Dominic and the friars in the Domonkos Codex

―Here begins the holy life of St. Dominic patriarch who was the founder of the preaching order and a pious father; whose holy life should be followed by his sons and daughters, since he helps day by day his sons and daughters with his merits in front of the Lord God.‖⁴³⁸ – wrote the Dominican nun Lea Ráskai who finished the copy of the codex in 1517 on the Island of the Rabbits. The exemplar on the basis she worked was translated from Latin and compiled in all probability by the spiritual director of the nuns, who provided them with a collection mostly of hagiographic material on St. Dominic and exempla about him and the first brothers of Order of Preachers that comes down to us in the Domonkos Codex.⁴³⁹ The supply of the nuns with readings in the vernacular is related to the reform of the female branch of the Order, more precisely, with the Dominican nuns on the Island of the Rabbits, whose discipline problems reached even the General Chapter of Rome in 1468, as a result the nuns were warned to renounce the various papal privileges and be obedient to the Order, otherwise the Order was to abolish the connections with them.⁴⁴⁰ In order to (re)direct the nuns to the right path, various works were translated for them as community readings, most importantly, the rule of St.

437 See the section dedicated to the Winkler Codex in the dissertation.

438 Domonkos-kódex 1517, p. 29 1/1-1/9: ―Kezdetÿk zent damankos patrÿarchanak zentseges elete kÿ vala predicator zerzetenek fondaloya kezdevÿe es kegelmes atÿa Kÿnek zentseges elete kevuetendev az ev fÿaÿtvl es leanÿtvl Mert ev naponkent segellÿ az vr istennek elevtte ev zent erdemevel es esedezesevel az ev fÿaÿt es leanÿt‖

439 The more recent brief presentation of the vernacular codices of Dominican provenance is by Lea Haader,

―Domonkosokhoz köthető középkori kódexek‖ in A Szent Domonkos Rend és a kunok, ed. Barna and Deme, 136-146. For the use of Latin and the vernacular in the Dominican male convents in the fifteenth century, see Kiss,

―Latin és népnyelv‖.

440 MOPH 8, 311.

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Augustine and the Dominican constitutions for the nuns by the Dominican Paul of Vác (Paulus de Wacia, Váci Pál)⁴⁴¹ in 1474 in the Birk Codex⁴⁴² just as well as the Book of Examples⁴⁴³(Példák Könyve) in 1510.

The Domonkos Codex is compilation of at least three different Latin works, yet the only author and work referred to in the text is the Chronicon by Antonino Pierozzi, Archbishop of Florence.⁴⁴⁴ The Chronicon is one of the most important sources of the Hungarian codex, the other is Gerald of Frachet‘s Vitae fratrum.⁴⁴⁵ The two minor sources, according to Lajos Katona, are Dietrich of Apolda‘s and Peter Calò‘s legends on St. Dominic.⁴⁴⁶ Although also among Antonino‘s sources one finds Dietrich of Apolda, in the opinion of Katona there are some parts in the Domonkos Codex which come directly from Dietrich‘s work without the mediation of the bishop of Florence.⁴⁴⁷ As to Peter Calò‘s legend, as it has been pointed out by Rössler, it cannot be the direct source of the Domonkos Codex.⁴⁴⁸ As it can be seen in the Excursus at II.3.2, the printed Dominican Breviary from 1487 is better source through which some of the miracles, originally reported by Peter Calò, were incorporated. All in all, the Domonkos Codex had only one source which was surely a manuscript, the Vitae fratrum while the rest seem to be printed works.

Traditionally, the Domonkos Codex is divided in nine sections, although its structure, in fact, is not as clear cut.⁴⁴⁹ The first (1-74v) one is dedicated to the life of St. Dominic, his foundation of the order and his encounters with the devil, the second (75r-82v) is about his posthumous miracles that occurred at his tomb; the third one (82v-98v) tells about the reward of those who

441 On Paul of Vác and the disciplinary problems of the nuns on the Island of the Rabbits, see Harsányi, A domonkos rend Magyarországon, 231-234; Lázs, Apácaműveltség, 40-44.

442 Birk-Kódex 1474, trans. Pál Váci, ed. and notes by István Pusztai, (Codices Hungarici 5) (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1960).

443 Példák Könyve 1510 [Book of Examples]. A facsimile and a critical edition by András Bognár and Ferenc Lévárdy, (Codices Hungarici 4) (Budapest: Akadémiai kiadó, 1960); for its relation the the translation of the rule, see 291-292.

444 The references to Antoninus and his Chronicon are in Domonkos-kódex 1517, 289 (131/16-17); 293 (133/13-14); 379 (176/10-14).

445 Katona, ―Az Ehrenfeld- és Domonkos-codex forrásai,‖ 76-78

446 Katona, Újabb adalékok codexeink forrásaihoz, 114-117.

447 Domonkos-kódex 1517, Introduction, 19-20: Dietrich of Apolda: 165/1-171/10, 297/15-299/15, 306/13-312/18;

Peter Calò: 171/11-176/8, 299/18-305/12.

448 Rössler, Magyar domonkosrendi példák és legendák, 36-37.

449 Domonkos-kódex 1517, Introduction,11-12.

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were benevolent towards the saint or the order and the punishment of those who were not; the fourth one (99r-136r) is again about the in vita miracles of Dominic, the next one (10 folios are missing, so it goes from 147r to 153v) relates the life of the friars preachers, the sixth one tells further in vita and post mortem miracles of the saint; the last but one section (153v-154r) contains two stories of people who were good to the Dominican Order; and the last one (157r-169v) describes the brothers‘ way of life.⁴⁵⁰

The Domonkos Codex shows a combination of chronological and thematic arrangement. It is a compendium of texts of different genres: individual and collective hagiography, collections of exempla and miracles, history of the Dominican Order. The stories either convey historical or moral teachings; the latter are usually presented in a captivating manner. The moral of the exempla are almost always clear; if not, explanation is provided. Since the Hungarian codex is almost the word-by-word translation of Latin works, its originality should be seen primarily in the selection and organization of the additional material. The strong chronicle-like character of the Hungarian codex is due to its mains source, the Latin Chronicon, to which a significant amount of stories from the Vitae fratrum and several post mortem miracles of Dominic was added. This may imply that the Dominican friar who compiled the exemplar of the Domonkos Codex regarded that further episodes from the lives of the brethren and some additional emphasis of the sanctity of Dominic would be salutary for or welcomed by his audience. It is curious that while in the Hungarian codex either Bishop Antonino or his Chronicon is repeatedly indicated as the source, no other reference is made to the other authors and their works on which the Hungarian compilation was made: Gerardus de Fracheto‘s Vitae fratrum, Peter Calò‘s Legenda beati Dominici, and Dietrich of Apolda‘s Libellus de vita et obitu et miraculis S. Dominici. Rather than using three separate works, the Hungarian compiler used the printed Dominican Breviary revised in 1487 in which excerpts from the works of all the above mentioned three authors were included but, presumably, without any reference.

450 St Dominic‘s life written in the vernacular was, naturally, one of the most popular readings of the Dominican nuns; just to cite one example, a mid-sixteenth century-dialogue between a nun and his spiritual father about the founder in French language survives from the monastery of Latheleuleye near Arras. The text was edited by Piotr Tylus, Une légende de saint Dominique en moyen français. Étude du texte accompagnée de son édition critique, avec notes, glossaire et index des noms propres (Cracow: Faculty of Philology, Jagellonian University of Cracow, 2012).

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As to the image of St. Dominic transmitted through the Domonkos Codex, not a single characteristic or virtue is underlined. Instead, a wide range of the saintly characteristics traditionally attributed to him are present in the codex but these are quite general. Obviously, the aim was to underline the sanctity of the founding father of the Order of Preachers through his habits, deeds, the miracles he performed in his life, his good death, his posthumous miracles and the incorruptibility of his body. Little importance is given to Dominic‘s learnedness and his preaching activities; here it is the foundation of the Order and the organization of the first generations of the friar preachers and the communities of the nuns are those that get more emphasis. The saint is presented as an exceptionally wise person but his wisdom is much more of a divine nature than worldly knowledge: he was granted also with the discernment of spirit and performed charismatic exorcism on several occasions.⁴⁵¹ Another Christ-like aspect of Dominic‘s sanctity is particularly underlined: the multiplication of bread and wine and the turning of bread to wine, but it is far from being presenting Dominic as an alter Christus. A further sign of his sanctity was that the Virgin often appeared to him in his visions and dreams.

Dominic is characterized mostly in interaction with others, mainly with friars. From these episodes takes shape an image of a humble, strong-willed and serene person, who, while being generally merciful, but with good reason, is capable of flying into rage and punishing the malefactor. In two episodes, St. Francis of Assisi is his companion: in the exemplum of the three spears they are those who are sent by Christ to save the world, and they were identical in the intentions of their heart, suggesting the equality and peace between the two saints, thus between the two orders as well.⁴⁵² The cleaning of the water of the well in Cremona performed finally by Dominic who is forced by Francis was an episode that turned up in both saints‘ hagiography: in the Dominican, it was presented as Francis‘s acknowledgement of Dominic‘s primacy; in the Franciscan, it was an example of the humbleness of the Poverello. Dominic‘s voluntary poverty is a recurring motif in the Domonkos Codex: he even left it as a heritage to his followers. There are several exempla that warn against possessing anything without the special permission of the

451 On the discernment of spirits in general, without treating specifically the saints, see the works of Nancy Caciola,

―Mystics, Demoniacs, and the Psychology of Spirit Possession in Medieval Europe,‖ Comparative Studies in Society and History 42 (2000), 268-306; eadem, Discerning Spirits. Divine and Demonic Possession in the Middle Ages (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2003).

452 Szabó, ―A sokarcú exemplum‖.

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prior. What makes the Domonkos Codex particularly characteristic of the period when it was put together and translated is the long instruction of the nuns about apostolic poverty and mendicancy presented from the Observant Dominican point of view (based on the Chronicon), which is of worth quoting at some length:

The love for poverty of our father St Dominic is praised with this, and his testament should be observed if necessity does not require else in order to avoid the curse. But where necessity requires, which does not have a rule but makes the rule for itself. [...]

Since if the Lord God changes the prohibitions and possessions given to people as time changes [...]. Moreover, even the Church changes her rules and possessions when necessity or usefulness requires. This should not be regarded as laxity but intelligence since at the time when our father St. Dominic made this prohibition there were no other friars but the brothers of St. Benedict, who would not go around begging because it was not necessary for them. Thus, at that time the friars of our father St. Dominic took an abundant amount of alms. But by now the mendicant orders have multiplied both among males and females. And since cruelty and sin have multiplied, the charity of many has cooled off. People have become mean in giving alms because of the multiplication of lean years, famines and wars. And they rather spend their money on fancy vestments of the church or on chapels and on the luxury of the churches than on helping the poor. And these people will be judged soon by a better judge. That is, Archbishop Antonino though that it would be better to leave the judgment of the above mentioned to someone who has a better understanding of it, humiliating himself to others.⁴⁵³

The stance of Antonino in this important addition to his version of the life of St Dominic, as it have been pointed out by Silvia Nocentini, is the approval of all those considerations that the saint had opposed and rather turning towards ―the conciliation of the discussion on more

453 Domonkos-kódex 1517, 136/1-136/8: Ezben dÿchyrtetevt zent damancos atyanknak zerelme az zegeenseghez es mendenestevl fogua meg tartando az ev testamentoma holot az zevgseg nem kezereÿt hog az atokba ne esseek De hol zevkseeg kezereÿt kÿnek nÿnchen tevruenye de evmaga tezen maganak tevrueent.[...] Mert ha az vr isten jdevknek kylemb kylemb voltazerent valtoztagÿa embereknek levt tylalmakat es zerzeseveket [...] Mykeppen nyluan vagÿon az oo tevruenbely isteny zolgalatnak tevruenyerevl es az itylet tetelnek tevruenÿerevl Melyek vetettek vÿ tevrveenben betevzerent mykoron ez fele parancholat tevrevkre es adattak istennek sok atkÿaÿ Ennek felette anÿazent egyhaz es el valtoztagya az ev tevruenyet es zerzeseet mykoron zvkseg kezereÿtÿ vagy haznalatossag Sem kel ezt tulaydoneÿtanÿ kevnÿevsegnek de okossagnak Mert ez jdevben mykoron zent damancos atÿank ez tylalmat teue nemualanek egÿeb zerzeteseek hanem chak zent benedek baratÿ kÿk nem kvldulnak vala mert nem vala zevksegevk rea Annak okaert az zent damancos atyank fraterÿ az jdevben bevseggek vezyk vala az alamysnat Mastan kedeg meg sokaswltanak az kwldulo zerzetek mynd feerfyak mÿnd azzonÿallatok kezzevl Es mÿert meg sokawlt az kegetlenseg az bÿn ennek okaert meg hydegevlt sokaknak istenÿ zerelmek Es meg sokaswuluan az zewk jdevk ehsegek haborusagok es velagÿ nepeknek keuelsegevk ezeknek myatta lettek feesvenÿek alamÿsna adasra Es jnkab kevltÿk az ev jozagokat felette valo egyhazÿ evltevzetekre vagy capolnakra es egyhazaknak pompasagÿra hognem zegeenyeknek segedelmere Ezek vadnak monduan reuidedevn eppen hagyv myndenkoron jobnak jtyletynek Az az antonino ersek ez feyrelvl mondottakat hatta annak jtÿletyre ky jobban erty evnalanal meg alazuan egyebeknek evmagaath

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practicable positions.‖⁴⁵⁴ By the time, however, when this piece was translated, the possession controversy had been put to an end by Pope Sixtus IV with the Bull Considerantes in 1475 by which all Dominican convents gained the right of possession. To what extent the questions of poverty and possession were relevant for the Domican nuns is difficult to estimate since in general very little is known about the nature of the ―disciplinary problems‖ of the nuns on the Island that necessitated the introduction of a reform, but according to Lázs they probably included the possession of unnecessary objects.⁴⁵⁵ That money was indeed used in the nuns‘

monastery is attested in the Gömöry Codex by a note of one of the nun-scribes who demanded an account from her fellow sister why she still not paid for the book.⁴⁵⁶

A considerable part of the Domonkos Codex is about other early friars who were important figures in the first decades after the birth of the Order. Due to the detailed account of their activities, especially that of Reginald, a theologian from Paris, as well as the shorter stories about many other friars, the Domonkos Codex tells as much about the life of St. Dominic as much about that of the Order of Preachers reflected in the lives and actions of its membra, the early brothers. The most important characteristic of the friars, in the presentation of the Domonkos codex is their mission: the conversion of sinners and heretics, Muslims in particular.

There are many episodes from the life of the Dominican convent of Bologna. These exempla are particularly relevant and always current since they are about minor and major sins that turn up from time to time in the convents. It is intriguing why the other Dominican saint, Peter of Verona or his miracles are not mentioned in the codex.

Last, but not least a few words about the material regarding Hungary in the codex. The country is mentioned as one of the missionary targets of the preacher friars in the early 1220s. Besides, the compiler writes that six raisings of death occurred with the intercession of St Dominic occurred in Hungary (―which can be read in some book‖). He narrates three of them in a

454 Silvia Nocentini, ―Mendicancy in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth centuries: ‗Ubi necessitas non urgeat‘: The Preachers Facing the ‗refrigescens caritas,‘‖ in The Origin, Development, and Refinement of Medieval Religious Mendicancies, 355-361, at 360-361.

455 Lázs, Apácaműveltség, 41, footnote 37.

456 ―My darling Christina, this is such a pretty book, why do you not pay for it?‖; quoted in Lázs, Apácaműveltség, 43.

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detailed manner but omits the rest for the sake of brevity.⁴⁵⁷ Additionally, he reports one of the miracles of 1314 about the raising of the provost from Székesfehérvár. All these miracles originating from the thirteenth and early fourteenth century, in fact, are related to Dominic‘s relic in Somlyó but the name of the settlement appears only once and in a distorted form

―Sunnich‖. That Dominic‘s finger relic was kept in Székesfehérvár is a mistranslation of the Latin text (see II.2.3) and it shows that the one-time popular shrine in south-eastern Hungary has gone to oblivion by the early sixteenth century.