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492 Antonio Mursia

conventual part of the Order must have become increasingly difficult.
In this regard, emblematic turns out to be the case of the arrest of the
guardian of the convent of St. Mary of Jesus in Palermo, who, in 1427,
was imprisoned by the archbishop of Monreale, apparently without
any pretext . It was the king, on the other hand, who showed excep-
46
tional interest in the mission carried out by Matthew in Sicily, since
the friar, knowing how to intervene positively within the city contexts,
showed himself to be very useful to the crown’s cause.

4. The first trip to Spain

After having probably defended Bernardine of Siena in Rome, to-
gether with John da Capestrano, from accusations of heresy, in 1427,
Matthew left for Spain . On March 26 of that year, the Franciscan
47
arrived in Valéncia, invited to preach by King Alfonso and Queen
Mary . Quite a lot of information is possessed about the friar from
48
Agrigento’s first stay in the Iberian domains of the Trastámara: it
comes first and foremost from the queen’s numerous letters, sent to
her officials to inquire about Matthew’s work and to support him dur-
ing his sermocinal activities conducted in the crown lands . In this
49
way, the missives reveal all of Mary’s attachment and devotion to the
Sicilian Franciscan, who with his sermons was able to become an ac-
tive element in the politics of the Aragonese rulers . Because of this,
50
even Alphonsus, who had already experienced the reliability of the ob-
servance movement in his domains, became more and more a firm
supporter of the action carried out by Matthew.
Thus, in Valéncia, the friar from Agrigento delivered his first ser-
mons in the Iberian Peninsula, focusing mainly on the saving virtues
of the most holy name of Jesus and the condemnation of luxury. His

46 Aca, Real Cancilleria, Registros 2813, c. 79v. (cf. A. Amore, Nuovi documenti
cit., p. 24).
47 See F. Rotolo, Il beato Matthew d’Agrigento cit., pp. 133-135. On this episode
cf. again G. Gonnet, S. Bernardino da Siena e la cosiddetta “eresia” del Nome di
Gesù, in F. D’Episcopo (a cura di) S. Bernardino da Siena predicatore e pellegrino.
Atti del Convegno nazionale di studi bernardiniani (Maiori, 20-22 giugno), Congedo
editore, Galatina 1985, pp. 46-48.
48 Aca, Real Cancilleria, Registros 3170, c. 37v, (cf. A. Amore, La predicazione
del B. Matthew cit., p. 284).
49 On these documents, refer to A. Amore, La predicazione del B. Matthew cit.,
pp. 283-335 and, Id. Nuovi documenti cit., pp. 23-42.
50 Interesting facts about the relationship between Queen Mary and the Order
of Friars Minor are contained in J.R. Webster, Franciscanismo de la reina de Aragón
doña María de Luna (1396-1406), «Archivo Ibero-Americano», 165-168 (1982), pp.
81-124.

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XX - Dicembre 2023
ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online)