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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Dear Colleagues Does anyone know of specific literature about motives for joining religious life in the 13th century, as there is, for example, about the motives for crusading? I'm hoping for something more specific than "conversion". Why choose one of the burgeoning number of religious orders rather than another? The Franciscans were booming, with their charismatic and already sainted founder and a radical evangelical way of life, so that attraction is obvious enough. The Dominicans, too, though Dominic himself seems to have been less of a draw card than -- what? their well-organised way of life, the allure of education, nothing succeeding like success, the attraction of the preaching ideal? The attractiveness of these orders is attested not only by their rapid expansion but also by donations and the rush of guilds and so on to associate themselves with their churches, but this does not happen with the Carmelites (and Augustinians) until after 1350 when they finally start attracting more money and patronage than the larger orders (Hervé Martin's book *Les ordres mendiants en Bretagne (vers 1230-vers 1530)* (1975) is very interesting here. But the 13th-century Carmelites, for example? How did they attract sufficient candidates to keep expanding internationally at a fairly rapid pace? The young order, like the Augustinian Friars, must have been racked by tensions as it transitioned from a rural eremitical life to an urban mendicant one, their dress was outlandish (they had to petition the pope to change it in 1287), their future was uncertain, there were no big names, they offered few educational opportunities for ambitious young men (they did not enter the universities until the end of the century). One has to wonder how much preaching they actually did, given their lack of qualification and the almost total lack of evidence they have left behind (there are next to no preaching manuscripts by Carmelites even from the 14th century, and virtually no writings at all from the 13th). Their friaries were nearly all on the wrong side of the tracks. It's unclear whether their substitution of their traditions about Elijah and Mary in place of the usual narrative of a charismatic founder would have functioned as a benefit or a liability. How did they, and the other smaller orders -- many of them doomed to extinction -- recruit somewhat substantial numbers of candidates? And what would have motivated them to join? I would be most grateful if anyone could point me to any discussion of these or related themes in the literature. -- Paul -- Paul Chandler, O.Carm. Holy Spirit Seminary | PO Box 18 (487 Earnshaw Road) | Banyo Qld 4014 | Australia office: (07) 3267 4804 | mobile: 044 882 4996 [log in to unmask] ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion