From preacher to professor: a study of identity in the early order of preachers

Thesis (M.A., History (Humanities)) -- California State University, Sacramento, 2011.In the early thirteenth century, the Dominican Order identified itself with the image of the preacher, specifically St. Dominic. There was also a distinct spirituality formed in the order that was s a mix of contemplation, apostolic activity, and a strong emphasis on education. The preacher???s office was venerated and esteemed early on in the Order???s existence, but the emphasis on education created a rival class of university masters that seemed to become the new face of the Dominican Order in the latter half of the century. Through analysis of early Dominican constitutions, preaching manuals, biographical documents, syllabi and various philosophical works by influential Dominicans from c.1231-1286, one may note that this shift is not a change in Dominican identity but rather a broadening of it. Comparative atmospheres of ideological conflict required similar treatments, though by men of different offices. The professor, specifically Thomas Aquinas, became the academic realization of the Dominican preacher-tradition.History (Humanities