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Apr 19, 2024 · Middle Ages, the period in European history from the collapse of Roman civilization in the 5th century ce to the period of the Renaissance (variously interpreted as beginning in the 13th, 14th, or 15th century, depending on the region of Europe and other factors). A brief treatment of the Middle Ages follows.
- Dark Ages
Migration period, the early medieval period of western...
- Middle Ages Summary
Medieval civilization reached its apex in the 13th century...
- Dark Ages
- Overview
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Franciscan, any member of a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the early 13th century by St. Francis of Assisi. The Franciscan order is one of the four great mendicant orders of the church, and its members strive to cultivate the ideals of poverty and charity. Congregations of these religious men and women are numerous all over the Roman Cat...
The Franciscans actually consist of three orders. The First Order comprises priests and lay brothers who have sworn to lead a life of prayer, preaching, and penance. This First Order is divided into three independent branches: the Friars Minor (O.F.M.), the Friars Minor Conventual (O.F.M. Conv.), and the Friars Minor Capuchin (O.F.M. Cap.). The Sec...
It was probably in 1207 that St. Francis felt the call to a life of preaching, penance, and total poverty. He was soon joined by his first followers, to whom he gave a short and simple rule of life. In 1209 he and 11 of his followers journeyed to Rome, where Francis received approval of his rule from Pope Innocent III. Under this rule, Franciscan friars could own no possessions of any kind, either individually or communally (i.e., as the property of the order as a whole). The friars wandered and preached among the people, helping the poor and the sick. They supported themselves by working and by begging for food, but they were forbidden to accept money either as payment for work or as alms. The Franciscans worked at first in Umbria and then in the rest of Italy and abroad. The impact of these street preachers and especially of their founder was immense, so that within 10 years they numbered 5,000.
Affiliated with them were the Franciscan nuns, whose order was founded at Assisi in 1212 by St. Clare, who was under the guidance of St. Francis. Clare and her followers were lodged by Francis in the church of San Damiano, where they lived a severe life of total poverty. They later became known as the Poor Clares or the Order of St. Clare, one of the three Franciscan orders.
During the first years of the Franciscans, the example of Francis provided their real rule of life, but, as the order grew, it became clear that a revised rule was necessary. After preparing a rule in 1221 that was found to be too strict, Francis with the help of several legal scholars unwillingly composed the more restrained final rule in 1223. This rule was approved by Pope Honorius III.
Even before the death of Francis in 1226, conflicts developed within the order over the observance of the vow of complete poverty. The rapid expansion of the order’s membership had created a need for settled monastic houses, but it was impossible to justify these if Francis’s rule of complete poverty was followed strictly. Three parties gradually appeared: the Zealots, who insisted on a literal observance of the primitive rule of poverty affecting communal as well as personal poverty; the Laxists, who favoured many mitigations; and the Moderates, or the Community, who wanted a legal structure that would permit some form of communal possessions.
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The Franciscans have popularized several devotional practices in the Roman Catholic Church. Among the best known are the Christmas crèche, the Stations of the Cross, and the Angelus. Besides their traditional role of preaching, Franciscans have been active in the work of foreign missions, including the establishment of numerous missions in the 1700...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Apr 22, 2010 · Updated: June 6, 2023 | Original: April 22, 2010. People use the phrase “Middle Ages” to describe Europe between the fall of Rome in 476 CE and the beginning of the Renaissance in the 14th ...
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Apr 2, 2019 · Definition. The Cathars (also known as Cathari from the Greek Katharoi for “pure ones”) were a dualist medieval religious sect of Southern France which flourished in the 12th century and challenged the authority of the Catholic Church. They were also known as Albigensians for the town of Albi, which was a strong Cathar center of belief.
- Joshua J. Mark
- Who were the Cathars?The Cathars were a religious sect in medieval France who challenged the authority of the Church.
- What did the Cathars believe?The Cathars believed that humans were immortal souls trapped by the devil in physical bodies and the goal of life was to free oneself from attachme...
- Did the Cathars believe in a goddess?The Cathars believed in the feminine principle of the Divine; God was both male and female. They did not believe in a single goddess.
- What happened to the Cathars?The Cathars were crushed in the Albigensian Crusade of 1209-1229.
Apr 13, 2021 · Saint Thomas Aquinas (l. 1225-1274, also known as the "Ox of Sicily " and the "Angelic Doctor") was a Dominican friar, mystic, theologian, and philosopher, all at once. Although he lived a relatively short life, dying at age 49, Thomas occupied the 13th century with a colossal presence. Physically, Thomas was known to be a very large man.
Feb 7, 2020 · The intellectual movement began in the 13th century. Renaissance Humanism—named to differentiate it from the Humanism that came later—was an intellectual movement that originated in the 13th century and came to dominate European thought during the Renaissance, which it played a considerable role in creating. At the core of Renaissance ...
Dec 21, 2020 · The Cathars: Persecuting Heretical Christians In The 13th Century. Flourishing in southern France, Catharism was a dualist Christian heresy whose followers opposed the corruption of the medieval Catholic Church and were subject to widespread persecution. Arriving in the Languedoc region of southern France as early as the 11th century, Cathars ...
