§ 71. THE FKANCISCAXS. 411
a lay corporation, and also for a conventual association from which latter, married persons are excluded. The pur pose of Francis included all classes of laics, men and women, married and unmarried. His object was to put within the reach of laymen the higher practice of virtue and order of merit associated with the monastic life. It is quite probable that Francis took his idea from the Humiliati, known as the Poor Men of Lombardy, Pauper es Lombardici, or perhaps from the Waldenses, known as the Poor Men of Lyons and also well known in Northern Italy in Francis' day. The Humiliati had groups of laymen in the twelfth century liv ing according to semi-conventual rules. In 1184 they were condemned by Lucius III. There seem to have been three grades, the lay Humiliati, wrho in the ordinary avenues of life observed specific ascetic practices; second, those who were living in convents as monks or nuns ; and third, canons, who were priests and lived together in common. These three grades were sanctioned by Innocent III. in 1201 and were protected by later popes, as for example Innocent IV.1 It is possible that Francis' first plan was for an organization of laymen, and that the idea of an organization of monks developed later in his mind. The division of the Franciscans into three grades was permanently established by the chapter of 1221. 2 The earliest rule of the Tertiaries in thirteen chapters sets forth the required style of dress, the asceti cisms they were to practise, and the other regulations they were to observe. They were to abstain from all oaths except in exceptional cases, provided for by the pope, to make con fession three times a year, have if possible the advice of
1 See the art. Humiliaten in Herzog, VIII. 447-449, by Zockler who quotes H. Tiraboschi, Memorie degli Humiliati, 3 vols. Modena, 1766. Sabatier, Regula antiqua, p. 15, upon the basis of Jacques de Vitry and other authori ties, says the Humiliati were at the height of their zeal and activity in 1220. He confesses that the Tertiary Rule, the Eegula Antiqua, is probably in part a copy of the Rule of the Humiliati sanctioned by Innocent III. and says, " Perhaps we have heretofore ascribed an undue originality to the Franciscan movement."
2 See Walter Goetz, Die Hegel des Tertiarierordens, in Brieger's Zeitschrift, 1902, pp. 97 sqq.
-112 THE MIDDLE AGES. A.D. 1049-1294,
the diocesan in making their wills, receive to their number no one accused of heresy, and were neither to use deadly weapons nor to carry them.1 Women, if married, were not to be admitted without the consent of their husbands, and all who had families were enjoined to care for them as a part of the service of God (VI. 6).2 The Tertiaries still exist in the Roman Catholic Church.
To follow the history of the Franciscans from 1223, the stricter party, who sought to carry out Francis' practice of strict Apostolic poverty and his views as set forth in his last will, were known as the Observants, or Spirituals, or Zealots. The party, favoring a relaxation of Francis' Rule and supported by Gregory IX., were often called the Con ventuals from occupying convents of their own, especially more pretentious buildings in cities.3 Now the one party, now
1VI. 3, arma mortalia contra quempiam non recipiant vel secum ferant. This most interesting statement was changed by Nicolas IV. in 1289 so that it read, "The brethren shall not carry arms of attack except for the defence of the Roman Church, the Christian faith, or their country, or unless they have authority from their superiors." The Humiliati received papal exemption from Honorius III. against going to war. See Sabatier, Regula antiq., p. 22, Note.
2 The development of the Tertiary order is a matter of dispute. Sabatier has recently made known two rules of the Tertiary order ; the first, found in Florence, the second which he himself discovered in the convent of Capistrano in the Abruzzi. To compare them with the Rule contained in Nicolas IV. 's bull, supra montem, 1289, the Rule of Nicolas has 20 chapters, the Florentine 19, that of Capistrano 13. See the table given by Walter Goetz, p. 100. Sabatier in his edition of the Capistrano Rule, Eegula Antiqua, p. 12, puts it very close to the death of Francis, between 1228 and 1234. Les Regies, etc., p. 153, goes further and puts it back to 1221, thus making it the second Rule of St. Francis. At any rate, it must for the present be regarded as the oldest form of the Rule. Goetz, p. 105, while dating the Regula Antiqua much earlier than 1289, is inclined to regard it as a compilation. In 1517 Leo X. perfected the regulations concerning Tertiary orders and divided the members into two classes, those taking no vows and living in the ordinary walks of life and those who live in convents. The best general treatment of the subject is furnished by Karl Miiller, Die Anfange des Minoritenordens., pp. 115-171, and Madonnet who gives a convenient list of the papal utterances on the Tertiaries, Les Regies, etc., pp. 146 sq.
3 The Observants looked to Portiuncula as the centre of the order, the Conventuals to the cathedral of Assisi.