The Libellus of Jordan of Saxony: History and Hagiography

Abstract

It will be the argument of this study that the activity described in the Libellus constituted a Revolution of its own fashion. It seems clear to me that the early Dominicans were defined by a number of principles: they were primarily preachers; they were eventually, but not originally a mendicant movement; they returned to a strictly holy life, following the traditional apostolic model; they were subordinate to the established hierarchies of their period; and they were actively seeking imitation of the great figures of early Christianity. The Dominican Revolution was a radically conservative affirmation of orthodox belief in the early 13th century. Because the movement grew much slower and more deliberately than its Franciscan counterpart, Dominican leaders were able to actively shape its growth along a desired track. The result is that the Libellus of Bl. Jordan represents the conscious efforts of the early Preachers' leadership to mold the growth of the Order along the same models by which it had originally emerged.