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Book Viii of De Pauperie Salvatoris by Richard Fitzralph, and William Woodford's Defensorium

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Book Viii of De Pauperie Salvatoris by Richard Fitzralph, and William Woodford's Defensorium CHRIST'S POVERTY IN ANTIMENDICANT DEBATE: BOOK VIII OF DE PAUPERIE SALVATORIS BY RICHARD FITZRALPH, AND WILLIAM WOODFORD'S DEFENSORIUM Thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History Bridget Riley Submitted July 2019 ABSTRACT This thesis comprises a study of two fourteenth-century texts, written as part of the mendicant controversy, book VIII of De pauperie Salvatoris by Richard FitzRalph, Archbishop of Armagh, (c. 1300-1360) and its response, Defensorium Fratrum Mendicantium contra Ricardum Armachanum in Octavo Libello de Pauperie Christi, by the English Franciscan friar, William Woodford (c. 1330-c. 1397). It introduces each theologian, speculating why such significant fourteenth-century thinkers are not more widely known to scholars of this period. It briefly explores how contemporary understandings of the practice of mendicancy have become obscured within a historiography which seems reluctant to turn to the works of the critics of the mendicant friars for information. Based on a close-reading of each text, the thesis examines FitzRalph's declaration that Christ did not beg, and Woodford's assertion that he did, noting how each theologian uses scripture, the writings of the Church fathers, those of mendicant theologians, and mobilizes arguments from the classical philosopher, Aristotle, to construct their opposing viewpoints. Focussing especially on discussions about poverty, and about the life and activities of Christ, it suggests that information valuable to social historians is located in these texts, where each theologian constructs their own worldview, and rationalizes their position. Of particular interest is FitzRalph's radical fashioning of Christ as a labouring carpenter, and Woodford's construction of a socio-economic and an anti-semitic argument to disprove it. Finally, the thesis probes the accepted hypothesis that followers of the late fourteenth- century Oxford theologian and heresiarch, John Wyclif, and collectively classified as 'lollards', incorporated wholesale the views of FitzRalph into their own writings. Studying a number of lollard texts, it notes rather a strategic adoption and an equally significant omission, especially concerning FitzRalph's depictions of poverty, and his framing of Christ the carpenter. DECLARATION OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP Declaration I confirm that this is my own work and the use of all material from other sources has been properly and fully acknowledged. Bridget Riley ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS With gratitude to my supervisors, Professor Rebecca Rist and Professor Françoise Le Saux, and to the University of Reading for awarding me a Bursary to undertake this doctoral project. I would also like to thank Professor Stephen Lahey for giving me access to his personal transcription of books V-VII of De pauperie Salvatoris at an early stage of my research. 4 ABBREVIATIONS MS 75 Magdalen College, Oxford, MS 75 MS 144 Oxford, MS Bodley 144 MS 65 St John's College, Oxford, MS 65 MS 180 Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, MS 180 MS 64 Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, MS 64 MS 121 Lambeth Palace Library, MS 121 PL Patriologia Latina CCSL Corpus Christianorum Series Latina ST Summa Theologiae 5 Table of Contents Introduction 8 Richard FitzRalph and William Woodford: Methodology ......................................................... 8 Theological Ideas ...................................................................................................................... 12 Scripture and Tradition ............................................................................................................. 16 The Historiography ................................................................................................................... 18 Thesis Outline ........................................................................................................................... 25 Terminology ............................................................................................................................. 29 Chapter One: Richard FitzRalph, Poverty and the 'Mendicant Controversy' 31 Richard FitzRalph ..................................................................................................................... 31 FitzRalph and Scripture ............................................................................................................ 34 FitzRalph and the Antimendicant Campaign ........................................................................... 35 Responses ................................................................................................................................. 42 The Beginnings of the Mendicant Controversy ........................................................................ 46 Constructions of Mendicant Identity in relation to Poverty ..................................................... 50 A Mendicant Imitation of Christ .............................................................................................. 59 Mendicant Vita Apostolica ....................................................................................................... 63 Medieval Poverty ...................................................................................................................... 65 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 68 Chapter Two: Book VIII of De pauperie Salvatoris and Poverty 70 De pauperie Salvatoris ............................................................................................................. 70 Book VIII .................................................................................................................................. 72 Defensio curatorum .................................................................................................................. 75 Scripture and Tradition ............................................................................................................. 78 Evangelical Perfection and the Imitation of Christ .................................................................. 83 Wilful Begging ......................................................................................................................... 86 What does Poverty mean? Book VIII compared to Book VI ................................................... 94 Poverty and Neediness ........................................................................................................... 102 Christ the Carpenter ................................................................................................................ 107 Did Christ Beg or Teach Begging?......................................................................................... 115 The Construction of St Francis ............................................................................................... 124 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 127 Chapter Three: William Woodford's Defensorium Fratrum Mendicantium and Poverty 129 William Woodford .................................................................................................................. 129 Defensorium Fratrum Mendicantium ..................................................................................... 132 6 Manuscript Notations ............................................................................................................. 135 Scripture and Tradition ........................................................................................................... 137 Wilful Begging ....................................................................................................................... 142 What does Poverty mean? ...................................................................................................... 153 The Evangelical Poor.............................................................................................................. 161 Christ the Carpenter ................................................................................................................ 163 Did Christ Beg or Teach Begging?......................................................................................... 166 Evangelical Perfection and the Imitation of Christ ................................................................ 171 St Francis of Assisi, the Rule and the Testament ................................................................... 178 Friars and Society ................................................................................................................... 181 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 188 Chapter Four: FitzRalph's and Woodford's Legacies: the Poverty Debate in Lollard Texts 189 The Historiography ................................................................................................................. 189 The Jack Upland Series and Woodford's Responsiones ......................................................... 193 Dialogue between Jon and Richard........................................................................................ 198 Dialogue between a Friar and a Secular ............................................................................... 201 The Egerton Sermon ..............................................................................................................
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