Saint+Dominic


 * St. Dominic **, born Domingo de Guzman, was the founder of the **Order of Friars Preachers**, otherwise known as [|Dominicans], Jacobins (in France), or Blackfriars (in England). A dedicated and learned preacher, Dominic lived a severe and exemplary life preaching fervently against heresy, and, understandably, many Dominicans would later staff the infamous [|Inquisition]. Prominent members of the Order include Thomas Aquinas and [|Albertus Magnus]. His namesakes, the Dominican Republic and its capital Santo Domingo (the first permanent European settlement in the Americas), are testimony to the regard he was accorded in Spain over 200 years after his death (and consequently, the prevalence of Dominican churches in the New World).

**Early Life**
Dominic was born in [|Caleruega], Spain during the [|Reconquista], sometime after 1170, probably 1171 or 1172.

The entire atmosphere of his youth spoke of a sharp division between Christian and non-Christian, and his combative fervour and hard-line orthodoxy may have had its genesis in this upbringing. He was given an ecclesiastical education under his uncle and later studied at Palencia, where he was granted a position as sub-prior toward the end of his studies in Osma under the Bishop Diego.

[[image:hist2615/Spain1150caleruega.jpg width="400" height="308" align="right"]]
Diego was a major influence in Dominic’s life; in Jordan’s //[|Libellus]// we can see much of Diego in the future saint. In 1203, Dominic, now in his late twenties, accompanied Diego on a diplomatic mission to Denmark which would bring him into contact with the [|Albigensians] (named after Albi, near Toulouse), where he demonstrated the zeal for souls that would mark the rest of his life and work. Diego exhorted the Cistercians already preaching to abandon their pomp and conspicuous wealth and continue in poverty and humility, both as an expression of one’s holiness, and a cunning subversion of the observed and locally admired poverty of the Albigensian ‘perfect’. However, the preaching was only mostly unsuccessful, and Diego died not long after returning home ; the lesson, however, was not lost on Dominic.

** The Foundation of the Order **

Dominic continued to preach throughout the crusade that followed (the first preached against at least nominal Christians, demonstrating the perceived threat of the heresy), forging profitable relationships with both Count Simon de Montfort, and the [|Bishop Fulk] of Toulouse who, after confirming the Order (founded April 25th 1215) in his own diocese, would travel with Dominic to Rome to seek official confirmation. Pope Innocent III did (provisionally) confirm the order - importantly, as an order of //preachers// - yet died not long after; official confirmation was left to his successor, [|Pope Honorius III]. Dominic had succeeded in creating an Order that “would be called and would be an Order of Preachers”, with the express purpose of combating heresy and fortifying the faithful with so-called ‘invincible athletes of Christ’, the learned men Dominic had been sure to cultivate around himself. Notably, the Order was to be subject only to the Pope, and bishops throughout Christendom were urged to support the itinerant preachers in a series of [|papal bulls]. In 1217, Toulouse again erupted in revolt ; an apt and intuitive administrator, Dominic decided universalise his mission and disperse his brethren throughout Europe - importantly, to places like Bologna and Paris, where the friars lived near or on [|university grounds]. The friars were expected to dedicate themselves to study, with the constitution even providing for superiors to excuse individuals from certain observances (i.e. prayer, masses etc.) for this purpose.

**The First General Chapter and Consolidation of the Order**

Dominic, the ever-zealous warrior on a spiritual battleground, continued his wanderings, visiting the rapidly multiplying houses of his Order in Spain and France, before returning to Bologna (his regular residence) in time for the first General Chapter of 1220. In a supreme display of humility informed by practical concerns about his health, Dominic tendered his resignation - which was duly denied. The compromise, of assigning diffinitors with authority even over Dominic himself, would define the developing Order; indeed, the Order is said to be one of the first examples of representational constitutional government - each individual chapter would send delegates annually, and these delegates had the power to remove the Master-General by vote, and decide on proposals presented at the meetings. The second General Chapter (1221) saw further development of the administration, provision for new or developing houses (in England, and further east and south also), and the renunciation of all property, past and future, not required for the [|mendicant] Order's function.

** Death   ** 3 months later, on August 6th, 1221, Dominic died, and in 1234 he was canonised. He had established houses in all the major countries on the continent, with provision for others, for the sole purpose of preaching and the salvation of souls. The Order flourished after Dominic’s death, due to his striking example and provident courting of patrons, and his Order’s association with the Inquisition is not entirely surprising - Dominic never wavered in his obedience to the Vatican, and his Order from the beginning was concordant with the goals of the Papacy. Through prodigious dedication, sustained by a sincere belief in sacred truth, Dominic created an Order in his own image, and the strength of this image sustained the Order, now almost 800 years old, through its formative stages and beyond.

** Bibliography **
 * Brooke, C.N.L. "St Dominic and His First Biographer." //Transactions of the Royal Historical Society (Fifth Series)// 17, no. 1 (1967): 23-40.
 * Hinnebusch, William A. //The History of the Dominican Order//. 2 vols. Vol. 1. New York: Pauline Brothers and Fathers of the Society of St. Paul, 1965.
 * Jarret, B. "Lives of the Brethren of the Order of Preachers." http://www.domcentral.org/trad/brethren/default.htm.
 * Larcher, R.F. "St. Dominic - Biographical Documents." http://www.domcentral.org/trad/domdocs/default.htm.
 * Lawrence, C.H. //The Friars: The Impact of the Early Mendicant Movement on Western Society//. London: Longman Group UK Limited, 1994.