Bachrach (David s.)_The Friars Go to War. Mendicant Military Chaplains, 1216-c. 1300 (the Catholic...

8/20/2019 Bachrach (David s.)_The Friars Go to War. Mendicant Military Chaplains, 1216-c. 1300 (the Catholic Historical Revie…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bachrach-david-sthe-friars-go-to-war-mendicant-military-chaplains-1216-c 1/18

Catholic University of America Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Catholic

Historical Review.

http://www.jstor.org

The Friars Go to War: Mendicant Military Chaplains, 1216-c. 1300Author(s): David S. BachrachSource: The Catholic Historical Review, Vol. 90, No. 4 (Oct., 2004), pp. 617-633Published by: Catholic University of America PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25026693Accessed: 17-08-2015 10:57 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/ info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of contentin a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

This content downloaded from 193.54.110.35 on Mon, 17 Aug 2015 10:57:06 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=cuap

http://www.jstor.org/stable/25026693

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp






http://www.jstor.org/stable/25026693

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=cuap

http://www.jstor.org/



The

Catholic

Historical

Review

VOL.XC

OCTOBER,

2004

No.

4

THE

FRIARSGO

TO

WAR:

MENDICANT MILITARY CHAPLAINS, 1216-C. 1300

BY

David S.

Bachrach*

The

mendicant

orders,

particularly

the Franciscans and

Dominicans,

have received

enormous

scholarly

attention,

virtually

from

their

incep

tion in 1210 and 1216, respectively, regarding awide range of topics,

but

particularly

their

activities

as

preachers,

teachers, advisors,

and mis

sionaries.1 Somewhat less

attention

has

been

paid

to

the

role of

the

mendicants

as

confessors,

particularly

confessors

to

non-aristocratic

or

royal

lay

people.2

This lacuna

in

scholarship

regarding

the

mendicant

orders

is

particularly

evident

in

the consideration

of

Franciscan

and

Do

minican

friars

as

military

chaplains.

This

study

sheds

light

on

an

impor

*Dr.

Bachrach

is

an

assistant

professor

of

medieval

history

in the

University

of

New

Hampshire.

'The literature

dealing

with the Franciscans and Dominicans

is

simply

too vast to

summarize

here.

Individual studies

dealing

with

particular

aspects

of Franciscan

and

Dominican

service

as

military chaplains

are

cited

below.

2Among

the

relatively

few works dedicated

to

the

topic

of

mendicant service

as con

fessors,

see

F.N. M.

Diekstra,"Paul

of

Hungary's

Quoniam

circa

confessiones

(1219-21)

and

a

Middle

English

tract

on

Confession,"

in

This

Noble

Craft, Proceedings of

the 10th

Re

search

Symposium

of

the Dutch

and

Belgian University

Teachers

of

Old and Middle

English

and Historical Studies, ed. Erik

Kooper

(Amsterdam, 1991),

pp.

152-171;

Pierre H.

Payer,"Sex

and Confession in the

Thirteenth

Century,"

in Sex in the Middle

Ages.

A

Book

of

Essays,

ed.

Joyce

E.

Salisbury

(New

York,

1991),

pp.

126-142;

and Claude

Carozzi,"Le

minist?re de la confession chez les

pr?cheurs

de la

province

de

Provence,"

in

Les

mendiants

en

pays

d'Oc

au

XIIIe

si?cle,

Cahiers de

Fanjeaux

8

(1973),

321-354.

Within

the

context

of

describing

the

many

services

provided

by

the

Franciscans

to

King

Louis IX of

France,

Lester

K.

Little,

"Saint Louis'

Involvement

with the

Friars,"

Church

His

tory,

33

(1964),

125-148,

also

mentions that

many

Franciscans served in Louis' crusades

providing

him with

pastoral

care.

617






618

THE FRIARSGO TO

WAR:

MENDICANT MILITARY

CHAPLAINS,

1216-C.

i

300

tant

yet

insufficiently

appreciated

aspect

of

mendicant

pastoral

activity

during

the first

century

of

the

Franciscan

and

Dominican orders.3

Background

Military pastoral

care,

that

is,

the

religious support

provided

to

sol

diers

by

priests,

played

an

exceptionally

important

role

in

the conduct

of warfare

in

both

Late

Antiquity

and the Middle

Ages,

particularly

for

the

maintenance

of morale

and

discipline.4

In

the late

Roman

Empire

and

its

western

successor

states,

pastoral

duties

largely

fell

to

bishops

and a small cadre of

priests

who celebrated Mass, carried relics, inter

ceded

with God

on

behalf

of

the

army,

and

preached

to

the

troops.5 By

the

mid-eighth

century,

however,

new

religious

practices

in

the West

imposed

on

military

commanders the need

to

recruit

far

larger

num

bers of

priests

to

serve

as

chaplains

in

their

armies.

The

old rite of

penance,

which

permitted

Christians

to

confess their

sins

only

once

in

a

lifetime,

gradually

was

superseded

by

the

practice

of

repeatable

con

fession.

This

development

in

church

teaching,

which

can

be

traced

over

a

three-century

period,

culminated in the wide

acceptance

of

repeat

able

confession

as an

acceptable

rite.6 The establishment of this

new

in

stitutionalized

interpretation

of

confession

is

marked first

in

the British

Isles

and then

on

the

continent

during

the

late

seventh

and

early

eighth

century

by

the

extensive

production

and diffusion of

penitential

manu

als,

sometimes

described

by

scholars

as

tariff books. These handbooks

for

priests,

many

of

which

were

produced expressly

for

parish clergy,

set out

long

lists of

sins

and

appropriate

penances

for

each,

thereby

em

phasizing

the renewable

nature

of the

rite."

It

was now

possible

for

soldiers

to

confess

their

sins

before

every

battle and

thereby

face

the

enemy

with

a

clear conscience and

a

clean

3It

should

be

emphasized

that this article makes

use

of

representative

material and

does

not

provide,

nor

is it intended

to

provide,

a

systematic

overview of all of

the

evi

dence from

papal

correspondence

and

the

exceptionally

rich

body

of

narrative

sources

available

from the

thirteenth

century.

The

purpose

here is

to

introduce

a

new

facet of

mendicant work without

describing

every

instance inwhich the friars served as

military

chaplains.

4For

an

overview of the role of

religion

in

medieval

warfare

up

through

the

celebration

of

the Fourth

Latern Council

in

1215,

see

David S.

Bachrach,Religion

and

the

Conduct

of

War

c.

300-1215

(Woodbridge,

2003).

Wd.,

pp.

7-31.

'For

a

discussion of the

development

of

the rite

of

confession,

see

ibid.,

and

idem,

"Confession

in

the

Regnum

Francorum

(742-900):

The

Sources

Revisited"Journal

of

Ecclesiastical

History,

54

(2003), 3-22,

here

3-7,

with the

literature

cited there.

^Bachrach, "Confession," passim.






BY

DAVID S.BACHRACH

619

soul.8

But this

new

military pastoral responsibility

brought

with

it

the

need

to

recruit far

larger

numbers of

priests

to

serve

in

the

army

than

had been the case

previously.

A

bishop

and a few

priests

were sufficient

in

the armies of the Late

Empire

and

early

Middle

Ages

to

celebrate

Mass,

preach,

and

even

pray.

To hear the confessions

of

thousands,

or

even tens

of thousands

of

soldiers,

however,

was

far

beyond

the

capabilities

of the

few

clerics

attached

to

the

armies

of the

fourth

through

the

early

eighth

century.

The

necessity

of

recruiting

far

larger

numbers

of

priests

to

serve

as

military

chaplains

was

enunciated

clearly

in

742

by

Carloman,

the

Car

olingian

Mayor

of

the Palace.At

a

synodal

assembly,

called the Conciiium

Germanum

by

scholars, Carloman,

acting

in concert with

Boniface,

the

papal

legate

to

the Frankish

court,

instituted

the

requirement

that

every

unit commander

in

the

army

have

on

staff

a

capellanus

capable

of

hear

ing

confessions and

assigning

penances.9

From

this

point

onward,

in

cluding

up

the

present,

armies in

the Christian West have recruited

large

numbers of

priests

to

serve as

military

chaplains.10

It

is

one

of

the

noteworthy

aspects

of medieval

religious history

that

Carloman's leading role in the establishment of requirements for the

provision

of

pastoral

care was

recapitulated

throughout

the

early

and

high

Middle

Ages

by

secular

rather

than

ecclesiastical

figures.

Even in

periods

of

papal

strength,

the

bishops

of

Rome remained

largely

silent

about

the need

to

provide

soldiers

with

pastoral

care,

even

in

the

con

text

of the

crusades.11

This

changed,

however,

under

Pope

Innocent

III

(1199-1216),

specifically

in

the

context

of

Ad

liberandum,

the final

canon

issued

by

the

Fourth

Lateran

Council

in

121512

Following

the

failure of the Fourth Crusade

(1204),

Pope

Innocent

developed

an

exceptionally

detailed

program

for the

organization

and

?Ibid.

9See Concilia Aevi

Karolini,

vol.

1,

part

1,

ed.

Albert

Werminghoff,

Monumenta Ger

maniae

Hist?rica

[MGH],

Concilia,

vol.

2,

part

1

(Hanover,

1906),

pp.

2-4;

and

MGH,

Ca

pitular?a

regumfrancor

um,

vol.

l,ed.

Alfred

Boretius

(Hanover, 1883),

pp.

24-26.

10See,

for

example,

the

collection

of studies in

The Sword

of

the Lord:

Military

Chap

lains

from

the Roman Era

to

the

Twenty-first Century,

ed.

Doris

L.

Bergen

(Notre

Dame,

Indiana,

2004).

"This is

not to

say

that individual

popes,

or

their

representatives,

failed

to

take

an

in

terest

in

pastoral

care.

Adhemar of Le

Puy,

the

papal

legate

on

the First

Crusade,

for

ex

ample,

played

a

major

role

in

organizing

the

pastoral

care

of

the

crusaders,

particularly

during

the

siege

of

Antioch

(1097-1098).

See

Bachrach,

Religion,

pp.

108-128.

Neverthe

less,

before the celebration

of the

Fourth Lateran Council

in

1215,

there

is

no

evidence

that

any

pope

required

the

provision

of

pastoral

care

to

soldiers

or

organized

the

recruit

ment

of

chaplains

to

provide

this

care.

l2Conciliorum Oecumenicorum

Decreta,

ed. Istituo

per

le Scienze

Religiose,

third

edit.

(Bologna, 1973), pp. 267

f.






620

THE FRIARS

GO

TOWAR: MENDICANT

MILITARY

CHAPLAINS,

1216-C.

1300

conduct

of

a

crusade

that

ultimately

ended

at

the

Egyptian city

of Dami

etta

(1218-1221).13

Following

several

years

of

preparation,

the

final

out

line for the

planned

crusade was

presented

in the form of a

canon,

in

fact,

the

last

canon

approved by

the assembled

prelates

of

the

Latin

West

in

1215.

The

text

of Ad

liberandum,

so

called from

the

first

two

words of

the

canon,

deals with

a

congerie

of

issues

ranging

from

indul

gences

to

recruitment of

fighting

men,

and the

financing

of

the

crusade.

What

was new

in

Ad

liberandum,

from

a

religious

and

administrative

perspective

as

contrasted with earlier

crusading

bulls,

was

the inclu

sion

of

a

section

dealing

with the

provision

of

pastoral

care

to

the

cru

saders.14

The

text

of Ad

liberandum

makes clear that

Pope

Innocent

presumed

a

need for

the

presence

of

military chaplains

in the crusader

army.

With

out

preamble,

the

canon

requires priests

who

serve

in

the

crusader

army

to

exercise their

pastoral

duties

in

a

thorough

and

diligent

man

ner.

The

priests

were

required

to

act as

preachers

and

to

exhort the

men

to

behave

as

Christian soldiers.15

They

were to

teach the soldiers

by example so that the latter would maintain the proper spirit of Chris

tian

fear of and love for God.

The

text

of Ad liberandum

warns

that

to

do

otherwise

would

run

the risk of

offending

God

and

thereby

under

mine

the

success

of

the

crusade.16

Just

as

importantly,

the

priests

serv

ing

in

the

army

were

to

seek

out

those soldiers who

had

strayed

from

the

moral

path

in

order

to

bring

them

back

to

Gods

grace

through

con

fession

and

penance.17

It

should be

emphasized

that the

religious obligations

on

both sol

diers

and

priests

enunciated

in

Ad liberandum

were

hardly

novel since

confession and

penance

had

been central elements of

military

religious

practice

for

more

than four

centuries.

Nevertheless,^

liberandum did

have the effect of

drawing

an

explicit

link

between

the

papacy

and the

need

to

find

priests

to

serve as

military

chaplains

in

those

wars

in

which

it

had

a

stake.

Ironically,

the

papal

government

was

not in

a

position

to

Carnes

M.

Powe\l,Anatomy of

a

Crusade

1213-1221

(Philadelphia,

1986),

pp.

15-122,

provides

the

most

detailed

discussion

of

the extensive

planning

and

organization

neces

sary

for the

Fifth

Crusade.

^Conciliorum

Oecumenicorum,p.

267.

"Ibid.

l6Ibid.

11

Ibid. The

canon

requires

that if

a

soldier

should

ever

fall into

sin

{aliquando

lapsi

fuerint

in

peccatum),

the

priests

should be

prepared

to

act

on

his behalf. In

addition,

the

canon

emphasized

that

soldiers

were to

confess their

sins

so

that

"per

veram

poeniten

tiam mox resurgant"






BY DAVID S.BACHRACH

621

ensure

through

its

own resources

the

provision

of

pastoral

care

to

sol

diers

in

the

very

campaign

authorized

by

the Fourth

Lateran

Council,

namely,

the Fifth Crusade

(1218-1221).

The

appearance

of Francis of

Assisi

at

the

siege

of

Damietta

in

1219

notwithstanding,

Pope

Innocent

III and his

successor,

Pope

Honorius

III,

did

not

have available the

per

sonnel

necessary

for

this

purpose.18

But these

two

popes,

who

recog

nized and

supported

the

Franciscan

and

Dominican

orders

in

1210

and

1216

respectively,

created the

basis

by

which future

popes

could

re

cruit

military

chaplains

to

serve on

crusade and

in

other

campaigns

cru

cial

to

papal

interests.

The

rapid

growth

of both orders

over

the

next

eighty

years

provided

the

bishops

of Rome with a

large

reservoir of

trained

priests

who

could be

called

on

to

fulfill the

obligations

set out

in

Ad liberandum. This

study

sketches

out

the role that the Dominicans

and

Franciscans

played

in

fulfilling

the

papacy's

vision of

ensuring

that

soldiers had available

pastoral

care

in

wars

that

were

conducted

or

sup

ported by

the

papacy up

to

the

end of the

thirteenth

century.

Mendicants in the Wars of the Papacy

In

his

magnum

opus,

the

Summa

Tbeologiae,

written between

1267

and

1273,

the

great

Dominican

scholar Thomas

Aquinas

addressed the

question

of

whether

military

service

by

priests

was

legitimate.

Thomas

stressed

that

although

not

permitted

to

carry

arms,

priests

could

go

on

campaign

under certain circumstances.

Indeed,

Thomas insisted that

not

only

were

priests

permitted

to

do

such

service,

they

were

to

be

en

couraged

to

support

soldiers in

a

spiritual

manner

through

exhorta

tions,

absolutions,

and other similar forms of

spiritual

care.

In

justifying

his

interpretation

of

priests'

spiritual

duties,

Thomas

argued

that the

obligation

to

provide spiritual

comfort

to

soldiers could be traced

back

to

the

Old

Testament

requirement

that

the

priests

of Israel

should make

noise

with sacred horns

during

battle

(Josh.

6).t9

18This

is

not

to

say

that the

soldiers

serving

on

the

Fifth Crusade lacked

pastoral

care.

Rather,

the crusaders

received

pastoral

care

in

the traditional

manner

from the

chaplains

serving

their commanders.

Concerning

Francis

of

Assisi's

visit to

the crusader

camp

at

Damietta and his subse

quent

conversation with the Muslim commander of the

city,

see

Benjamin

Z.

Kedar,

Cru

sade and Mission:

European

Approaches

toward the Muslims

(Princeton,

1984),

p.

130;

Powell,

op.

cit.,

pp.

158-160;

and

Christoph

T.

Maier,Preaching

the Crusades:Mendicant

Friars and the Cross in the Thirteenth

Century

(Cambridge,

1994),

pp.

9-17.

19Thomas

Aquinas,

Summa

Theologiae

(Leonine Edition),

2-2.40.2

ad

2,

uAd

secun

dum dicendum

quodprelati

et

clerici,

ex

auctoritate

superioris,

possunt

interesse

bel

lis,

non

quidem

ut

ipsi

propria

manupugnent,

sed

ut

iuste

pugnantibus

spiritualiter

subveniant

suis

exhortationibus

et

absolutionibus

et

aliis huiusmodi spiritualibus






622

THE FRIARSGO TOWAR: MENDICANT MHJTARY

CHAPLAINS,

1216-C.

1300

Thomas

of

Aquinas'

views in

this

regard

are

in

accordance with

al

most two

full

generations

of Dominican and

Franciscan

service

in

the

field with soldiers.20 Not

surprisingly,

the bulk of the mendicant effort

was

exerted

in

the context of

papally supported campaigns, particu

larly

crusades.

One

of

the

earliest

examples

of

the

major

mobilization

by

the

papacy

of

mendicant

friars for service

as

military

chaplains

came

in

the

context

of

Pope Gregory

IX's effort

to

prop

up

the

Latin

empire

of

Constantinople.

In

1237,

John

Asen,

the ruler

of

Bulgaria,

invaded the

Latin

empire

causing

Pope Gregory

EX

to

declare

a

crusade

against

him.21 In

support

of

this

planned military operation,

Gregory

authorized

the

papal

legate

in

the

Balkans,

Bishop

Salvi of

Perugia,

to

call

upon

King

Bela

IV

of

Hungary

to

participate

in

the crusade.

At

first,

Bela

was

reluctant

to

take

part

because

John

Asen

was

his

brother-in-law and his

actions

against

the

Latin

empire

did

not

affect

Hungary.

Nevertheless,

the

Hungarian

king

finally

was

persuaded by

Bishop

Salvi

that

it

was

in

his

best interests

to

co-operate.

Bela,

however,

drove

a

hard

bargain,

demanding

that he

receive

all

the

territory

which he

conquered,

that

the

entire crusade

army

would

remain

under

his direct

command,

and

that

Dominican and

Franciscan

preachers

would

grant

the

same

indul

gences

to

his

men

as

those

received

by

soldiers

going

to

the

Holy

Land.22

In

response

to

Bela's

agreement,

Pope Gregory

issued bulls

on

Au

gust

9,1238,

to

the

provincial

prior

of

the Dominicans

in

Hungary

as

well

as

to

the minister

of

the Franciscans

hi

the

custody

of

Esztergom.23

He

ordered both

officials

to

provide

friars

to

serve as

crusade

preachers

subventionibus. Sicut

et

in veteri

lege

mandabatur,

los.

vi,

quod

sacerdotes sacris

tubis

in bellis

clangerent?

"Second,

it

should be

noted that

prelates

and clerics

may,

with

the

permission

of

their

superiors,

be involved

in

military

affairs.

They

may

not

fight

with their

own

hands.

However,

they

may

justiy

support

those

who

are

fighting

through

their

ex

hortations,

absolutions,

and

other

means

of

spiritual

support.

Just

as

it

was

commanded

in

the

old

law,

Josh,

vi,

that the

priests

raised

a

noise

with

sacred

horns

during

battle."

20In

this

context,

it

should

be

emphasized

that

we are

dealing

here with

the

provision

of

pastoral

care to soldiers who are

already

in the

army

rather than with efforts

by

Do

minican

and

Franciscan

preachers

to

recruit

soldiers

for

future

service.

The

best

work

on

this

latter

topic

is

Maier,

op.

cit.

21See

Z.

J.

Kosztolnyik,

Hungary

in

the

Thirteenth

Century

(New

York,

1996),

pp.

125-127.

22Ibid.,

pp.

125-126.

2iBullarium Franciscanum

Romanorum

Pontificum,

4

vols.,

ed.

Johanis

Hyacinth

Sbaraleae

(Rome,

1759-1768),

I,

249.

The

same

bull

was

issued

to

both the

Franciscans

and the

Dominicans.

Unfortunately,

I

have

not

been able

to

locate the Dominican

copy.






BY DAVID

S.

BACHRACH

623

with

the

power

to

grant

indulgences

equal

to

those

offered

to

cru

saders

going

to

the

Holy

Land.24

However,

in

addition

to

employing

fri

ars as crusade

preachers,

Pope Gregory

also authorized the

prior

and

minister

to

assign

brothers

to

serve as

chaplains

directly

in

the

royal

Hungarian

army

(regalis

exercitus).25

These

mendicant

priests

were

to

hear confessions

(audire

confessions),

assign

penances

(paenitentias

injunger?),

and administer

the other

sacraments

(sacramenta

Ecclesi

asticd).

This

very

likely

entailed

celebrating

Mass.

In addition

to

these

tasks,

Pope

Gregory

also

obliged

the

Dominicans

and

Franciscans

to

carry

out

their

normal function

by

preaching

to

the

soldiers

(pro

poner?

populis

verbum

Dei).26

In the

end,

the

proposed

crusade

against

John

Asen

was never car

ried

out.

Nevertheless,

Pope Gregory's

bull demonstrates his

view that

the

Dominicans and Franciscans

would

make

good

chaplains

for sol

diers

in

papal

service. In

fact,

this

was

part

of

the

pope's

policy

of

uti

lizing

the friars

in

support

of

papal

military

actions.

Already

in

1233,

that

is,

five

years

before

the

proposed

crusade

against

John

Asen,

Greg

ory had issued a series of bulls to the Dominicans in Prussia, instructing

them

to

provide

care

to

the crusaders

operating

there. The

twofold

task

of the

Dominicans ismade

clear

in

a

pair

of

bulls

issued

on

October

7,

1233,

at

Anagni.

Gregory

wanted

to

ensure

that the

friars

continued

their

general

efforts

to

promote

the

crusade in Prussia

and ordered

them

to

grant

indulgences

in

order

to

obtain recruits.27 This

was

clearly

a

duty

for which Dominican

preachers

were

suited

and

one

for

which

they

have been

recognized

by

scholars.28

However,

in

addition

to

utiliz

ing

the black friars to motivate

participation

in the

crusade,

Gregory

also

recognized

a

role for Dominicans

serving

with

the

crusading

forces

24Ibid.,

"Mandamus,

quatenus

universis

crucesignatis

regni

Hungariae

commu

tandi vota in

hujusmdoi

subsidium

fac?ltate

concessa,per

vos,

etfratres

vestrosprae

dictis contra

praedictos

Assanum,

et

alios

per

totam

Hungariam

et

alia

loca,

ubi

expedir?

videritis,

verbum

crucis,

illam

iis,

qui

contra

eos

Signum

cruets

assumpserint

indulgentiam largtentis,

quant

habent laborantes in subsidium

terrae

sanctae"

?Ibid.

26Bullarium

Franciscanum,

1,249.

The

basic

work

on

preaching

by

mendicant friars

is

now

Maier,

op.

cit.

"Les

Registres

de

Gr?goire

IX,

3

vols.,

?d.

Lucien

Auvray

(Paris,

1896-1908),

I,

848,

n.

1539,

"Priores

et

fratres

ordinis

Praedicatorum

praedicantes

contra

perfidiam

Prutenorum

rogat

et

obsecrat

quatenus

fid?les

populos

suae

praedicationi

commissos

inducant

utpraestent

auxilium

christiano

exercitui in

partibus

Prusciae

constituto,

eis omnium

peccatorum

suorum

veniam

pollicentes?

28See

Maier,

op.

cit.,

passim.






624

THE FRIARSGO

TO

WAR: MENDICANT MILITARY

CHAPLAINS,

1216-C.

1300

in

a

pastoral

capacity.

After

warning

the

Dominicans

about

the

false

conversions

of the

Prussians,

the

pope

instructed

the friars

to

preach

the

gospel

for the

purpose

of

inspiring

those men

already

serving

in the

crusading

army

to

fight

bravely

against

the

enemy.29

In

a

similar bull is

sued

on

October

6,

1233,

Pope

Gregory

had ordered

the

Dominicans

serving

with

the

crusader

army

to

exhort

(exhortationibus

inducere)

the

men

to

work

harder

in

building

fortifications.30

Pope

Gregory's

policy

of

utilizing

Dominicans

and Franciscans

as

mil

itary

chaplains

was

continued

during

the

pontificates

of his

successors.

Following the deposition of Emperor Frederick II at the First Council of

Lyons

in

July,

1245,

Pope

Innocent

IV

actively sought

to

support

an

anti

king

in

Germany

against

the Staufen ruler.

In

May,

1246,

Frederick's Ger

man

opponents

elected

Landgraf

Henry Raspe

of

Thuringia

as

king.31

By

June,

1246,

Pope

Innocent

issued

a

bull

to

the

Archbishop

of Mainz and

his

suffragans

to

give

all

possible

assistance

to

the

German

pretender,

including offering

crusade

indulgences

to

recruits

just

like those

of

fered

to

crusaders

going

to

the

Holy

Land.32

However,

Henry

Raspe

died

just over half a year later in February, 1247, and papal efforts in Ger

many

suffered

a

major

setback.

Pope

Innocent

IV

and

his

agents

worked

feverishly

for almost

half

a

year

to

recruit

a new

candidate

to

challenge

the Staufen

king.33 During

his

negotiations

with the

papal

government,

Count William

of

Holland

agreed

to

fight

this

war

against

the

emperor,

but

only

if

the

pope

would

offer him

the

same

privileges enjoyed

by

Henry

Raspe

and declare William's

campaign

to

be

a

crusade.34

Throughout the crusade, the papal government maintained very

close

contact

with

Count William.

Pope

Innocent IV

frequently

issued

letters

to

William's

chaplain,

a

Franciscan named

John

of Diest. On Feb

ruary

10,

1251,

Pope

Innocent

wrote to

this

chaplain

concerning

the

recent

death of

Emperor

Frederick

II

and

the

papal

government's

deci

29Registres

de

Gr?goire

IX,

1,848,

no.

1538,"ceterum

in

proponendo

crucis

evangelio

vigiles

existentes,

animent

fid?les

christiani exercitus

in memoratis Prusciae

partibus

constituios

ad

impiorum

cornua

confringenda?

50/?Wi*.,p.847,n.l535.

ilEpistolae

Selectae

Saeculi XIII

e

Regestis

Romanorum,

ed. Charles

Rodenberg,

3

vols.

(Berlin, 1893-1894),

II, 151,

#

199.

i2Ibid.,

"omnibus...

onus

istud

assumpserint,

illam

suorum

peccatorum

de

quibus

veraciter corde contriti

et

ore

confessi

fuerint,

veniam

indulgemus

ipsosque

in Mo

privilegio

eaque

immunitate

gaudere

volumus

que

Terre S?nete succurrentibus

in

g?

n?rait

concilio

sunt

concessa."

"Otto

Hintze,

Das

K?nigtum

Wilhelms

von

Holland

(Leipzig,

1885),

p.

10.

"Ibid.






BY

DAVID

S.BACHRACH

625

sion

to

continue

to

prosecute

the

war

against

King

Conrad

IV,

the

em

peror's

son

and

heir.35

Within

the

text

of the

letter,

Innocent

referred

to

the

significant

correspondence

that had

passed

between his

govern

ment

and the

count

concerning

the conduct of the

war

and

the

support

provided by

the

Church

to

William's

army.

Pope

Innocent

confirmed all

of the

privileges

that he had bestowed

upon

William's

soldiers for

fight

ing

against

Frederick. This

support

included

a

continuation

of

indul

gences

for the

soldiers,

continued

preaching by

the mendicant

orders,

and

the

continued

service of

these friars

as

chaplains

in

William's

army36

Indeed, mendicant friars had demonstrated their willingness to put

themselves

in

harm's

way

on

behalf

of William's soldiers

as

early

as

1249.

This

point

was

made

exceptionally

clear

by

Reinerus of

Viterbo,

the

papal

legate

to

Germany,

in

a

report

sent to

Pope

Innocent IV

con

cerning

the

campaign

in

northern

Germany

against

the

supporters

of

King

Conrad and

Emperor

Frederick. Reinerus

described

the actions

of

all

of

the

priests

serving

in

William's

army

including

the

friars,

in

heroic

terms.

The

legate

noted that the

chaplains

moved

among

the

troops

during the battle in order to give last rites to the fallen. They continued

to

do

so even

at

the

risk of

their

own

lives because

King

Conrad

had

or

dered that

any

mendicants

serving

in

William's

army

were

to

be

exe

cuted

if

they

were

captured.

Reinerus

emphasized

that

some

Franciscan

friars

did

meet

this fate

during

the

battle.37

However,

despite

suffering

these losses the mendicants

continued

to

aid

William

throughout

his

struggle.38

The

successful

participation,

from the

papal perspective,

of

friars

as

chaplains

in

the

struggle

against

Frederick

II

and Conrad IV would

seem

to

be confirmed

by

their

deployment

in

the

army

of Charles

of

An

jou

against

the last of

the

Staufen

rulers,

namely

Frederick

IFs

son

Man

fred,

who ruled southern

Italy

and

Sicily.39

In

preparation

for Charles of

Anjou's

invasion

of southern

Italy,

Pope

Clement IV issued

a

bull

on

Oc

tober

15,1265,

noting

his intention

to

detach

Dominican and Francis

can

friars from

their other

duties

in

order

to

help

facilitate

whatever

-sBullarium

Franciscanum,

p.

567.

"Ibid.

Matthaei

Parisiensis,

monachi

sancti Albani. cbronica

majora,

ed.

Henry

Richards

Luard,

7

vols.

(London,

1872-1883), V,

66.

*Hintze,qp.cif.,pp.

138-140.

''Concerning

Charles's

crusade

to unseat

Manfred,

the Staufen ruler of southern

Italy,

see

Norman

Housley,

The Italian Crusades:

Papal-Angevin

Alliance

and the Crusades

against

Christian

Lay

Powers

1254-1343 (Oxford,

1982),

p.

18.






626

THE FRIARS

GO

TO WAR:

MENDICANT MILITARY

CHAPLAINS,

1216-C.

1300

actions

the

Angevin

prince

deemed

necessary.*

Given the

pope's

man

ifest

concern

in

just

this

period

with

the

question

of Charles's

immi

nent

campaign,

it is

almost

certainly

the

case

that the

projected

duties

of

the

mendicants

were

related

to

the crusade

against

Manfred.

Four

months

later,

on

February

18,1266,

just

eight

days

before

the decisive

battle between

Charles and Manfred

at

Benevento,

Pope

Clement

again

issued

a

bull

repeating

his

intention

to

reassign

friars

as

required

to

serve

the needs of the

Angevin

count.41

Both Clement's

success

in

mobilizing

the friars

and Charles of

An

jou's

use of them as

military chaplains

are made clear in an account of

the battle

at

Benevento

recorded

by

the chronicler

Andreas

of Hun

gary.42

According

to

Andreas,

the

Angevin

forces

pitched

camp

a

couple

of

miles

away

from

Benevento

on

the

night

of

February

25.

After the

camp

had been

arranged

Charles

is

reported

to

have ordered

every

one

of

his soldiers

to

receive

the

eucharist

in

order

to

strengthen

them

selves

(mu?ir?)

for battle.43

Among

those

aiding

the

dean

of

Meaux,

who

was

serving

as

Charles's

chancellor,

in

preparing

the

men

to

re

ceive

the host

were

a

large

group

of

Dominican and Franciscan

priests.

According

to

Andreas,

these

friars heard the soldiers' confessions

and

freed them from

sin?that

is,

gave

them

absolution,?before

they

at

tended

Mass.44

As is

clear

from

Andreas

of

Hungary's

discussion of

the

religious

rites

in

which the

Angevin

troops

participated

at

Benevento,

the

celebration

of

Mass and the

reception

of

the

eucharist

played

a

central

role

in

their

preparation

for battle.45 This

practice, particularly

in the

very

rough

conditions of

life

on

campaign,

was

made

possible

only

by

the

posses

^Les

Registres

de

Cl?ment TV

(1265-1268),

ed. M.

Edouard

Jordan

(Paris, 1893),

p.

41,

n.

l65,uquodpossitPredicatorum

etMinorum acaliorum

ordinumpersonas

adsuam

convocare

presentiam, eisque

committere,

que

utilitati

negotiorum

sibi commissorum

viderit

expedir?"

"Ibid.,

p.

73,

n.272.

"Andreas

of

Hungary, Descriptio

Victoriae

a

Karolo

Provinciae Comit?

Reportatae,

MGH,

Scriptores

26

(Hanover, 1882),

p.

572.

*

Ibid. "Cum

castra

regia...

sua

ibi tentoria

fixissent...

precepisset,

ut

unusquisque

Dei

et

ecclesie servicio insistens muniret

se

viatico salutari...."

4iIbid.,lldecanusMeldensis,

regniSicilie

cancellarius,

vir

magni

nominis

ac

vite

vene

rabais,

associatis

sibi

de

ordinibus

fratrum

Predicatorum

et

Minorum

presbiteris

non

paucis,

auditisprius

eorum

confessionibus,

et

sic

apeccatorum

omnium nexibus libe

ratis,

corpus

et

sanguinem

Christi d?dit eis,

.

.

."

4,Reception

of

the eucharist

had

been

a

crucial element in

the

preparation

of

soldiers

for battle since the tenth century. See Bachrach,Religion, passim.






BY

DAVID

S.

BACHRACH

627

sion

of

portable

altars. There

was

nothing

novel

about

this in

1266.

Western armies

had

been

using

portable

altars

in

the

field since

the

reign

of

Emperor

Constantine the Great in the

early

fourth

century.46

However,

in

amanner

reminiscent

of

the

papal

response

to

military

pas

toral

care more

generally,

before

the

early

1220's the

papacy

does

not

appear

to

have

played

any

role

in

controlling

the

production

of

portable

altars

or

authorizing

their

use.

Among

the first

papal

bulls

to

address the

right

to

possess

and

use

portable

altars

was

Honorius Ill's

grant

on

May

6,1221,

of

a

license

(//

centid) to the Dominican order

permitting

black friars to have and use

them

whenever

they

were

in

areas

that lacked

a

church

with

a

fixed,

consecrated

altar,

or

when

they

faced the

opposition

of

local clerics.47

According

to

the

bull,

the

impetus

for the

grant

of the license

came

from

the

Dominican

order

itself

(postulastis

a

nobis).

The

Dominicans

were

concerned about

their

ability

to

celebrate Mass because

they

were

frequently

outside

the

orbit of cities

and

villages

where

they

could find and

use

the

regular

altars situated in churches.48

Pope

Greg

ory

EX issued a similar bull on

May

10,1230,

to those Dominicans

going

to

Poland

to

perform

missionary

work.49 Here

too,

the

Dominicans

were

concerned

that the lack

of

an

established network

of churches

with

consecrated altars

would

hinder them in the

celebration

of

Mass

and

the

consecration

of

the

eucharist.

On

September

4,

1243,

Pope

Inno

cent IV

again

confirmed the license of the Dominican order

to

have

and

to

use

portable

altars

while

they

were

engaged

in

missionary

and

preaching

activities and reiterated this confirmation

on

April

5,1254.50

The

papal

government

also

granted

licenses

to

the

Franciscan order

permitting

these friars

to use

portable

altars.

However,

it

appears

that

the

first bull

granting

this

privilege

was

not

issued until

1250.51

These

grants

of

papal

privileges

regarding

portable

altars

to

the

Do

minicans

and

Franciscans

are

significant

because

they

highlight

the

view

shared

by

both

the

papacy

and the

mendicants

that friars should

be

able

to

provide

the

full

range

of

pastoral

care to a

wide

spectrum

of

the

population,

including

soldiers,

even under adverse conditions. As

46Joseph

Braun,

Der

christliche

Altar

in seiner

geschichtlichen

Entwicklung

(2 vols.;

Munich,

1924),

1,71-76.

47Bullarium Ordinis

FF.

Praedicatorum,

vol.

I,

ed.

A

Bremond

(Rome, 1729),

p.

14.

iHIbid.,"cum

extra civitates

et

villas

frequentius

existatis"

49Ibid.,p.32.

wIbid.,p.

121

and

A.N.L248

n?

252.

-xBullarium Franciscanum vol. 1, ed. J.H. Sbarlea, (Rome, 1759), pp. 537-538.






628

THE FRIARSGO

TO WAR:MENDICANT MILITARY

CHAPLAINS,

1216-C.

1300

noted

above,

the

papal

government

did

not

concern

itself with

the

question

of

who could

or

could

not

have

a

portable

altar before the

es

tablishment of the mendicant orders. It is

only

in the context of

provid

ing

the

tools of

pastoral

care

to

the

friars

that the

papal

government

began

to

assert

a

claim

to

determine the

legitimate

and

illegitimate

de

ployment

of

this element

of

sacred

impedimenta.52

Mendicants

in

Royal

Wars

The

material discussed thus far has

dealt with the

participation

of

mendicants

as

chaplains

in armies

authorized

or

supported directly

by

the

papacy.

Given the

central

role that

friars

played

in

mobilizing

pub

lic

support

for crusades and

recruiting

men

to

serve

in

them,

it is

hardly

surprising

that the

papacy

also

saw

the

Dominican and

Franciscan

or

ders

as

an

important

resource

for

fulfilling

the

implicit

promise

set out

m

Ad

liberandum,

enacted

at

the

Fourth

Lateran

Council

in

1215.

Nev

ertheless,

as

will be

clear

below,

the

papacy

was

not

alone

in

seeing

the

value of the

mendicants

as

potential military chaplains.

Kings

too

rec

ognized

the

potential

military

value of well-trained

preachers,

who

could

celebrate

Mass

and

hear

confessions,

and

who

also

were

free from

the

locally

focused

duties

that

bound

parish

priests

to

their

churches.53

As

early

as

1229,

just

thirteen

years

after

Pope

Honorius Ill's

recogni

tion

of

the

Dominican

order,

black friars

participated

in

King

James

I

of

Aragon

's

(1213-1276)

invasion of

Majorca.

In

his

autobiography,

James

recalled that

during the siege

of

Palma, the capital

of

Majorca, soldiers

from the

Aragonese

army

were

digging

shafts

in

order

to

undermine

the

walls of the

city.54

In

the

course

of their

efforts,

a

Dominican

friar named

Michael

approached

them

and

preached

about the

importance

of their

work in

an

effort

to

encourage

them.55 The

friar then heard the

confes

sions

of

each

of the

sappers

and absolved them of

their

sins.

The

Do

minican

whom

James

mentioned

was

Michael

of

Fabra,

who

was

not

only

a

confessor

to

King

James

but

was

also the

first

Dominican

to

serve

"Concerning

the

use

of

portable

altars

by

the

Dominicans,

see

William A.

Hinnebusch,

The

History of

the

Dominican Order:

Origins

and

Growth

to

1500

(2 vols.;

New

York,

1965),I,40and91.

3On this

point,

see

Maier,

op.

cit.,

p.

4.

S4James

I of

Aragon,

Llibre

dels Fets del

Rei

en

Jaume,

ed.

Jordi

Bruguera

(2

vols.:

Barcelona,

1991),

II,

82-83.

"Michael's

actions here

are

similar

to

the

efforts

of the

Dominican

chaplains,

noted

above,

who

served with

Christian forces in Prussia

and

encouraged

them

in

their

efforts

to build fortifications there.






BY

DAVID

S.

BACHRACH

629

as

a

professor

of

theology

for his fellow

Dominicans

at

the

Dominican

school

in

Paris.56

King

James

was

very

pleased

with

the

service

provided by

the

Do

minicans

to

his

forces

in

Majorca

and

rewarded them with

extensive

properties

on

the

island.57

Moreover,

he continued

to

employ

Domini

cans

in

his

service

as

chaplains,

not

only

in

his

own

household but also

in

his

garrisons.58

For

example,

the

king

noted

in

his

autobiography

that

in

the

course

of

his

campaign

against

Valencia in

1237,

he had

estab

lished

a

garrison

at

the

strategically

important

site

of

Puig. Serving

with

the troops there were two Dominican friars whom James had assigned

to

the

fortress

for

the

purpose

of

preaching

to

the

men,

hearing

their

confessions,

and

assigning

penances.99

But when

James

came to

make

an

inspection

of

the

garrison,

one

of the

friars,

named P?re

de

Leyda,

re

quested permission

to

leave his

post.

The

king

refused,

claiming

that the

danger

of the

situation

at

Puig

made

it

even

more

imperative

for

the

fri

ars

to

remain

because

they

were

much better

prepared

to

undertake

the

pastoral

care

of soldiers than other

chaplains,

who

did

not

know

the men and did not know as much about assigning penances.60

%On this

point,

see

Robert

Ignatius

Burns,

The

Crusader

Kingdom

of

Valencia

(2 vols.;

Cambridge,

Massachusetts,

1967),

1,203-204.

"Ibid.,p.2Qft.

^Concerning

the

service

of

mendicants

in

King

fames's

familia

and his

army,

see

ibid.,

pp.

197-203.

ajames

I of

Aragon, op.

cit.,

II, 203,

aE

aviahi .II.

frares

prehicadors

per

penitencia

donar

e

per prehicar, per

nom

frare

P?re de

Leyda,

e

.1. ltre

e

vengren-se'n

a

nos."

mIbid.,"E dixfrare

Pere

que voliaparlar

ab nos

a

.?.part

e

dix-nos

que

se'n

volia ab

nos

anar e

que

noy

romandria...

E

nos

dixemli: 'Per

que

us

en

volets

anar?

Que

molt

hinc

sots

necessari:

una,

perprehicarclos,

l'altra,

que

si

neg?

hi venia

a

hora

de

mort,

mils los

sabr?ets vos

dar

penitencia

que

.1.

c?pela,

que

no

y

sobria re "

Although

James

Fs

campaigns

in

Majorca

and Valencia

were

conducted

against

Mus

lims,

in

both

cases

it is clear that the

major impetus

for the

wars was

royal

rather than

papal policy.

Moreover,

in both

cases

the Dominicans served

King

James

directly

rather

than

as

agents

of

the

papacy

This

point

is

made

remarkably

clear

by

James

himself

while

discussing

the

preparations

for

the

campaign

to

Majorca.

For

some

years

before

1228,

pirates operating

from

bases

on

the island of

Majorca

had

been

taking

a

heavy

toll on Catalonian

shipping.

In

December,

1228,

King

James

appeared

before

the

Catalonian Cortes in Barcelona and

reported

that

the

negotiations

with Abu

Yahya,

the

king

of

Majorca,

had

failed. On this

point,

see

Joseph

F.

O'Callaghan,^

History

of

Medieval

Spain

(Ithaca,

New

York, 1975),

pp.

341-342.

According

to

his

own

testi

mony,

James

made

an

appeal

to

the Cortes

of Catalonia

in

December, 1228,

based

upon

his

own

honor

as a

ruler

and need

to

protect

Catalonian

shipping.

See Llibre dels

Fets,

I,

64-66.

At

no

point

is there

any

discussion

of

a

crusade.

In the

meantime, however,

on

Feb

ruary

6,1229,

Pope Gregory

IX

issued instructions

to

his

legate

in

Spain,

Cardinal

Jean

dAbbeville,

to

encourage

the

kings

of

the

Iberian

peninsula

to

begin

military

operations

against

their Muslim

neighbors

and

to

grant indulgences

to

those who

participated

in






630

THE FRIARSGO TO WAR:MENDICANT MILITARY

CHAPLAINS,

1216-C.

1300

Whether

or

not

James's

view

regarding

the

relative

value of

Dominicans

as

contrasted

to

parish priests

as

military chaplains

was

accurate,

this

account makes clear that black friars

enjoyed

a

positive

reputation

for

their

service in

this role

at

an

early

date,

not

only

in

papal

armies

but

in

secular

armies

as

well.

In

his

autobiography,

James

gives

no

indication that he

sought

the

permission

of

the

papacy

to

recruit

Dominican friars

as

military

chap

lains.

The situation

was

rather different

four

decades

later when

King

Philip

III of France

(1270-1285)

wanted

to

make

use

of friars

as

chap

lains both in the royal household and for his troops. In 1272, Philip III

asked

for and

received

permission

from

Pope

Gregory

X for

the

mendi

cants

serving

in his

familia

to

perform

the

sacraments

necessary

for

the

well-being

of

the

king's

soldiers.61

The

king's

letter

to

Gregory

has

not

survived,

but

it

is

clear

from the

pope's

response

that

Philip

had

asked

on

behalf

of his

servientes,

which

in

French

government

usage

refers both

to servants

and

to

soldiers,

that

they

be

permitted

to

confess

their

sins

to

the

Dominicans and

Franciscans who

were

attached

to

the

royal court.62 The king also asked that the servientes be permitted to re

ceive

both

penances

and absolution

from these

friars,

a

request

that

also

was

granted

by

the

pope.63

these

campaigns.

The cardinal

dutifully

granted

an

indulgence

to

all the soldiers

serving

the

royal expedition

against

Majorca,

thereby

transforming

the

campaign

into

a

crusade.

See

Regesta Pontificum

Romanorum,

ed.

Augustus

Potthast

(2

vols;

repr.

Graz, 1957),

#8336a.

61A.N. is

J940

no.

26,"carissimo

in

christo filio Phy. illustri regi

Francie: servientibus

in

ejus

morantibus

servitio

concedit

ut

presbyteris religiosis

Predicatorum

et

Mino

rum

ordinum

qui

cum

regefuerint,

licet

ipsi

confiteri

valeant

et

ab

ipsis penitentiam

recipere

salutarem,

qui

eisdem

confitentibus

super

peccatis

eorum

vice

pape

benefi

cium absolutionis

imp?ndante

62The

pope's

letter makes clear

that

this

privilege

extended

only

to

those

friars who

were

actually

priests

(presbyteri)

rather than

to

lay

brothers.

6iIbid.

Philip

Ill's

son

and

successor

Philip

IV

(1285-1314)

likewise

sought

papal priv

ileges

that

would

allow the soldiers

serving

in the

royal

household

to

confess their sins

to

priests

other

than their

own

priests.

In

1288,

Pope

Nicholas

granted

this

privilege,

noting

that soldiers are

frequently

in situations where

they

must travel.

Although

this

privilege

does

not

specifically

mention

the

mendicants,

it

seems

likely

that Dominicans and

Fran

ciscans would be

among

those

whom

Philip

III

recruited

to

provide pastoral

care to

his

troops.

A.N.

J692

no.

148,

ucarissimo in Christo

filio Philippo regi

Francie illustri:...

servientibus

ejus,

cum

frequenter

ipsos

oporteat

ad

varia

loca

discurrere,

concedit

ut

quibusdamque

ydoneis persbyteris

peccata

sua

confiteri

valeant?

Pope

Nicholas

IV

granted

a

similar

privilege

to

Philip

IV's

younger

brother,

Charles,

the

count

of

Anjou.

A.N.

L277

no.

63,"..

.

indulget

ut

capellani

eorum

[Charles

and his

wife,

Margaret]

possint

eorum

familiarum confessiones

audire

ipsisque

pro

peccatis

absolutionis

beneficium

impertiri

ac

penitentiam injungere."






BY DAVID S.BACHRACH

631

By

the

end

of

the

thirteenth

century,

noblemen

too

sought

on occa

sion to

employ

friars

as

military

chaplains.

A

clear

example

of this

prac

tice is evident in the efforts of Earl

Henry Lacy

of Lincoln to secure the

services

of

Franciscan friars

to

serve

with his

troops

during

one

of

Ed

ward

I

(1272-1307)

of

England's

campaigns

in

Scotland.64

A

letter

en

rolled

in

the

register

of

Archbishop

Thomas

Corbridge

of

York indicates

that

Henry

de

Lacy

had

sought

permission

to

recruit

two

friars

to

serve

with

this

troops.

The earl's letter does

not

survive,

but

Archbishop

Cor

bridge's

response,

issued

on

June

19,1300,

makes

clear

what

the

earl

had

in

mind.65

Corbridge

noted

that

de

Lacy

specifically

sought

the

ser

vices of two

Franciscans,

named

Michael of Merton and

Reginald

of

Kington,

to

serve

in

his

military

household.

The earl

of

Lincoln

was

most

interested

in

their

ability

to

hear the

confessions

of his

men

and

assign

them

penances.66 Archbishop

Corbridge

granted

the earl's

re

quest,

and

presumably

Michael and

Reginald

accompanied

the

English

troops

into

Scotland.67

From

a

jurisdictional

perspective,

the letter

enrolled

in

the

archi?pis

copal register makes clear that the service of mendicant friars in secu

lar

campaigns,

that

is,

in

campaigns

not

authorized

or

organized

by

the

pope,

could be

problematic.

As noted

above,

the

king

of France

sought

permission

from

the

pope

to

have

his

men

confess their sins

to

mendi

cant

friars. In

this

case,

Henry

de

Lacy

sought

permission

not

from

the

pope,

but

from

the

archbishop

of

York,

the

leading

ecclesiastical official

in

northern

England.

The

seeking

of

permission

in

both

cases

implies

that the

pope

or

the

archbishop

could choose

not to

permit

the

em

ployment of mendicants asmilitary chaplains in any particular conflict.

The

granting

of

permission,

however,

permits

the

inference

that

the

en

abling

prelate

judged

the

military

conflict

at

issue

to

be

"just."

The

basic

problem

that

undergirded

the

need

to

obtain

permission

lay

in

the well-established

principle

that

lay

people

should confess their

sins to

their

local

parish

priests.

Canon

21

of

the

Fourth

Lateran

Coun

cil

had

required

that each

adult Christian confess

his

or

her

sins

to

his

or

her local parish priest

at

least

once a

year

at

Easter.68 This

canon

had

"For

a

discussion

of

the

provision

of

pastoral

care to

the

soldiers in

the armies

of

Ed

ward

I,

see

David

S.

Bachrach,

"The

organisation

of

military

religion

in

the

armies

of

King

Edward

I

of

England

(1272-1307),

Journal

of

Medieval

History,

29

(2003),

265-286.

^Historical

Papers

and Letters

from

the Northern

Registers,

ed.

James

Raine

(London,

1973),

p.

143.

^Ibid.^auditis

conscientiarum

suarum

reatibus,

possint

absolvere,

ipsisquepoeni

tentias

injungere

salutares?

67Ibid.






632

THE FRIARSGO

TOWAR: MENDICANT MILITARYCHAPLAINS. 1216-C. 1300

been

interpreted by

some

episcopal

authorities

to

mean

that

lay

people

could confess their

sins

only

to

their

own

parish priests, particularly

during

Lent.

Gaining

the

permission

of the

pope,

or the

archbishop,

therefore,

was

important

because

in

many

regions,

the

right

of

mendi

cants

to

hear

confessions

was

limited.69

Indeed,

in

1293,

just

seven

years

before

Henry

de

Lacy

made his

request

of

the

archbishop,

Thomas

Cor

bridge's

predecessor, Archbishop

Romanus of

York,

had

denounced

the

idea

that

laymen

could confess

to

mendicants

on a

regular

basis instead

of

going

to

their

own

priests.70

mConciliorum

Oecumenicorum,p.

245.

69In

1224,

parishioners

in

the

diocese

of

Winchester

were

free

to

visit Dominicans

at

any

time

of

the

year

except

for Lent.

During

this

period,

when

lay

people

were

supposed

to

confess

to

sacerdoti

proprio, parishioners

were

required

to

obtain

permission

from

their

parish

priests

before

going

to

the

friars.

See

Councils and

Synods

with other Doc

uments

Relating

to the

English

Church,

A.D.

1205-1313,

ed. F.M.

Powicke

and

C.

R.

Cheney

(2 vols.;

Oxford

1964),

1,124.

It is of

some

interest that

the

same

set

of

episcopal

statutes

specifically

forbade

parish priests

from

receiving

parishioners

from

other

parishes

out

of

concern

that

they

would

unknowingly

give

comfort

to

an

excommunicate.

See

I,

129,uProhibemus

insuper

ne sacerdotes

parochias regentes

vicinis ecclesiis sint

damp

nosi,

recipiendo

iniuste

parochianos

earum

ad

penitentiam

vel

ecclesiastica

sacra

menta

percipienda?

The statutes of

Exeter,

issued

in

1287,

likewise

granted

mendicant

friars free

license

to

hear

confessions

at

any

time of the

year, including

the

Lenten

season.

However,

in this

case

parishioners

were

first

required

to

fulfill their

obligations

to

their

parish priests.

See

Powicke and

Cheney,

Councils and

Synods,

II, 995,

"precipimus quod

cum

fratres predicatores

et

minores tarn in

Quadragesima

quant

extra

transitum

fe

cerint

per

parochias,

confessiones fidelium

libere audiant

et

penitentias

iniungant

qui

sibi voluerint

confiteri,

proprii

sacerdotis licentia

requisita

et

ecclesie

parochiali

obla

tionibus consuetis

et

debitis

prius

solutis?

The statutes of

N?mes,

issued

in

1252,

granted

mendicants the

right

to

hear

confessions

of

lay people

at

any

time

during

the

year.

However,

in

an

attempt

to

maintain the

parish

as

the

primary

center

of

religious

life,

the

bishop

required

that the

Dominicans and Fran

ciscans inform the

local

parish priests

of

the

names

of

parishioners

who

had

confessed

during

the

Lenten

season.

In

this

manner,

the

parish

priest

remained

the

final

authority7

in

deterrnining

the

religious

status of individual

parishioners.

The

episcopal

statutes

were

is

sued

by Bishop

Raymond Amaury

of N?mes in

1252

and

subsequently

issued

by

the

other

southern

French dioceses of

Arles,

B?ziers, Lod?ve, Uz?s,

Albi,

and

Carcassonne. See Les

Statuts

Synodaux

Fran?ais

du

XIIIe

Si?cle,

Vol. II:

Les

Statuts

de

1230

?

1260,

ed. Odette

Pontal

(Paris, 1983),

pp.

314-316.

In

addition

to

these

episcopal

decisions,

on

January

18, 1259,

Pope

Alexander

IV

granted

to

Dominicans

the

freedom

to

preach,

hear

confessions,

and

assign

penances

to

the

faithful

if

they

had the

permission

of

the

local

bishop. They

were

not

required

to

have

the

permission

of the local

priest.

See Bullarium Ordinis Fratrum

Praedicatorum,

ed.

Antonino Bremonds

(8 vols; Rome,

1729-1740),

I,

$69,

"quod

vos

de

licentia,

vel

com

missione,

aut

concessione

legatorum

sedis

apostolice,

vel

ordinariorum

locorum,

libere

possitis predicare

populis,

audire

confessiones,

et

absolvere

confitentes,

ac

peni

tentias

injungere

salutares,

aliorum

inferiorum

praelatorum

etrectorum

ecclesiarum

ac

sacerdotum

parochialium

assensu

minime

requisito?






BY DAVID S.BACHRACH

633

Conclusion

The Dominican and Franciscan orders carried out awide range of

tasks,

including

preaching

to

the

laity,

operating

schools,

and

mobilizing

public

opinion

and

resources

on

behalf

of the

papacy

and

papal

initia

tives,

including

the crusades.

The mendicant friars

were an

exception

ally

valuable

resource

for the

papacy

because

the

brothers

were

both

well trained and also available for extended

periods

of

duty

since

they

were

free

of

the

pastoral

obligations

that tied

parish

priests

and

even

cathedral

clergy

in

their

home churches. Once

the

papal

government

established an official

position

inAd liberandum that soldiers must be

provided

with

pastoral

care

while

on

campaign,

it

was

only

a

matter

of

time

before

the

Dominican

and

Franciscan

orders

were

assigned

the

task

of

finding

brothers

to

serve as

military

chaplains.

The obvious

suc

cess

of

the

mendicants

in

this

role

clearly persuaded

secular rulers

to

follow

suit

by

recruiting

friars

to

serve as

chaplains

in

their

armies

as

well.

70Calendar

of

Entries in the

Papal

Registers

Relating

to Great Britain

and

Ireland

AD

1305-1342,

ed.

W.

H.

Bliss

(London,

1895),

pp.

102-103.

However,

Romanus

was

somewhat

out

of

step

with his

brother

bishops.

In

1258,

the

bishop

of

Bath

and Wells

gave

permission

for mendicants

to

hear

confessions

of

lay people

who

were

traveling

out

side of their

parishes.

The

episcopal

statutes

of

Winchester issued

1262

and

1265

reiter

ate

this

point.

Powicke and

Cheney,

Councils and

Synods,

1,593

and

706.

The

statutes

of

Chichester,

issued in

1289,

did

not

specifically

name

the

mendicants

but

nevertheless

al

lowed those

with

a

papal

license

to

hear

confessions

to

provide pastoral

care

within

the

diocese.

Bachrach (David s.)_The Friars Go to War. Mendicant Military Chaplains, 1216-c. 1300 (the Catholic...

Documents

Transcript of Bachrach (David s.)_The Friars Go to War. Mendicant Military Chaplains, 1216-c. 1300 (the Catholic...