A Study in the Early Order of Preachers
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FROM PREACHER TO PROFESSOR: A STUDY OF IDENTITY IN THE EARLY ORDER OF PREACHERS Matthew C. Showers B.A., California State University Sacramento 2007 THESIS Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in HISTORY (Humanities) at CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO SPRING 2011 FROM PREACHER TO PROFESSOR: A STUDY OF IDENTITY IN THE EARLY ORDER OF PREACHERS A Thesis by Matthew C. Showers Approved by: ___________________________________, Committee Chair Candace Gregory-Abbott, Ph.D. ___________________________________, Second Reader Bradley Nystrom, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Date ii Student: Matthew C. Showers I certify that this student has met the requirements for the format contained in the University format manual and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for this thesis. __________________________________, Graduate Coordinator ___________________ Mona Siegel, Ph.D. Date Department of History iii Abstract of FROM PREACHER TO PROFESSOR: A STUDY OF IDENTITY IN THE EARLY ORDER OF PREACHERS by Matthew C. Showers In the early thirteenth century, the Dominican Order identified itself with the image of the preacher, specifically St. Dominic. There was also a distinct spirituality formed in the order that was s a mix of contemplation, apostolic activity, and a strong emphasis on education. The preacher’s office was venerated and esteemed early on in the Order’s existence, but the emphasis on education created a rival class of university masters that seemed to become the new face of the Dominican Order in the latter half of the century. Through analysis of early Dominican constitutions, preaching manuals, biographical documents, syllabi and various philosophical works by influential Dominicans from c.1231-1286, one may note that this shift is not a change in Dominican identity but rather a broadening of it. Comparative atmospheres of ideological conflict required similar treatments, though by men of different offices. The professor, specifically Thomas Aquinas, became the academic realization of the Dominican preacher-tradition. ____________________________________, Committee Chair Candace Gregory-Abbott, Ph.D. ____________________________________ Date iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost I should like to thank my family for their endless love and support. I would also like to extend my gratitude to my two greatest influences throughout my graduate studies. Dr. Gregory-Abbott has provided me with nothing less than the strongest support, the most practical advice, and seemingly limitless patience. Dr. Nystrom has constantly pushed me to be a better writer and scholar with his high standards and uncompromising, yet kindly delivered, honesty. I should also like to thank Fr. Richard Schenk OP for providing me with his translation of the Statutes of 1259 despite not knowing me from an atom. This made an already challenging task less of a challenge. A special ‘thank you’ also goes out to Andrew Lopez for proofreading two chapters, and to Niccole Scrogins for her editorial contributions to the entire project as well as for her insomniac patterns being similar to my own. Finally I give thanks to God almighty who has always given me definitive answers to my prayers, whether I liked what He had to say or not. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... v Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1 The Dominican Order ..................................................................................................... 1 Heresy, Reform, and the Issues of the Early Thirteenth Century ................................... 2 Formation of the Order of Preachers ............................................................................ 11 The Early Dominican Order: Form and Function ......................................................... 25 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 38 2. DOMINIC THE PREACHER ...................................................................................... 40 The Image of Dominic and Dominican Spirituality ..................................................... 40 The Biographical Texts ................................................................................................. 43 The Gentle Hound of the Libellus ................................................................................ 46 The Miraculous Dominic of Sister Cecelia ................................................................... 63 The Nine Ways of Prayer of Saint Dominic ................................................................. 73 Agni’s Analysis of a Saint ............................................................................................ 79 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 81 3. THE PRIORY SCHOOL AND THE PREACHER’S EDUCATION .......................... 83 After Dominic ............................................................................................................... 83 The Rapid Expansion of the Order ............................................................................... 84 An Order of Learning ................................................................................................... 89 Life in the Priory, and the Making of a Friar ................................................................ 91 The Education of a Preacher ......................................................................................... 97 A Shift in Focus .......................................................................................................... 101 vi 4. GENERAL HOUSES OF STUDY AND THE MASTER’S EDUCATION ............. 103 Universities and the Order of Preachers ..................................................................... 103 The First General Houses 1220-1300 ......................................................................... 105 Studium Generale and Student Life ............................................................................ 110 The Masters of Theology ............................................................................................ 113 Theology versus Philosophy ....................................................................................... 116 The Statues of 1259 .................................................................................................... 119 A New Emphasis and a New Method ......................................................................... 125 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 127 5. THE PARISIAN DISCOURSES AND THE RISE OF THOMISM .......................... 129 Growth and Distinction from 1250-1300 .................................................................... 129 The Question of Philosophy ....................................................................................... 135 The Thomistic Approach to Reason and Revelation .................................................. 140 Condemnations ........................................................................................................... 150 Conclusion: Dominican Identity Fulfilled .................................................................. 155 Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 157 vii 1 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION The Dominican Order The Order of Preachers, more commonly known as the Dominican Order, was an order founded under for an apostolic purpose. The Dominican friars, along with the Franciscan Order, were part of a monastic development in the thirteenth century known as the mendicant movement. Mendicant friars were known for leading a monastic life of religious poverty while carrying out a constant mission of ministry to the laity. This mission of teaching set the friars apart from the previous monastic and canonical orders, which had rarely focused on purposes outside of their immediate cloisters. Dominic de Guzman (c.1170-1221) sculpted his religious order especially to combat heretical groups that had gained major followings in the early thirteenth century by training preachers to publically teach the orthodox doctrine of the church to a laity that was greatly ignorant of theology. The Dominican Order was particularly notable for its emphasis on a strong theological education as its means to achieve its apostolic end. In the order’s early years, the office of preacher was held in the highest esteem. The Dominican preacher, notably modeled in the image of St. Dominic, embodied values and ideals that almost singlehandedly defined Dominican identity for most of the first century of the order’s existence. The Dominican preacher was simultaneously a scholar, a monk, and a priest. He was the product of a rigorous curriculum of theology and tested thoroughly in both his oratorical skills and his ability to debate points based upon the 2 knowledge he had acquired from this education. Dominican preachers of the early order preached itinerantly, usually in public and primarily in urban areas. Although initially it was the preachers that defined the order so strongly, they were eventually