Augustinians

The suppression of small male religious houses in Italy and adjacent islands in 1652 left a lasting mark on the presence of religious orders on the ter- ritory. This study sheds light on some particular aspects concerning the suppression of two Augustinian friaries in Malta, primarily by means of un- published sources, which most importantly include the four reports of the Augustinian friaries present on the islands of Malta and Gozo, which until the 14th of September 1817 were part of the Province of Sicily. These reports, prepared during April 1650, provide different inputs for research and a great deal of historical information on different levels, thus offering a snapshot of the situation in which the communities were living. Other documentation that puts further light on the situation of these friaries, especially the two which have been abolished in 1652, is also being published.

On the life of Rita of Cascia (ca. 1381-1457) we are briefed by a very limited number of contemporary documents, among them the most important is certainly the poetic praise transcribed on the cover of the fifteenth-century wooden case in which saint’s body was preserved from the year of death until 1745. The poetic praise, transcribed and published here as an appendix to the essay on St. Rita’s historical sources, along with biographical information transmitted by the so-called Codex miraculorum, is the oldest biographical portrait of Rita and the only document that allows us to bring to light the historical figure of the Umbrian saint and her mystical experience, beyond the imposing seventeenth-century hagiographical build up. This study puts sources and philological studies – little known to scholars who have dealt with Rita – on the poetic praise in dialogue with each other, but also proposes some reasonable assumptions about the history of the saint’s life. For example, Rita journeyed to Rome in order to attend the Holy Year of 1450 on the occasion of the canonization of St. Bernardine of Siena, reason being the spiritual closeness to the world of Franciscan observance, represented by St. James of the Marches and Saint John of Capistrano.

The aristocratic family of the Stibors left significant traces of its intense construction and founding activities in various places. To the series of their foundating credits belong also the establishment of the Augustinian monastery in Nové Mesto nad Váhom. Duke Stibor wanted it to become an ancestral monastery and the final resting place for himself and members of his family. With the approval of king Sigismund and the archbishop of Esztergom Ján in 1414 in a place of the parish of Nové Mesto was established the provostship of regular canons of St. Augustine. Stibor summoned 13 canons, including provost, and donated part of his property: 2 villages Pobedim a Bašovce to the monastery. At the same time he began the reconstruction of the parish buildings. Stibor´s son Stibor in  1431 extended property of the monastery by donation of the village Andovce and many valuables. At that time the kingdom of Hungary was experiencing a tough period. The hussite troops and after them bands of robbers called „bratríci“ (brethren) threatened the security of northern areas of the country. That´s when the provostship of Nové Mesto was burned and plundered. Therefore in the year 1449 the local provost asked the pope for permission to move to a nearby town Beckov. The new landlord Paul Bánffy from Lindava promised the canons to build there a new monastery protected by the fortification of his castle. Although the pope agreed with the request, the intention failed to be realized. The written sources mentioned the canons in Nové Mesto even in 1454. Then about 60 years we haven´t any reports of them. Only in 1514, we record the initiative of two priests of the archdiocese of Esztergom, who had taken steps to restore the provostship, which in the past turbulent times had been ravaged and its staff forced to leave. With this restoration helped the abbot of the monastery of Roudnice nad Labem, from where probably part of new canons came. The succesful restoration of the monastery starts the new period of the history of the provosthip.

The  first years of Spanish presence in the Philippine archipelago resulted in the production of an enormous amount of epistolary literature, which sought to provide authorities in New Spain as well as in Madrid reliable information regarding events that had occurred on the other side of the empire. Among this body of reports, letters, and memorials, the numerous accusatory texts of the  first Augustinian missionaries led by Fr. Martín de Rada and his companions stand out. Using the discourse of the defender of the natives Fr. Bartolomé de las Casas, Fr. Rada denounced the excesses and abuses wreaked by the Spanish military on Filipino natives. The most decisive and contentious lines of these letters will be analyzed in thispaper.

Le présent ouvrage porte sur la doctrine trinitaire de Saint Augustin telle qu’il la présente dans ses sermones ad populum. L’enseignement de l’évêque d’Hippone sur la Trinité est généralement abordé du point de vue de son traité De Trinitate. Les études sur ce traité s’articulent, pour la plupart du temps, autour de la génération éternelle du Fils, de la procession de l’Esprit-Saint et des missions des personnes divines, des analogies psychologiques de la Trinité dans l’âme humaine, et de l’intersubjectivité humaine comme image de la Trinité. Un grand nombre de ces recherches aboutissent à des conclusions telles que Saint Augustin aurait ignoré l’aspect théologico-historico-salvifique de la Trinité, à cause de ses spéculations en marge du mystère qui ne contribuent pas au rapport du chrétien avec le Dieu-Trinité. Ce travail montre, à travers une étude des sermones, que l’évêque d’Hippone a suffisamment enseigné, dans le contexte pastoral, l’importance de la Trinité dans l’histoire du salut et dans la vie du chrétien.

The presented study focuses on the attitude of Hungarian Augustinians towards the ownership of movable and immovable property in the Middle Ages. The issue is examined using the example of four monasteries of this order, which were located in present-day Slovakia. These monasteries in Veľký Šariš, Hrabkov, Bardejov and Spišský Podhradie belonged to the
so-called Spiš District. Its existence and significance are also examined.
All these Augustinian monasteries owned property in some form (from the ownership of entire villages or houses, to money and cattle). Since poverty was supposed to be a typical feature of mendicants, the attitude of the medieval Augustinian order towards property in its various forms makes a compelling focal research question of this study.

Desde el momento en que los castellanos arribaron a las Filipinas intentaron establecer relaciones económicas y políticas con China. Pero la prohibición marítima que regía en el imperio Ming les cerraba las puertas de China.
La ocasión se presentó en 1575, cuando Manila frenó el ataque de un pirata chino y en agradecimiento los chinos invitaron a una delegación castellana a ir a China. La expedición circuló entre honores y banquetes, y dos de sus miembros, el agustino Martín de Rada y el soldado Miguel de Loarca, dejaron sendas relaciones que incluían tanto su viaje como una narrativa global sobre el imperio chino, proporcionando la primera visión castellana directa de una China casi desconocida.
En 1579, un nuevo grupo partió hacia China, esta vez sin permiso ni de los chinos ni del gobernador de Manila. Dos miembros de la expedición, Agustín de Tordesillas, un franciscano, y Francisco de Dueñas, un soldado, escribieron sendas relaciones que cubren tanto el accidentado viaje como su azarosa estancia en China, mientras el que dirigía el intento, Pedro de Alfaro, dejó una larga carta a su superior.
Este libro, En el umbral de la China Ming, publica por primera vez las cinco relaciones juntas, ampliamente anotadas y con una introducción que las sitúa en contexto.

Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie losów konwentu augustianów-eremitów w Sierakowie nad Wartą. Był to jedyny w Wielkopolsce klasztor tego zgromadzenia, a w diecezji poznańskiej drugi po warszawskiej placówce św. Marcina. Problemem badawczym jest ustalenie dat funkcjonowania klasztoru, jak również fundacji. Autor skłania się ku temu, że konwent ufundowała Wichna, lecz nie wyklucza też działania Maćka Borkowica. Datuje również fundację na II poł. XIV w., i wpisuje w chronologię tworzenia placówek zakonu w Polsce i na Śląsku. Oprócz tego opisał dzieje gospodarcze jak i społeczne klasztoru, oraz skład społeczny konwentu. Klasztor uległ likwidacji w okresie Reformacji, z powodu rozprzężenia zakonników, a majątek prawdopodobnie przejął fundowany w 1619 r. klasztor bernardyński.

Holiness was of great importance to medieval society. It was the goal of the earthly life of many people, among whom should be included members of religious orders. Many saints who influenced the masses with their lives came from the mendicant orders. The Kingdom of Hungary is no exception and in its medieval history such mendicant orders boasted a number of personalities who were ascribed holiness and sainthood. In addition to St. Elizabeth and St. Margaret there were other lesser-known saints who came from or lived in the Kingdom of Hungary. The Augustinians too were a mendicant order. Information about three such saints come from this medieval Kingdom of Hungary. This paper aims to analyse the fates of these three figures, about whose life in the order there is only brief information. The paper will focus in detail on the life of St. Vitus of Pannonia, who was one of the most important Augustinian order saints in the Kingdom of Hungary. In addition to St. Vitus of Pannonia, brief information about two others has survived, namely St. Sebaldus the Confessor and Blessed Francis Hungarus. This paper will try to find answers to basic questions, such as whether these personalities even existed, when they lived and what was their life story. I will also try to summarize the available information about some of the other saints in order to illustrate how the order presented itself through personalities who were able to influence the general public's opinion at the time. The study will have two parts: the first one, which will outline basic information about the saints from the Kingdom of Hungary, and the second one, which will focus on the Kingdom of Hungary saints who belonged to the Augustinian order. Stredoveké mestá boli charakteristické dynamickými vnútornými procesmi, ktoré vytvárali odlišnú atmosféru od rurálneho prostredia, a to po stránke hospodárskej, vzdelanostnej aj náboženskej. Na túto dynamiku tradičné cirkevné inštitúcie ako napr. mníšske rehole (benediktíni alebo cisterciti) v podstate reagovali len veľmi ťažko alebo vôbec. Svetský klérus bol na tom o niečo lepšie, no bez adekvátneho vzdelania i mestskí plebani len veľmi pomaly hľadali cestu k interakcii s mestskými komuni-tami. Voľný priestor chýbajúcej a nedostatočnej pastorácie preto vypĺňali rôzne sku-piny, ktoré sa pohybovali v širokom názorovom spektre od heterodoxie po ortodo-* Táto štúdia bola podporená z grantového projektu Ministerstva školstva SR VEGA č.

The suppression of small male religious houses in Italy and adjacent islands in 1652 left a lasting mark on the presence of religious orders on the ter- ritory. This study sheds light on some particular aspects concerning the suppression of two Augustinian friaries in Malta, primarily by means of un- published sources, which most importantly include the four reports of the Augustinian friaries present on the islands of Malta and Gozo, which until the 14th of September 1817 were part of the Province of Sicily. These reports, prepared during April 1650, provide different inputs for research and a great deal of historical information on different levels, thus offering a snapshot of the situation in which the communities were living. Other documentation that puts further light on the situation of these friaries, especially the two which have been abolished in 1652, is also being published.

PRESENTAZIONE DEL VOLUME
Mario Sensi, S. Maria di Betlem monastero di contemplative
agostiniane custodi del Santuario Diocesano ‘Madre del Buon
Consiglio’ a Foligno - Sant’Eraclio, Pontificio Comitato di
Scienze Storiche, Atti e documenti n. 39, Libreria Editrice
Vaticana 2015.
Domenica, 24 aprile 2016, ore 16,00

Moderatore
Rocco Ronzani

Saluti
S.E.R. Mons. Gualtiero Sigismondi, Vescovo di Foligno
Mons. Giuseppe Bertini, Priore del Capitolo Cattedrale di Foligno
Relazioni
Enrico Menestò, La città delle attrazioni onerose
Mario Timio, Tra il piano e il monte le vie terapeutiche dell’amicizia
Fortunato Frezza, Due preti e un monastero. Il Libro del Buon Consiglio
Nell’occasione il pittore di Spello, maestro Elvio Marchionni, sincero amico di don Mario Sensi, ne presenta un ritratto
destinato alla serie dei Priori nella Sala Capitolare della Cattedrale di Foligno.
In vista del primo anniversario della scomparsa di Mons. Prof. Mario Sensi avviene la presentazione di questo libro, l’ultimo
che ebbe tra le mani.
Sono invitati caldamente gli amici, gli estimatori, gli studiosi, che di don Mario ammiravano la persona e continuano a vedere
le opere.