Haris Andrea szerk.: Koldulórendi építészet a középkori Magyarországon Tanulmányok (Művészettörténet - műemlékvédelem 7. Országos Műemlékvédelmi Hivatal,)
Fügedi Erik: A koldulórendek elterjedése Európában és Magyarországon
The Spread of the Mendicant Orders in Europe and in Hungary Erik Füredi During the first half of the 13th century four mendicant orders were established in quick succession in Europe: the Dominicans, the Franciscans, the Augustinian and the Carmelites. These orders, but most notably the Franciscan and the Dominican, spread at a rate hitherto unseen. (In the following we shall study the spread of only the latter two orders.) By the beginning of the 14th century these two orders had built two thousand monasteries (1,400 Franciscan and 600 Dominican) . The 12th century, which preceded the foundation of the mendicant orders, was a period of economic prosperity accompanied by the growth of the population and social restructuring. A larger and increasing urban population developed a distinct social structure. The resulting economic decline saw an increasing social insecurity and instability. The church could not respond to the economic and social changes: this task was undertaken by the mendicant orders. From the very start the relationship between the Dominican and the Franciscan Orders was characterized by rivalry mixed with mutual influence. The Franciscans primarily vowed poverty and humility (Ordo Fratrum Minorum), while the main objectives of the Dominicans were the fight against heresy through preaching (Ordo Fratrum Praedicatorum). For the Dominicans, poverty was the means, while for the Franciscans poverty had a fundamental importance. The regulations compiled by St. Francis in 1209, demanding absolute poverty and complete rejection of worldly possessions, was modified on several accounts by the Regulata Bullata issued in 1223. Some members of the Order made some attempts to return to the original regulations of St. Francis, but it was not until the 15th century that this was sanctioned by the Church at the request of the Order of the Observants. The specifically Hungarian traits of the Dominican and the Franciscan Orders were the following: Hungary having relatively few towns remained agrarian in character throughout the Middle Ages. In this way, the majority of the monasteries were built in market-towns, under seigniorial authority. The Franciscans first arrived in Hungary in 1229, while the Dominicans first settled here in 1221. The Dominicans were attracted by the geographical location of Hungary, which provided them good opportunity to carry out their missionary work. By 1242 there had been five Franciscan and ten Dominican Monasteries founded in Hungary. In 1261 the Dominicans lost the support of the royal court (Margaret's, consecratio) , and were replaced by the Franciscans. During the next centuries the number of Franciscan Monasteries grew dynamically, opposed to the modest increase of Dominican Monasteries. Another Franciscan province, the province of Bosnia was set up with the support of the Anjou kings during the 14th century. This was primarily aimed at the conversion of the Orthodox and the heretic population. During the 15th century the Bosnian province became the centre of the Observants in Hungary.
