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| San Damiano Cross |
Although unsure of the exact year of the
birth of Saint Francis, currently believed to be 1181 or 1182, historians can
be sure that the time of his birth was one of economic and social strength and
evolution. By the year 1000, the population of Europe had seen massive
inflation, doubling itself in comparison to earlier times. Due to the massive
influx of people, means for their provision needed to be obtained if they were
to survive and society was to sustain itself. As such, technology advanced to
allow for greater efficiency and effectiveness in the harvesting of food,
seeing the system of yoking coming into place – the practice of replacing ox
with horses and utilising field rotations, for example. Another product
of the boom in population was the increase in jobs and work. Existing
businesses were able to expand and employ more people with the associated higher
demand, and new businesses and stores saw a large increase in number. But for
these to thrive, they needed to be accessible, and thus, the concept of “town”
was born. Society soon became urbanised and towns became central hubs for
trading as well as other facets of peoples’ daily lives. Towns gave a
solidarity to the society of Western Europe, unifying people into larger
collectives and thus, dealing a major blow to the systems of feudalism and manorialism.
In fact, many who called the town home were those peasants and serfs who had
once found themselves bound under these archaic structures. With the boom in
towns, however, the population found themselves deep in sin more often, with
unholy temptations dangled before them with an ease of accessibility, and as
such, the Church had great difficulty adjusting to this new urbanised society.
Change in the religious structure
During the time of St Francis, the Church
had begun to undergo a great number of reforms due to the changing society
around them. In response to the growth in urbanization and general wealth as
well as the increase in large towns, the Church chose to fully separate itself
from society and become its own independent institution, not connected to the
government or imperial society in any way. These changes to Church life were
called the Gregorian reform, and it held a great focus on a return to the
sources of Christianity. This meant in practice a return to true monastic
poverty and a large emphasis on manual labor as a means of resisting what was
perceived as a great increase in vice in their society. The reforms of the Church
had three main components; establishing new religious orders, the acceptance of
the canonical movement, and the acceptance of more diverse forms of worship,
that is, the acceptance of various orders and Churches under the same banner of
Christianity.
From this reform a number of different
orders were formed, such as the Carthusians, who returned to a life of
hermitage with a focus on meditation and prayer and the Cisterians, who chose
to adapt to the new environment of industrialism and economic prosperity, using
mills, farms and metallurgy to make their life easier and allowing them to
spend more of their time in spiritual pursuits.
However, even though the
idea of ecclesiastical diversity was preached openly, the Church did openly
condemn and excommunicate those religious orders who differed too greatly from
the norm due to the threat to the Churches monopoly on preaching.
St Francis
Francesco Bernardone (born Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone) was born to a wealthy merchant (Pietro
Bernardone) and his wife, Pica Bernardone, who lived in Assisi, Italy. After a
failed war attempt which resulted in him being a prisoner, he heard God speak
to him, 'go and repair my house'. Whilst following the orders meant that he
became estranged from his father, he rebuilt the Church of St Damian.
'Preach, saying the Kingdom of Heaven is
at hand... have no gold, nor silver, nor money in your purses, nor scrip for
your journey, nor two coats, nor shoes, nor a staff.'
Historians generally believe that it was around the 24th of February 1209, that Francis heard these words and dramatically began to change his lifestyle. Although he had heard them before, it was in this particular moment that he realised what the true meaning of discipleship was to him. He wanted to fulfil all of the words literally and began with his clothing. He changed into more simple attire, even removing his leather belt and finding a cheaper and more basic piece of rope. Even though St Francis had had a childhood of luxuries, he felt that establishing a true connection to God meant that he had to live a life of poverty in a society that was becoming more centred on materialistic possessions.
St Francis was well known for his healing
abilities, as well as his connection to animals and after passing away in 1226,
he was canonised two years later and the first biography, by Thomas of Celano,
was written in 1230. St Francis had not only established the Franciscan Order that
was approved by Pope Honorius III in 1210 but had developed the nativity scene
and had shown the European community that a more personal relationship could be
developed with God.
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| St Francis – The Patron Saint of Animals, Merchants and Ecology |
The Franciscans
The main focus of the Franciscan order
was a life of poverty. Franciscan friars were forbidden to own any form of
property or possess any money, their Churches were simple in structure, with
little on architecture, and members of the order were required to live off
manual labor and begging. As opposed to other orders of the time, the
Franciscans chose not to live cloistered away from society and chose to live
and preach among people, inhabiting cities and towns and preaching openly to
the public.
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| Franciscan friar |
The Dominicans
The Dominicans were another Order that
were confirmed by Pope Honorius III in 1216 and had adopted the rule of St
Augustine. The Constitution of the Dominicans clearly stated that there was to
be no manual labour, which would allow more time for studying and preaching.
The Franciscans and Dominicans are just
two examples of the ways in which people replied to the changing society of
Europe to maintain their connection to God.
By Alex Elkington, Ryan Joseph and Lauren
Schutz.
Question
for blog discussion: How did the urbanisation of Europe encourage the need for
evolution of the Church?
