THE CARMELITES

The third order of friars, that of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, had, as has been seen, particularly close associations with England. The English province, therefore, which was the largest in the order, stood to the rest of the body in something of the same relation as did the Italian provinces to the rest of the order of the Austin Hermits; each, as nursing mother, held a special place in the affections of all. This place of honour carried with it a certain precedence: thus both Scotland and Ireland were treated as appendages of England; the provincial chapter had the right (elsewhere reserved to the prior-general and general chapter) of appointing lecturers in the schools of Oxford, Cambridge and London; and English friars were frequently elected vicars-general.

In contrast to the three other orders of friars, the province long remained without internal administrative divisions. Their creation, perhaps early in the fourteenth century, was due to an academic inconvenience, and is an interesting indication of the importance attached to a degree in divinity, at least among the mendicants. It had been found that one region (no doubt that of East Anglia, where the Carmelites were always in strength) had secured a preponderance of students at the university; to remedy this, four ‘distinctions’ had been established, taking their names from London, York, Norwich and Oxford; each of these was to choose four diffinitors to send to the provincial chapter, and from each an equal number of friars was to pass each year to the university, where they were to proceed in rotation to their degrees.