Francis and Dominic

Slocum’s explanation of the foundation of the Franciscan Order

Kay Slocum follows the life of Francis Belardorne of Assisi. He was a young man who involved himself in the conflicts between Assisi and neighbouring towns in which he was taken captive and placed in prison where he became violently ill. In seeking out religious consolation Francis heard a voice from the altar at the Church of St. Damian saying, “Francis, go build my church.” After this he began, using the materials from his father’s shop, to repair his church. His father, enraged, imprisoned Francis however Francis managed to escape and sought refuge with a local bishop. Shortly after Francis dramatically stripped himself of clothing and proclaimed his allegiance to God and renounced his father. Such was the beginning of his life as a holy man.

Francis proceeded to repair churches, however, did not understand fully what his role was in the service of God. This was until a priest’s sermon allowed Francis to realise that he should live and preach the apostolic life, a life in which one was completely unburdened by the possession of personal property or money. Francis, having attracted some followers, drew up a rule detailing this lifestyle. In contrast to the cloistered monks of the Cistercian Order Francis advocated a life residing amongst the people surviving on work and alms. This was inspirational to those, particularly the literate, who sought to imitate the life of Jesus according to the gospels due to dissatisfaction with the “moral laxity” of the clergy and tedium of monastic spirituality. Moreover Francis’ appreciation for the beauty of the natural world allowed him to create an emotional connection with the populous including heretics. As Slocum illustrates, however, Francis avoided serious accusations of heresy himself due to his respect for the priesthood and sacraments. Though initially reluctant, this allowed Pope Innocent to approve the Franciscan Rule in 1210.

The Franciscan Order, now official, began to expand and engage in missionary activity throughout Europe. Though the order was conceived initially without governance the increased size required Francis to write the second rule which reinforced the commitment to authority and established an administrational hierarchy. From there on the Franciscan Order had its own mature identity which began to influence further religious orders of holy poverty such as the “Poor Clares.”

Also Slocum’s explanation of the foundation of the Dominican Order 

The Dominican order was different to that of the Franciscans, although in some ways the two mirrored each other closely.  The Dominicans “emphasized learning and education” (p.361) and it “closely resembled the traditional monastic establishments” (p.361).  It was started as an attempt to control Cathar heresy. Dominic de Guzmán, a Spanish priest, and his bishop Diego of Osma, began “itinerant preaching” (p. 361) and eventually became known as the ‘order of preachers’.

Like the Franciscans, the Dominicans adopted the apostolic life of poverty, which suggests that this way of life was becoming more of an ideal sought throughout Europe as it gained wealth.

The Dominicans were unable to create a new rule for themselves, however the Pope Honorius III gave papal confirmation for the order to become a branch of the Rule of St Augustine, as it was very close to the desires of the Dominicans. Unlike St Francis, Dominic readily accepted the need for administration and organisation and created a “representative form of government of the Order of Preachers” (p.365) which was unique to it.

In Celano’s account of Francis’ life, with what values does he imbue the figure of Francis?

Tomas of Celano, in his account of Francis’ life, portrays him as a pious and devoted man who despises the burdens of material possession in favour of spiritual wisdom, appreciation of God’s creation and the apostolic life. Francis is bold yet gentle which serves to create an enigmatic and almost Christ-like persona. These qualities are illustrated as Francis, on receiving payment for the sale of his clothes and horse, offers it almost immediately to a church in disrepair both in order to rebuild the church and free him of the monetary burden. On the priests refusal of the donation Francis throws the money out of the window “treating it as if it were dust.” He does this, according to Celano, because “he wanted to possess wisdom, which is better than gold, and prudence, which is more precious than silver.” This contempt for worldly possessions is illustrated further when Francis, on hearing the priest’s explanation of the gospel, discards all that he owns in favour of a crude tunic. Even in poverty Francis reinforces his humility through mortification of the flesh and his devotion to the service to god as he strips himself of his clothes and hands them to his father, standing before him completely naked unashamed. This is further established in his capture by the Saracens in which he remains composed in the face of death and torture. His dramatic actions are, however, always laced with a selflessness and respect for all of God’s creation. His generosity is matched with his affection for nature. Celano’s Francis possessed a powerful emanating grace which earned him much exultation as a preacher. It in is this romantic balance between confidence and compassion that Celano achieves the portrayal of Francis as almost a Christ like figure.

From Celano’s stories how do you understand Francis’ relationship with the natural world?

Francis, in Celano’s stories, is profoundly and connected to the natural world. He believes it crucial that all of creation should know the word of God and became famous not only for his preaching to the animals but the command he seemed to have of them.

“…He exorted all birds, all animals, all reptiles, and even nonexistant creatures to praise and love the creator for every day, when the name of the saviour was announced, he himself saw their obedience”

Celano tells us about Francis’ travels as he returns fish to the water, preaches to the birds and commands wildlife. Perhaps most notable, however, is the way in which Celano shows Francis’ holiness and compassion seems to miraculously emanate as if he were a Christ-like conduit of the grace of God. This can be seen in the story of the woman made able to give birth safely by touching the reigns of a horse ridden by Francis. His way with the animals, was so great, that the animals themselves became holy.

Le Goff places Francis life in the context of increased urbanisation. What argument does Le Goff make about the impact of urban life upon Francis’ religious life?

In the years preceding Francis’ birth, the population of Europe increased dramatically, and “people had to be fed, materially and spiritually” (p.1).  People began to live closer together and so more urban societies began to form as built-up areas formed around castles and churches. Le Goff states that “holiness related more directly to towns” (p.2), in order to maintain influence over the population, the Church had to embrace towns and adapt to them.

The importance of possessions and property grew, creating a more materialistic society. In response to that “the Church was the first to change” (p.3). The Gregorian reforms were introduced which created strong distinctions between the Church and laity, it also “involved an aspiration … to achieve the true apostolic life” (p.4) New Orders appeared which preached a return to poverty, these Orders were successful because they were able to connect with the people in urban life who were becoming “increasingly active in religious life” (p.5).

Le Goff suggests that the rise of urbanisation created a society where religion was more accessible to the people but the world was becoming “one of exclusion” (p.11), Francis, in contrast, proclaimed the “divine presence in all creatures” (p.11). Thus it could be argued that Francis saw the world as becoming increasingly focused on individuals and their property and problems. As a result he tried to create a life of equality amongst all, where the divine was the centre of all life. Throughout his life, St Francis was often compared to Jesus, many believing that he was a new incarnation of the Son of God. 

--Bobbie & Jeremy