Mendicant Orders

The mendicant orders were a group of religious orders that emerged at the beginning of the 13th century and expanded until the mid-16th century. They were called mendicant (derived from the Latin word mendicare, meaning to beg), because the monks of these orders were beggars, who took a vow of poverty. These orders were successful in Europe because they assisted the [Page 1025]common people and had the financial support of the Roman Catholic Church, the nobility, and the bourgeoisie.

At the end of the 12th century, the bourgeoisie was developing and growing in many European cities, and these people started to question the political and religious systems that accompanied the feudal economy, as well as what they perceived as the isolated life of priests and monks. ...