Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- MAPS
- Acknowledgements
- Chronology
- Glossary of Terms
- Abbrevations
- Dedication
- Introduction
- Section One The Thirteenth Century
- Section Two The Fourteenth Century
- 9 The Mission to China
- 10 The Growing Clamour for Reform
- 11 The Crisis under Pope John XXII
- 12 The Friars and Their Neighbours
- 13 Giovanni Boccaccio, Satire and the Friars
- 14 The Friars' Churches
- 15 Communities of the Friars Minor Conventual
- 16 The Emergence of the Observant Reform in Umbria
- Section Three The Fifteenth Century
- Conclusion
- Select Bibliography
- Index
12 - The Friars and Their Neighbours
from Section Two - The Fourteenth Century
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- MAPS
- Acknowledgements
- Chronology
- Glossary of Terms
- Abbrevations
- Dedication
- Introduction
- Section One The Thirteenth Century
- Section Two The Fourteenth Century
- 9 The Mission to China
- 10 The Growing Clamour for Reform
- 11 The Crisis under Pope John XXII
- 12 The Friars and Their Neighbours
- 13 Giovanni Boccaccio, Satire and the Friars
- 14 The Friars' Churches
- 15 Communities of the Friars Minor Conventual
- 16 The Emergence of the Observant Reform in Umbria
- Section Three The Fifteenth Century
- Conclusion
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This solidarity between the mendicant orders and the cities which sheltered them depended on a balanced exchange of services: the municipality granted them regular subsidies in the form of gifts … In exchange, it often took advantage of their services as messengers, mediators or diplomats.
André VauchezUrban integration
Civic authorities featured prominently among the friars' friends and benefactors; some friaries regarded the local commune as their founders. Such partnerships are illustrated by Louise Bourdua, who explains that the building of the basilica in Padua arose from collaboration between the friars, the commune, nobles, confraternities and the people of the city. One link between friary and commune was the celebration of St Francis's feast, a day connected with gifts of alms. The civic statutes of Treviso ordained that the feast should be celebrated communally and that the podestá, bishop and his senior clergy should attend Mass at San Francesco.
Friars ministered to the local population, which supported them in material terms. Their contribution to the city or borough was not confined to the spiritual realm. They were pleased to promote the cities and regions in which they dwelled. For instance, in 1288 a friar of Milan wrote a brief account in praise of that city and its civic and religious institutions. The friars' promotion of local interests is reflected in Richmond, Yorkshire, where they supplied the town with drinking water.
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- The Franciscans in the Middle Ages , pp. 141 - 150Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2006