Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 12.djvu/421

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PREACHERS


365


PREACHERS


1910). Thomas AquiBas wrote four small treatises which represent the contents of a catechism as it was in the Middle Ages: "De artieulis fidei et Eeclesiae Sacramentis " ; "Expositio symboli Apostolorum"; "De decern pra;ceptis et lege amoris"; "Expositio orationis dominica;". Several of these writings have been collected and called the catechism of St. Thomas. (Portmann-Kunz, "Katechismus des hi. Thomas von Aquin", Lucerne, 1900.) In 1277 Laurent d'Orleans composed at the request of Philip the Bold, whose confessor he was, a real catechism in the vernacular known as the "Somme le Roi" (Mandonnet, "Laurent d'Orleans I'auteur de la Somme le Roi" in "Revue des langues romanes", 1911; "Diet, de theol. cath.", II, 1900). At the beginning of the fourteenth century Bernard Guidonis composed an abridgment of Christian doctrine which he revised later when he had become Bishop of Lodeve (1324-31) into a sort of catechism for the use of his priests in the instruction of the faithful ("Notices et extraits de la Bib. Nat.", XXVII, Paris, 1879, 2nd part, p. 362; C. Douais, "Un nouvel ecrit de Bernard Gui. Le synodal de Lodeve, " Paris, 1944, p. vii). The "Discipulus" of John Herolt was much esteemed in its day (Paulus, "Johann Herolt und seine Lehre. Ein Beitrag zur Gesch. des religiosen Volksunterichte am Ausgang des Mittelalters" in "Zeitsch. fur kath. Theol.", XXVI, 1902, 417).

The order also produced pedagogical works. William of Tournai composed a treatise "De Modo docendi pueros" (Paris, Bib. Nat. lat. 16435) which the General Chapter of 1264 recommended, as well as one on preaching and confession for school children. ("Act. Cap. Gen." I, 125; "Script. Ord. Prajd.", I, 345). Vincent of Beauvais wrote especially for the education of princes. He first composed his "De eruditione filiorum regalium" (Basle, 1481), then the "De eruditione principum", publi-shed with the works of St. Thomas, to whom as well as to Guillaume Perrault it has been incorrectly ascribed; finally (c. 1260) the "Tractatus de morali principis in- stitutione", which is a general treatise and is still unedited ("Script. Ord. Prajd.", I, 239; R. Fried- rich, "Vincentius von Beauvais als Padagog nach seiner Schrift De eruditione filiorum regalium", Leipzig, 1883). Early in the fifteenth century (1405) John Dominici compo.sed his famous "Lucula noctis", in which he deals with the study of pagan authors in the education of Christian youth. This is a most important work, written against the dangers of Humani.sm ("B. Johannis Dominici Cardinalis S. Sixti Lucula Noctis", ed. R. Coulon, Paris, 1908). Dominici is also the author of a much esteemed work on the government of the family ("Regola del governo di cura familiare dal Beato Giovanni Domin- ici", ed. D. Salve, Florence, 1860). St. Antoninus composed a "Regola a ben vivere" (ed. Palermo, Florence, 1858). Works on the government of coun- tries were also produced by members of the order; among them are the treatises of St. Thomas "De rege et regno", addressed to the King of Cyprus (finished by Bartolommeo of Lucca), and the "De regimine subditorum", composed for the Countess of Flanders. At the request of the Florentine Government Girolamo Savonarola drew up (1493) his "Trattati circa il reggimento e governo della cittd di Fircnze" (ed. Audin de Rians, Florence, 1847) in which he shows great political insight.

(vi) Canon law. — St. Raymond of Pennafort was chosen by Gregory IX to compile the Decretals (1230-34) ; to his credit also belong opinions and other works on canon law. Martin of Troppau, Bishop of Gnesen, compo.sed (1278) a "Tabula decreti" commonly called "Margarita Martiniana", which received wide circulation. Martin of Fano, pro- fessor of canon law at Arezzo and Modena and podestS, of Genoa in 1260-2, prior to entering the


order, wrote valuable canonical works. Nicholas of Ennezat at the beginning of the fourteenth century composed tables on various parts of canon law. During the pontificate of Gregory XII John Dominici wrote copious memoranda in defence of the rights of the legitimate pope, the two most important being still unedited (Vienna, Hof-bibliothek, lat. 5102, fol. 1-24). About the middle of the fifteenth cen- tury John of Torquemada WTote extensive works on the Decretals of Gratian which were very influen- tial in defence of the pontifical rights. Important works on inquisitorial law also emanated from the order, the first directories for trial of heresy being compo.sed by Dominicans. The oldest is the opinion of St. Raymond of Pennafort [1235 (ed. in Bzovius, "Annal. eccles." ad ann. 1235; "Monum. Ord. Prffid. Hist.", IV, fasc. II, 41; "Le Moyen Age", 2nd series III, 305)]. The same canonist wrote (1242) a directory for the inquisitions of Aragon (C. Douais, "L 'Inquisition", Paris, I, 1906, p. 275). About 1244 another directory was composed by the inquisitors of Provence ("Nouvelle revue historique du droit franeais et etranger", Paris, 1883, 670; E. Vacandard, "L'Inquisition", Paris, 1907, p. 314). But the two classical works of the Middle Ages on inquisitorial law are that of Bernard Guidonis composed in 1321 under the title of "Directorium Inquisitionis heretica; pravitatis" (ed. C. Douais, Paris, 1886) and the "Directorium Inquisitorum" of Nicholas Eymerich [(1399) " Archiv fiir Literatur- und Kirchcngeschechte " ; Grahit, "El inquisidor F. Nicholas Eymerich", Girona, 1878; Schulte, "Die Gesch. der Quellen und Literatur des Canonischen Rechts", II, passim].

(vii) Historical Writings. — The activity of the Preachers in the domain of history was considerable during the Middle Ages. Some of their chief works incline to be real general histories which assured them great success in their day. The "Speculum His- toriale" of Vincent of Beauvais (d. circa 1264) is chiefly, like the other parts of the work, of the nature of a documentary compilation, but he has preserved for us soiu'ces which we could never otherwise reach (E. Boutarie, "Examen des sources du Speculum historiale de Vincent de Beauvais", Paris, 1863). Martin the Pole, called Martin of Troppau (d. 1279), in the third quarter of the thirteenth century com- posed his clironicles of the popes and emperors which were widely circulated and had many continuators ("Mon. Germ. Hist.: Script.", XXII). The anony- mous chronicles of Colmar in the second half of the thirteenth century have left us valuable historical materials which constitute a sort of history of con- temporary civilization (Mon. Germ. Hist.: Script., XVII). The chronicle of Jacopo da Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa (d. 1298) is much esteemed ("Rer. Ital. Script."; Mannucci, "La Cronaca di Jacopo da Voragine", Genoa, 1904). Ptolemy of Lucca and Bernard Guidonis are the two great ecclesiastical historians of the early fourteenth cen- tury. The "Historia ecclesiastica nova" of the former and the "Flores cronicorum seu cathalogus pontificumromanorum" of the latter contain valuable historical information.

But the historical activity of Bernard Guidonis far exceeded that of Ptolemy and his contemporaries; he is the author of twenty historical publications, several of which, such as his historical compilation on the Order of Preachers, are very important in value and extent. Bernard Guidonis is the first medieval historian who had a wide sense of his- torical documentation ("Rer. Ital. Script.", XI; K. Kriiger, "Des Ptolemiius Lucensis Leben und Werke", Gottingen, 1874; D. Konig, "Ptolemaus von Lucca imd flie Flores Chronicorum des B. Guidonis", Wtirzburg, 1875; Idem, "Tolomeo von Lucca", Harburg, 1878; Delisle, "Notice sur lea