of the procedure followed.

12 ALKG 3 (1887) 87.

13 ‘Quaerimoniae’ fols 182v-3r.

14 Contained in the decree ‘Supplicationibus personarum’ of 23 September: BF 7 pp 493-5.

15 See Moorman, History, pp 582-5.

16 See FM 14, 1 (1962) pp 211-15.

17 The indispensable work for the Recollectio is [Las] Reformas [en los siglos XIV γ XV], special issue of A[rchivo] I[bero-]A[mericano] ns 17 (Madrid 1957). This contains studies of contemporary reform movements, including the Spanish regular observance (pp 17-173); studies on the Recollectio, covering the sources, the four main leaders, and its spiritual and other characteristics (pp 175-660); and all the important primary sources (nearly all in Spanish) (pp 661-945).

18 Reformas p 855.

19 Ibid p 856.

20 For example, by Ubertino of Casale in the Sanctitas vestra: ALKG 3 (1887) pp 53-4Google Scholar, 56, 76, 85.

21 This is best shown by reading through Villacreces’ Memoriale religionis in Reformas pp 687-713 (in Spanish).

22 Ibid p 784 line 193, p 656.

23 Ibid p 713 lines 4-5.

24 See particularly ibid p 694 lines 5-16.

25 See Esser, K., ‘Die “Regula pro eremitoriis data” des hl. Franziskus von Assisi’, FS 44 (1960) 383–417 Google Scholar.

26 Sabatier, [P.], Spec[ulum] Perf[ectionis seu S. Francisa Assisiensis legenda antiquissima] (Paris 1898) caps 55 Google Scholar, 82, 112. The most convenient guide to the analogous collections are the tables in Brooke, R.B., Scripta Leonis, Rufini et Angeli sociorum S. Francisci (Oxford 1970) pp 73-8Google Scholar. This is also the major recent English work on a much vexed question.

27 The features are evident throughout Villacreces’ Memoriale Religionis, and the sources in the footnotes to it: Reformas, pp 687-713. On the question of studies, see also ibid pp 862-3.

28 For the Portiuncula: Sabatier, Spec Perf, pp 17, 19, 27, 101, 160; for Francis, ibid pp 34, 47, 56, 110, 118, 130, 159.

29 On the early years of the Recollectio, the observance in Castile, and the career of Santoyo, see respectively Reformas 299-334, 119-65. 335-71. There are enigmatic glimpses of the relations between Villacreces, Santoyo and the observants in the later reminiscences of Lope of Salazar: ibid p 784 lines 170-91, p 785 line 228-p 786 line 246, p 803 lines 100-12, p 809 line 191-p 810 line 199, p 840 lines 11-13.

30 BF 7 pp 402-3.

31 Reformas p 658.

32 Ibid pp 656-7. On the use of’legenda antiqua’ by medieval Franciscans, see Clasen, [S.], Legenda antiqua [des heiligen Franziskus] (Leiden 1967) 214-25Google Scholar.

33 See Moorman, History, 369-71.

34 For an interesting contemporary view of the problem, with a historical basis, see de Veghel, O., ‘La réforme des frères mineurs capucins dans l’Ordre Franciscain et dans l’église’, Collectanea Franciscana 35 (Rome 1965) pp 73–108 Google Scholar.

35 See Reformas 583-6.

36 Ibid 656-9. The powers included control over admissions to and expulsions from the two friaries concerned, general powers of discipline, and extensive spiritual authority.

37 See Reformas 494-504; Carrion, L., ‘Origenes de la Custodia de “Domus Dei” y “Scala Coeli”‘, AIA 4 (Madrid 1915) pp 161-77Google Scholar.

38 See Holzapfel, Handbuch, pp 609-14; de Veghel, O., ‘Le fonds franciscain de la réforme capucine’ in Miscellanea Melchor de Pobladura, 2 (Rome 1964) pp 11–59 Google Scholar, esp pp 39-41.

39 See FM 14, 2 (1964) pp 911-41, 1031-63.

40 Sec Knowles, M.D., The Monastic Order in England (Cambridge 1963) pp 219-20CrossRefGoogle Scholar, 692.

41 See above n 20.

42 First shown by Ehrle, , ‘Spiritualen’, ALKG 4 (1888) pp 160-7Google Scholar, 181-5.

43 Moorman, J.R.H., Sources for the life of Saint Francis of Assisi (Manchester 1940) pp 152-3Google Scholar; Sabatier, Spec Perf p lx. The exiguous number of references to Francis’ testament in the sources covering the order’s first hundred years is displayed in Esser, K., Das Testament des heiligen Franziskus von Assisi (Münster 1949) pp 55-7Google Scholar.

44 This is most clearly seen from the lists of manuscripts in Ciasen, Legenda antiqua pp 43-166, and Esser, K. and Oliger, R., La tradition manuscrite des opuscules de Saint Francois d’Assise (Rome 1972)Google Scholar. Particularly striking is the very high degree of overlap between the two lists; in other words, most manuscripts contain both the writings of Francis and those deriving from his companions.