Against the Friars

"The friars represented a remarkable innovation in medieval religious life. Founded in the early 13th century, the Franciscans and Dominicans seemed a perfect solution to the Church''s troubles in confronting rapid changes in society. They attracted considerable enthusiastic support, especially from the papacy, to which they answered directly. In their first 200 years, membership grew at an astonishing rate, and they became counsellors to princes and kings, receiving an endless stream of donations and gifts. Yet there were those who were not so enamored of them, who believed the adulation was misguided or even dangereous, and who saw in the friars' actions only hypocrisy, deceit, greed and even signs of the end of the world."--P. [4] of cover.