Bonaventure on the Mendicant Controversy: A Chance Encounter within the Folios of Reg. lat. 449

Bonaventure on the Mendicant Controversy:

A Chance Encounter within the Folios of Reg. lat. 449

Benjamin P. Winter

Paleography

Dr. Jack C. Marler

09 December, 2014

1

Codex

Shelfmark: Vatican Film Library, Saint Louis, MS Reg. lat. 449

Date: Late Fourteenth Century

Material: Vellum, thoroughly polished

Text Area: 198 x 134/136 mm.

Collation: There are eight separate quires or gatherings: three seniones (groups of

twelve leaves) three quiniones (groups of ten); one quaternio (group of

eight); one ternio (group of three).

Foliation: Three flyleafs. Eighty Folios. The folios are divided into five sections as

follows: ff. 1–30 (three quiniones); 31–54 (two seniones); 55–62 (one

quaternio); 63–68 (one ternio); 69–80 (one senio).

Pagination: Beginning with fol. 1r, the manuscript is paginated in standard fashion, i.e.

numbers appear in the top right hand corner of the recto side of each folio.

However, the pagination skips from “65” on fol. 65r to “69” on fol. 66r.

There is no evidence of tampering visible on the microfilm, and Wilmart

accounts for the jump in pagination in his description as follows: “(ff. 63v-

65) … (ff. 69-73 v).”1 Hence the gathering from fols. 63–68 is described

as a ternio, for it contains three leaves (namely, fols. 63, 64, and 65) rather

than six (fols. 63–68).

Ruling: Impossible to make out from the microfilm alone

Binding:2 A soft and pliable cover with a curled-back edge. A leather strap joins the

boards, which were restored by Paul Pétau (see “Provenance,” below).

Manuscript Details

Author: Saint Bonaventure

Composition: Third Quarter of the Thirteenth Century (originally)

Format: Single Column. 39 Lines. Approximately 50 characters per line

Collation: One quire of three leaves (ternio)

Foliation: fols. 63v – 65r

1 Andreas Wilmart, Codices Reginenses Latini: Tomus II (Vatican City, 1945), 583.

2 See Ibid.

2

Title: “Littera fratris Bonauntura Cardinalis et Generalis minorum”

Incipit: in Christo sibi carrissimis administris prouincialibus custodibus

Language: Latin

Subject: Letter on the subject of the Mendicant Controversy (see “Historical

Context of the Manuscript,” below) addressed to the leadership of the

Franciscan Order

Marginalia: There are no marginal notations in this section of the codex

Rubrication: Not visible on the black-and-white microfilm, Wilmart catalogs

rubrication on all folios (excluding fols. 75v – 80r) to herald the

appearance of excerpts from sacred scripture. In the folios under

consideration, underlining serves the same purpose.

Decoration: Although the folios studied here do not contain decoration, aniconic

designs can be seen on fols. 31r and 49v. Here initials (twelve-line and

four-line, respectively) display the likenesses of beasts and are surrounded

by foliate spraywork—particularly three-leafed clovers. On other folios,

initials are less elaborate but vegetal imagery persists, sometimes forming

a strewn border in the left-hand margin of the recto side (as in fols. 48,

69).

Provenance

The only scholarly work directed at ascertaining the origin of Reg. lat. 449 is that of Walsh, who

(as a cursory note) claims it is of “French provenance.”3 On the manuscript itself, an intervening

hand is visible on fols. 1 and 31, which provides titles above the top line. According to Wilmart,

these inscriptions were the work of a sixteenth-century Gallic editor.4 In the gutter of one of the

final flyleaves,5 French book collector Paul Pétau (1568–1614) wrote: “Armacani contra

Mendicantes epistola.” Reg. lat. 449 (excepting the Bonaventure text we study here) is thus

3 See Katherine Walsh, “Archbishop Fitzralph and the Friars at the Papal Court in Avignon, 1357– 60,” Traditio 31

(1975): 225 n. 5. 4 Ibid.

5 Unfortunately the microfilm does not capture these leaves, so information is again drawn from Wilmart (ibid).

3

composed of anti-mendicant sermons and pamphlets of Richard FitzRalph, Archbishop of

Armagh (Armacani). See “Historical Context of the Manuscript,” below.

Description of the Manuscript’s Hand

The first thing one notices is that we are clearly working with a Gothic script. Gothic scripts are

divided, broadly speaking, into two categories: textualis and cursiva. Since this script evinces

characteristics of both, it falls within the hybrida family. Michel Brown describes hybrida script

as “basically a textualis form with the introduction of a few cursiva letter forms, notably a, f, g,

and two forms of s.”6

Here we are looking at a book hand of medium quality.7 More specifically, the hand should be

labelled textualis hybrida, since it leans toward textualis while nonetheless employing many

cursiva techniques. For example, the scribe allowed for relatively generous amounts of space

between letters and words, a typical feature of cursiva, which “lacks the lateral compression

proper to textualis.”8 Instead of prioritizing efficient use of the available membrane, sacrifices

are made to increase the speed of copying. Other features of cursiva script that show up in this

manuscript are the single-compartment a and f’s that descend below the baseline. Furthermore,

the manuscript’s s’s sometimes appear as the “straight s” typical of cursiva.9

However, its complete lack of looping (despite near-loops on a few b’s and d’s, and right-

curving ascenders on most f’s and s’s) assures its affinity with textualis script. Ligatures (typical

6 Brown, Michel, A Guide to Western Historical Scripts from Antiquity to 1600 (London, 1990), 102.

7 This judgment of quality is based on the fact that the scribe appears rushed in some places (note, for example, the

“strikethrough” example below under “Anomalies in the Script”). Furthermore, his/her letter forms are not

consistent. 8 Albert Derolez, The Palaeography of Gothic Manuscript Books: From the Twelfth to the Early Sixteenth Century

(Cambridge, 2003), 125. On the whole, the scribe shows a proclivity for rightwards slanting. 9 See Derolez, 126.

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of cursiva) are the exception rather than the rule. There are no digraphs, but the scribe does

utilize “fusions,”10

such as this “quod” on line 84 and this “quam” on line 82 .

Again, these are within the purview of textualis. Finally, most of its other letter forms are very

typical of textualis in that they require more than one stroke to complete—thus decreasing the

speed of copying and defeating the purpose of a truly “cursive” style.

Chart of Letter Forms

10

Derolez defines fusion, common to textualis script, as “connecting letters when two curves face.” Ibid.

5

Abbreviations

A variety of abbreviations are used throughout the text, most-often with an accompanying

macron that can be found at any point in the abbreviated word. When appearing over a

penultimate vowel, the macron signifies an m ending. Et is usually unabbreviated , but is

sometimes abbreviated as either , , or . Orum abbreviations are also

common , but the full suffix is occasionally provided . Ibus

appears as . Per is always abbreviated: (exsuperat). Pr(a)e is usually signified

with a macron: (praesumo). T is the most commonly superscripted letter, as

in the following abbreviation for igiter . Longer items are also superscripted, such as this le

in impossibile .

Alphabetical Index of Abbreviations

alr = aliter

anm = animarum

cas = causas

caplm = capitulum

crmis = carrissimis

dno = domino

dns = dominus

ee = esse

fci = facti

fris = fratris

frm = fratrem

gt = igitur

hoi = homini

hom = hominum

ipm = ipsum

mi = mihi

nri = nostri

nsa = nostra

nun = nunc

oia = omnia

oem = omnem

oio = omnino

om = omnium

oms = omnes

onbs = omnibus

p = per

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pp = propter

plri = plurimini

qd = quod

qi = quasi

qm = quoniam

qsi = quasi

ro = ratio

scdm = secundum

sdm = studium

sn = sine

spu = spiritu

stia = scientia

tn = tamen

tpm = temporum

ura = (v)estra

ure = (v)estr(a)e

usq = usque

xri = Christi

xro = Christo

Anomalies in the Script

S endings are very erratic. They should look like this , but can become quite garbled .

M endings are often flipped vertically. S and e are sometimes combined in cursiva fashion, as in

this obseruari . There is a large d with exceptional slant on line 78 .

Most of the time the scribe uses u instead of v, although these two examples show deviation:

(visitatores) (viribus). On line 57 (fol. 64v) the following

strikethrough appears: .The scribe, his eyes jumping ahead on the exemplar,

began to write culpabi(iles) too early. At the end of the same line, the full word is provided in its

proper place. Finally, blots of ink have smeared on fol. 64v: (line 72)

(line 82). This could theoretically be bleedthrough from the other side, but since the

opposing folio is blank this option is ruled out. There is also a large amount of faded text. Any

number of causes could have contributed to the opacity of the script, including poor storage

conditions and the type of ink used. The following “before and after” image illustrates the

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benefits of digital imaging technology in adjusting the brightness, contrast, and sharpness for

maximum clarity:

Historical Context of the Manuscript

Richard FitzRalph (1300–1360), the author of the majority of the documents in Reg. lat. 449,

was Archbishop of Armagh (in Northern Ireland) from 1346–1360. He was also a popular

lecturer at Oxford, where he earned a doctorate in Theology in 1331 and served as Chancellor

from 1332–1334. The works contained in this codex coalesce under the heading “anti-

mendicant.” FitzRalph had an axe to grind with monks and friars, whom he saw as corrupting

young children, and thus staving off the admission of students to secular universities (due to

parental fears of “losing them” to religious life). He was also concerned that the secular clergy

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retain their pastoral privileges.11

FitzRalph led a legal battle in the papal courts against the

mendicant orders, which is detailed by Walsh in “Archbishop FitzRalph and the Friars at the

Papal Court in Avignon, 1357–60.” In the sermons found in Reg. lat. 449, FitzRalph berates the

special privileges assumed by mendicants, particularly honing in on their acquisition of wealth.

According to the Irishman, such acquisition went against the very mission of the “poor” monks

and friars, thus (in his opinion) invalidating their commission.

This controversy between seculars and mendicants was nothing new. By the middle of the

twelfth century, monks and friars had ensconced themselves within all of the major European

universities. At first, their presence was accepted with gratitude by the seculars, as mendicants

helped alleviate the burdens of the rapidly-growing institutions. However, mendicant teachers

quickly gathered power, influence, and students (thus taking away potential revenue from their

secular counterparts). Close ties among mendicants assured that any assumed university chairs

would never be handed back to a secular master. The situation reached its first peak in Paris,

where a series of riots even resulted in the death of a student.12

More and more, secular masters

felt threatened by monks and friars. The clergy, too, began to oppose mendicant involvement in

their ministries. Roest highlights that a significant factor in this dispute was the matter of

possessing “truly apostolic ministry that reaches back to the apostles.”13

It did not help that popes

were prone to grant special dispensations to the monks and friars.

11

For a discussion of FitzRalph’s allegations, and the defense of the mendicants penned by Geoffrey Hardeby, See

Katherine Walsh, “The ‘De vita evangelica’ of Geoffrey Hardeby: A Study in the Mendicant Controversies of the

Fourteenth Century,” Analecta Augustiniana 33 (1970): 151–261.

12

The incident occurred in 1253, see Jay Hammond, “Dating Bonaventure’s Inception as Regent Master,”

Franciscan Studies 67 (2009): 208. 13

Bert Roest, A History of Franciscan Education (c. 1210–1517), (Leiden, 2000), 51.

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FitzRalph has the reputation of raising one of the most radical voices against the mendicant

orders. Hence, the inclusion of one of Bonaventure’s letters in this collection of his work is

surprising. Perhaps it was inserted by a friendly Franciscan as a rebuttal to the contents thereof.

Prospectus

Reg. lat. 449 is not yet digitized on the BAV’s website. An examination of the serial

bibliographies (Buonocore and Ceresa) yielded the three Walsh articles listed below, but

otherwise secondary scholarship has not touched this codex. It was cataloged by Andreas

Wilmart,14

but skipped over by Pellegrin’s more recent survey.15

Furthermore, it is not present in

Etzkorn’s review of Franciscan manuscripts in the BAV.16

I came across the manuscript whilst laboring away at a digitization project for Dr. Pass. A

curious error in the pagination (mentioned briefly above under “Codex”) caused me to pause. I

happened to notice the words “fris Boneuentur” and suddenly realized that I was having a

“chance encounter” with a document associated with the Seraphic Doctor. Although I am only

beginning doctoral work, I strongly suspect my dissertation will be on St. Bonaventure. Hence,

this manuscript afforded the opportunity to explore issues of textual transmission when it comes

to his corpus. Its topic is highly relevant to my research interest in the Franciscan order and the

balancing of intellectual priorities with the primitive rule of Francis himself. Finally, working

with Reg. lat. 449 has given me invaluable practice with the Gothic script, which I will have to

“deal with” throughout my career.

14

Andreas Wilmart, Codices Reginenses Latini: Tomus II (Vatican City, 1945), 581–83. 15

See Elisabeth Pellegrin et al., eds., Les Manuscrits classiques latins de la Bibliothèque Vaticane, vol. 3, pt. 1,

Fonds Vatican 224–2900, Documents etudes et repertoires publiés par l’Institut de recherche et d’histoire des texts,

21 (Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique, 1991) 16

See Girard Etzkorn, Iter Vaticanum Franciscanum (Belgium, 1997).

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Methodology

Where possible, abbreviations are given in subscript before the word’s complete transcription.

Italics fill in the missing letters when the scribe has penned a macron. Italics are also used to

demarcate other abbreviations, such as the abbreviation for orum or ibus, see “Abbreviations,”

above. Superscripted text is used to mimic the manuscript’s presentation. Periods denote the

simple punctus, located on the baseline. An uncertainty in my transcription is signified by

brackets [ ]. The transcription given within brackets includes only the letters deduced with a high

degree of certainty, attempting to avoid speculation. Where possible, an image is also provided.

Parentheses supply single letters that the scribe either choose not to copy or overlooked—these

are used sparingly and only in situations where there is little doubt that the letter is necessary.

Bibliography

Bischoff, Bernhard. Latin Paleography: Antiquity & the Middle Ages. Trans. Daibhi O’Croinin

and David Ganz. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1990.

Brown, Michel. A Guide to Western Historical Scripts from Antiquity to 1600. London: British

Library, 1990.

Derolez, Albert. The Palaeography of Gothic Manuscript Books: From the Twelfth to the Early

Sixteenth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003.

Hammond, Jay. “Dating Bonaventure’s Inception as Regent Master.” Franciscan Studies 67

(2009): 179–226.

Roest, Bert. A History of Franciscan Education (c. 1210–1517). Leiden: Brill, 2000.

Walsh, Katherine. “Archbishop Fitzralph and the Friars at the Papal Court in Avignon, 1357–

60.” Traditio 31 (1975): 223–45.

––––– . “The ‘De vita evangelica’ of Geoffrey Hardeby: A Study in the Mendicant Controversies

of the Fourteenth Century.” Analecta Augustiniana 33 (1970): 151–261.

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––––– . “The ‘De vita evangelica’ of Geoffrey Hardeby: A Study in the Mendicant Controversies

of the Fourteenth Century.” Analecta Augustiniana 34 (1971): 5–83.

Wilmart, Andreas. Codices Reginenses Latini: Tomus II. Vatican City: B.A.V., 1945.

Images and Details

RegLat_449_066_f063_v_f064_r

RegLat_449_067_f064_v_f065_r

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RegLat_449_f063 detail verso 01

RegLat_449_f064 detail recto 01

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Transcription

01 Littera fris=fratris Boneuentur(a) Cardinalis et Generalis

minorum .

in xro=Christo sibi crmis=carrissimis ad1ministris prouincialibus custodibus

uniuersis ordinum frm=fratrem minorum . frater Bonauentura [crd]

05 ordinis generalis minister et seruus salutem in dno=domino qui

exsuperat oem=omnem sensum . Licet meam insufficientiam ad feren

dum onus [o] cognoscerem manifeste . tp=2propter debilitatem corporis

imperfectionem mentis actionis inexperientiam et repugnantiam uolun

tatis . Quia tn=tamen durum est contra stimulum calcitrare tante con

10 gregationis et sum(m)i pontificis . p=per et altissimi dei uolun

tati pertinaciter resistendo sarcine graui et qi=quasi importabili hu

meros supposui imbecilles . sperans de adiutorio omnipotentis

uurtutis et confidens de adminiculo ure=uestr(a)e sollicitudinis in id

ipm=ipsum . Nam est si sit impossibile hoi=homini [?] forti industrio ad [?]

15 et experto tanti oneris sarcinam suis humeris baiulare . si tn=tamen di

uisa in partes est humeris impo(si)ta diuersorum uiriliter a quolibet comportetur

1 ac (?)2 Note: The scribe may have meant to write pt

2

non est[ ? cf. 14] debili capiti horrore quodam rei insolite desperandum

Qm=Quoniam gt=igitur de ura=uestra praesumo industria sollicitudine zeli quo ui

uacitate quod prompti exstirpanda mala promouenda

20 dona . Refouenda debilia et fortia confortanda . Uidens me spe

culatorem datum domui israel ne sanguis anm=animarum de manibus

meis requiratur cogitaui uobis breuiter scribere que [sese nam]

uerbotenus si in capitulo fuissem enodissem . Nun=nunc aut=autem ab ur

gent pericula tpm=temporum lesiones [ciaorum] nec non et scandala mun

25 danorum quibus ordo deberet esse speculum totius sanctitatis in diuersis

partbus in tedium uertitur et contemptum que mi=mihi de consilio uisa

sunt com(m)oda nec penitum tacens nec oio=omnino exprimens nec noua

statuens nec uincula superducens nec onera grauia imponens

alius . Sed tanqaum ueritatis anuntiator breuiter exprimo que

30 uidens nullatenus reticenda . Sane perquirenti mi=mihi cas=causas cur

splendor uiri ordinis quodam mo=modo tenebatur . ordo inficitur exterius

nitor interius mei defedatur . occurrit negotiorum interius

plicitus alia pecunia pauporum nri=nostri ordinis inimica super oia=omnia

auide petitur incaute recipitur incautius contretactur . Oc

35 currit quorundam frm=fratrem otiositas que sentina est om=omnium uitiorum

Qua plri=plurimini consopiti monstruosum quendam statum inter contemplatiuam

et actiuam eligent . Nam tam carnaliter operam cruedliter sanguinem

comedunt aiarum=animarum . Occurrit euangelizatio quorum plurimorum

3

qui pp=propter solatium corporum grauando eos per quos transeunt non exem

40 pla relinquunt uite sed scandala potius aiarum=animarum . Occurrit im

portuna petitio qua oms=omnes transeuntes per [?] adeo abhorrent

frm=fratrum occursum ut eis timeant qsi=quasi predonibus obuiare . Oc

currit (a)edificorum constructio sumtuosa et curiosa que pacem

frm=fratrem inquietat grauat amicos et hom=hominum perusis iudiciis multi

45 plr=pliciter nos exponit . Occurrit multiplicatio familiaritatum

quam Regula nsa=nostra abhorret . Ex qua suspiciones infamationes

et scandala plurima oriuntur . Occurrit improuida comissio

(a)edificorum qua fribs=fratribus nondum usq=usque quam probatis et maceratis car

ne nec spu=spiritu roboratis imponuntur officia importandam . Occurrit se

50 pulturarum et testam(en)torum auida quedam inuasio . non sn=sine per turbatione

per magnam turis cleri et maxime sacerdotum . Occurrit mutatio

locorum frequens et suptuosa a quadam uiolentia et perturbatione terrarum

cum nota inconstanti(a)e . non sine praeiudicio paupertatis . Occurrit

tanta sumptuositas expensarum . Nam cum frs=fratres nolint ee=esse paucis

55 contenti . et caritas hom=hominum refriguerit . fci=facti sum(m)us [ ?, ibus]

onerosi . magisque ob fiemus in posterum nisi remedium apponatur .

Licet aut plurimi repiantur culpab qui non sunt culpabiles in

aliquo praedictorum . tn=tamen oms=omnes inuoluit h(a)ec maledictio nisi a non facientibus

hinc qui faciunt resistatur . cum luce clarius oia=omnia perdictum in manifestam

60 et nullo mo=modo dissilandum uergant in nri=nostri ordis detrimentum . licet in

4

tepidis et indeuotis et scdm=secundum carnem sa(p)ientibus considerantibus conseu

tudinem et allegantibus multites=tudinesqsi=quasi facilia et excusabilia et irremiliabilia

uideantur . Excitetur go=ergo cordis nostris feruor ad zelum et eiectis

negotiabus de domo ptis=patris caelestis frs=fratres ons=omnes ad deuotionis

65 sdm=studium accedat . Restringant [rcptor] multitudines quia modus onbs=omnibus

uolo qd=quod constitutio de receptione frm=fratrem seruetur strictissime . Prauas

consuetudines uiriliter resecetis . Quia licet uideatur fribs=fratribus graue

requirit hoc perfectio professionis . Requirit hoc tribulationis incursus .

Requirit mu(n)dus . clamat hoc franciscus Sanguis xri=Christi aspersus

70 et dns=dominus de excelsis ut et otiosos stimulentis ad laborem uagantes

compescatis ad quitem importune petentibus imponatis silentium . Intentos

exaltandis domibus profu(n)dius deprimatis . familiaritates querentes

arceatis ad solitudinem . Officia predicationis et confessionis cum examine

imponatis constitutionem olim factam de testamentis et de nouo de sepul

75 turis faciatis arctius obseruari . Locorum autem mutationem nullatenus con

cedatis alicui ante caplm=capitulum generale . Nam de consilio discretorum pp=propter scan

dala . et iuxtum praededessoris mandatum hoc reseruo mi=mihi districtia per obedi

entiam inhibendo ut nullus deinceps mutet sine licentia mea spali=speciali . Discant

etiam fres=fratres modicis ee=esse contenti . Quia uehementer a sapientibus ro=ratio-na

80 biliter formidatur qd=quod oportebit eos ee=esse modicus contentos uelint nolint .

Si gt=igiter obedientes fueritis per epo

lm=epistolam et hoc per uisitatores intellexero

quos uolo super praedictis corrigendis tam in capitibus qm=quam in membris diligentius

uigilare . gratias agam deo omn=omnium conditori et uobis . Qu(a)si alr=aliter quod

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absit acciderit indubitanter sciatis qd=quod nullatenus [patteiru] constia=-scientia mea

85 [? dam] sub [omn ntia] pertransire . Licet ei non sit mei [ppo?] nouis uos

uinculis innodare . oportet tn=tamen me mea constia=-scientia compellente totus uiribus

extirpationi intendere praedco=-dictorum . Quatenus uitatis scandalis ut tenemir

Regule quam uouimus sine cuius obseruatione saluari non possumus et ue

ritatem quam per(s)picitater uidam et ad impleamus professionem et iusto dictum

90 totu uiribus puritatem que impugnatur [c ? dentr] ex onbs=omnibus supra dictis .

Bonaventure on the Mendicant Controversy: A Chance Encounter within the Folios of Reg. lat. 449

Documents

Transcript of Bonaventure on the Mendicant Controversy: A Chance Encounter within the Folios of Reg. lat. 449