Franciscan Order from Reform of Fr. Paolo a Trinci to the Division of the Order in 1517. The Evidence from the Franciscan sources

These article examine the circumstances which bring to the division of Franciscan Order in 1517. It begins with beginning of small Reform movement of Fr. Paolo of Trinci at 1368 which outgrow in 15th century in strong Observant movement. The question of observing the Rule of St. Francis was basic problem between Observants and Conventuals, and it grow in big ecclesiastical, political and social problem which was solved at 1517 bay division of the Order. Article is mostly based on published different sources of Franciscan history. Most of these sources are original sources published in various publications of Collegii di S. Bonaventura, in 19th and 20th century.

The German Reformed Congregation and its Province of Lower Germany

To fully appreciate the events leading to the executions of Vos and van den Esschen, it is critical to understand the establishment, structure, and growth of the German Reformed Congregation of Augustinians (Observants) in the Holy Roman Empire during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In particular, close analysis of the Congregation’s expansion into Lower Germany in the 1510s, a result of encouragement by its leader, Johann von Staupitz, reveals a clear set of tactics at work. An awareness of this strategy establishes the foundation for one argument of this monograph: that having learned how the objectives of the Observant movement could be promoted and disseminated, Martin Luther and his colleagues repurposed these methods in the service of the Reformation.