Zealots for Souls

Anne Huijbers

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9783110540024
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literatur
• Subtopic: Antike & klassische Literaturkritik

Zealots for souls draws attention to the impact of the Observant reforms within the Order of Preachers, and ambitiously stirs up a broad scope of questions pertaining to the institutional narratives produced within the order between c. 1388 and 1517.

Through the narratives and the forms of remembrance they fostered, the author traces the development of contemporary characteristics of the Dominican self-understanding. The book shows the fluid boundaries between the genres (order chronicles, convent chronicles, collective biographies), highlights the interplay between the narrative and the intended audience, addresses the complex question of authorship, and assesses the indebtedness of 'modern' (printed) narratives to older chronicles or biographical collections. The book demonstrates that the majority of the extant institutional narratives were written by Observant Dominicans, who strived for the internal reform of their order. They wrote history to justify their own reform agenda and therefore produced invariably partisan chronicles.

The work's method is widely applicable and contributes to further reassessment of institutional narratives as sources for the analysis of religious and intellectual transformations.

Part 1: Writing the Dominican past

Chapter 1:
A vine planted by the Lord

Dominican chroniclers often emphasized – mostly in their prologue or epilogue – that they wrote history to praise God, provide exempla, offer consolation, secure remembrance, and prevent oblivion.68 These were common topoi expressed in many historical works from the middle ages. Also in other respects, Dominican chronicles should be viewed within the larger historical culture of their time. Dominicans wanted their accounts to be truthful and therefore provided information about their sources – from archival documents to eyewitnesses. Sometimes, the prologues inform us in detail about the particular context in which a work appeared.

This chapter aims to show how order chronicles and related texts connect to the broader field of medieval and Renaissance historiography – in the hope that they will also receive a more visible place in historiographical debates on these subjects. Although Dominican narratives of self-understanding share many characteristics with other, non-Dominican, chronicles, some tropes are typical for this mendicant order. Dominican chroniclers recurrently presented their order as a celestial vine planted on earth for the benefit of mankind. The Order of Preachers was presented as the necessary instrument for the salvation of souls. Simultaneously, chroniclers such as Johannes Meyer presented their institutional texts as important instruments for the formation of Dominican friars and sisters.

Common topoi

As a rule, medieval chroniclers explained in the prologue of their work that they wrote to honor God. Dominicans were no exception in this regard. Johannes of Mainz (d. 1457) started his convent chronicle by explaining that God could be praised not only through his saints, but also through the virtuous founders of the Basel friary.69 Johannes Meyer wrote in his prologue that ‘the praiseworthy deeds of the fathers’ are described ‘so that the praise of God, from whose grace come all good things, is amplified through the action of his gratitude’.70 In 1506, Georg Epp, another Dominican friar, wrote in the epilogue of his book on illustrious Dominicans that his book was meant, first, to demonstrate their sanctity, second, to provide materials for the education and edification of the reader, and third, to praise and glorify God.71 Female chroniclers also complied with this topos: the nun Elisabeth Muntprat finished her prologue to the St Gall chronicle with the formula Got sy lob und glori siner gnad gesait ewiklich.72

In a similar way, Dominican authors, both male and female, complied with well-established modesty-topoi in their prologues. Sister Bartolomea Riccoboni wrote in the introduction to her convent chronicle: ‘I wrestled within myself at the thought of my inadequacy, since such an undertaking would require wise and learned persons’.73 Johannes Meyer called his Liber de viris illustribus a ‘shapeless’ product,74 and in the prologue to his Chronica brevis ordinis praedicatorum he wrote that he would write down the names and deeds of the glorious forefathers ‘as far as the smallness of my talent is capable to express with simple words’.75

Notwithstanding such modesty topoi, the authors asked recognition for their efforts. Friar Girolamo Borselli emphasized in the prologue to his Cronica magistrorum generalium ordinis praedicatorum (1493) that he ‘wrote in a plain and simple style’,76 but simultaneously asked his audience to pray to God for his sake, because he ‘worked not a little to put these things in order.’77 Other chroniclers asked their audience to pray to God for them at the very end of their chronicles.78 Some Dominican authors of institutional texts did not refrain from praising their own qualities. In his chronicle on the Dominican regular life in Venice, Thomas of Siena dwelt at length on the fruits of his own pastoral activities: he stated that he was invited to, and required in, many places because of his preaching skills.79 Chapter 9 will show that Dominican humanist authors broke with the modesty topos to an even greater extent.

Another idea which is often introduced in the prologues of chroniclers is that history is life’s teacher: historia magistra vitae. Dominican historians emphasized that their chronicles were useful and that they could teach men how to behave. Antoninus of Florence, who wrote a world chronicle, believed that through the study of history immorality could be prevented and men might ‘learn to live aright in the world’.80 In the prologue to his Vita fratrum, Johannes of Mainz explained that by writing his chronicle, he wanted to show the ‘very firm foundations’ that the fathers of the Basel friary had laid. On these foundations, ‘perpetual structures’ could rise, if the current friars were ‘willing to imitate’ these fathers.81 The author confessed that there were already many good examples available, but still believed that some friars would benefit from the ‘simple’ examples that he provided in his chronicle:

‘I confess that the life of Christ and his saints entirely suffice as example, but since the hidden loaf is sometimes more attractive, and furtive waters sweeter, I hope that this work is not useless to those who sometimes feel more contrition through a simple example than through the most holy gospel.’82

By stressing that he provided more contemporary examples of virtues that were not at all new, Johannes of Mainz deliberately sought connection with a long Christian tradition. The chroniclers were themselves the first to recognize the limits of their works. At the end of his convent chronicle, Johannes of Mainz confessed that there were many other friars who like ‘shining candelabra, divine images, and very bright mirrors’ deserved to be written in his book.83 Johannes Meyer and Georg Epp likewise stressed that there were many more friars who excelled in doctrine and sanctity, but who were not included in their books.84 In line with this idea, the genealogical tree of the Dominican order of 1473, which represented a number of illustrious Dominicans, was accompanied by verses that stressed that many blessed Dominicans escaped the notice of a larger audience, although they were pure signs of God.85

Dominican nuns emphasized the didactic functions of history writing as well. In the introduction to her chronicle, Elisabeth Muntprat made explicit that she wanted the present and future sisters to know about the beginnings and progress of their community, which had been built up so seriously and assiduously by their predecessors. Her chronicle was supposed to function as a firm foundation, on which ‘celestial rooms’ could be built.86 The acquaintance with the ‘love for spirituality’ of their predecessors had to prevent the community from declining and, with the help of God, had to increase the ‘holy Observance’ (hailigen opservanz) in their community.87 Likewise, Sister Bartolomea Riccoboni wrote her chronicle because she wanted ‘that those sisters who follow after us, may be properly edified’ and ‘be inspired to live well and follow through on this good beginning’.88

Sometimes, however, we can detect a tension between the moral and educational goal emphasized in the prologue, and the actual content of the text. For instance, in the prologue to his Catalogus Laurent Pignon stressed that the friars he included should serve as examples, but the content he provided was quite factual – lists of authors with their texts, and enumerations of masters general and prior provincials. Pignon’s Catalogus did not present moral examples to follow. The only exemplary value of the text could lie in the different types of Dominicans that Pignon presented. Moreover, the many names of Dominican prelates, doctors and masters general could contribute to the audience’s awareness of the order’s great past. The text thus served the goal of remembering and preventing oblivion.

Another topos that past historians often employed was that they aspired to tell the truth.89 Dominican chroniclers also felt that, to some extent, they had to explain what sources they used in order to be able to sustain their claims to truth. At the same time, there were no clear rules about this. History writing was not a professional discipline, and was not practiced in the mendicant studia. Friars and sisters learned it by imitating others and just writing.

In their prologues and throughout their works, Dominican authors often partly revealed their method and sources. Sister Bartolomea Riccoboni wrote that she strove to ‘recount the full truth’ of what she had seen and heard.90 Borselli aspired to veracity, but was of course dependent on the materials that were at his disposal. He therefore promised to be as truthful as possible.91 Nevertheless, I will suggest elsewhere that he did, at times, deceive his audience.92

The ‘trustworthy eyewitness’ is a running theme in chronicles and dates back to classical notions of historia.93 The anonymous chronicler from San Domenico in Fiesole introduced his sources in the prologue: aside from the existing convent chronicle, he made use of ‘trustworthy stories’ and the historical knowledge he had acquired during the time he had lived in the friary.94 Baltasar Sorio informed his readers that he compiled his De viris illustribus ordinis praedicatorum out of older writings, and used what he had heard from faithful testimonies.95 Johannes of Mainz wanted to make known fideliter the precious deeds of his predecessors that he had ‘noted’ himself, or had ‘accepted from those worthy of trust’.96 He also explained that he made use of an archive in order to research the foundation of the convent: ‘a very old manuscript from the archives of the church’ was then carried to him.97

Order historians thus made use of the collections of books and documents that were held in the diverse Dominican friaries. Borselli informed us that his travels allowed him to see ‘many old’ documents or things ‘from the order’ (plura de antiquitatibus ordinis) in the many convents he visited.98 While he was in other places, Borselli studied several texts on the history of the order and probably made notes of them or copied them. We know this through remarks in his chronicle. For example, when writing about the life of Bartolomeo di Modena (d. 1448), called ‘inquisitor of Ferrara’, he mentioned Bartolomeo’s writings and added that he ‘saw them in the library of the convent of Ferrara’.99 Borselli travelled to Pavia, Pisa, Ferrara, Florence, Faenza, Siena, Lucca, and Saint-Maximin in Provence.100 He also conducted research in the library of the popes in Rome.101 Besides these written sources, Borselli included oral stor...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of abbreviations
• Note to the reader
• Introduction
• Part 1: Writing the Dominican past
• Part 2: Dominicans and Observance
• Part 3: Dominicans and humanism
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Appendices
• Illustrations
• Manuscripts and archivalia
• Index of places
• Index of persons
• Index of subjects