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490 Antonio Mursia

have had, in this way, a great impact on the population of Messina, if,
a few days after his arrival, he managed to obtain a dwelling for his
brethren. The foundation of the convent of St. Mary of Jesus repre-
sented, thus, the seal of the mission conducted by the Franciscan in
Messina . But, his sermons also managed to inspire the publication
35
of suntuary chapters. Legislation that was directed especially at the
city’s ruling classes and strongly advocated the measured use of
wealth . Matthew believed, in fact, it was incumbent upon the perfect
36
citizen to acquire goods not for himself, in order to achieve greater
power and reveal his social status. But, to make them, rather, availa-
ble for the entire civic community. The Franciscan appeared, there-
fore, interested in creating a model of the city, in which the solidaristic
component represented the predominant element .
37
At the end of January 1426, Matthew left Messina to head to Pa-
lermo. In the capital of the kingdom of Sicily, the friar from Agrigento
stayed until Lent, carrying out an intense sermocinal activity. It is
quite likely that in this city, too, he had worked to spread the cult of
the most holy name of Jesus: it was popularized through tablets on
which the monogram IHS was depicted. The Franciscan, therefore,
urged the people of Palermo to affix this symbol on their homes so that
they witnessed their belonging to Christ. But, the sermons delivered
by Matthew provoked, once again, a wider debate within the city,
whose authorities were called upon to reflect on the promulgation of
new suntuary chapters. Their content ranged from the control of Jew-
ish activities to the ways in which wealth was managed by the ruling
classes . According to Matthew, goods were to be considered, in fact,
38
as part of the patrimony of the public thing, which had to be reinvested
according to precise economic practices. In this sense, the friars
sought to re-evaluate the profession of the merchant, whose stores
allowed a proper circulation of money to take place . It had been no
39

35 On the settlement of the Friars Minor Observant in Messina see again S.
Tramontana, Gli osservanti a Messina cit., pp. 55-86. Also, on the foundation of
their convent see J.R.H. Moorman, Medieval Franciscanum Houses, Franciscan In-
stitute, St. Bonaventure University, New York 1983, p. 299.
36 P. Evangelisti, Credere nel mercato, credere nella res publica: la comunità ca-
talano-aragonese nelle proposte e nell’azione politica di un esponente del francesca-
nesimo mediterraneo: Francesc Eiximenis, «Anuario de estudios medievales», 33
(2003), pp. 69-117.
37 Cf. P. Evangelisti, Fede, mercato, comunità cit., p. 636.
38 Asp, Real Cancelleria, Registro 56, cc. 45r-48v, and Protonotaro del Regno,
Registro 27, cc. 33r-37r. The suntuary chapters also ruled on the manner of dress
by the ladies belonging to the noble classes. On this topic, see S. Tramontana,
Vestirsi e travestirsi in Sicilia. Abbigliamento, feste e spettacoli nel Medioevo, Sellerio
editore, Palermo 1993.
39 Cf. M. Sensi, Osservanza francescana cit., p. 1027.

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XX - Dicembre 2023
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