The Dominicans in the Middle Ages

Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-1-83765-562-5
Verlag: Boydell & Brewer

Buch, Englisch, Band 5, 256 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Monastic Orders

Provides an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the history of the Dominicans from the age of Saint Dominic to the sixteenth century.

The Dominican Order emerged in the dynamic society of the early thirteenth century, a period marked by economic growth, urbanisation, and the emergence of new forms of religious life based on the ideal of Apostolic poverty. Within decades, the order had established communities across Latin Christendom and beyond, shaping not only religious life and theological debates but also education, politics, economics, and Europe's expanding engagement with the wider world. This book provides an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the history of the Dominicans, from the age of Saint Dominic to the Protestant Reformation and the order's expansion into the Americas in the sixteenth century. It explores both the order's inner workings and its wider role in medieval society from Dominican government, education and liturgy to art, architecture and mysticism. It also investigates the friars' activities as preachers and confessors, their relationships with secular and ecclesiastical authorities, and their encounters with other faiths. An illustrated appendix introduces a selection of notable Dominicans through a series of short biographical portraits, bringing to life some of the personalities who shaped the order's remarkable history.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Friedrich, Robert

Linde, Cornelia

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christliche Kirchen, Konfessionen, Denominationen
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Mittelalterliche, neuzeitliche Archäologie (Europa)
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Sonstige Religionen Religiöse Institutionen & Gemeinschaften, Klerus, Mönchstum

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1: Origins and Early Development
Historical Contexts
Dominic's Early Life
The First Foundations
The Road to Papal Approval

Chapter 2: Structure, Organisation, and Administration
The Rule of St Augustine and the Constitutions
Office and Assemblies
Expansion and Geographical Organisation
The Second Order: Dominican Nuns
Lay Brothers
The Observant Movement
The Third Order: Tertiaries

Chapter 3: Life in the Convent
Poverty
Liturgy and Music
Architecture and Art
Historiography
Education
Mysticism

Chapter 4: Life Outside the Convent
Cure of Souls: Preaching and Hearing Confessions
Dominicans as an Urban Phenomenon
Dominicans and Political Power(s)
Inquisition
Dominicans, Muslims, and Jews
Dominicans, Eastern Christians, and Mongols

Chapter 5: At the Crossroads: Entering the Early Modern Period
The Dominican Order Between Reformation and Counter-Reformation
The Dominican Order in the Americas

Leading Figures of the Dominican Movement: A Brief Guide
Peter Martyr (c. 1203-6 April 1252)
Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-7 March 1274)
Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419)
Fra Angelico (c. 1395-18 February 1455)
Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498)

Über Autor(innen)

Friedrich, Robert
ROBERT FRIEDRICH is Lecturer in Medieval History at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich.

Linde, Cornelia
CORNELIA LINDE is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Greifswald.