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Matthew of Agrigento. The political and religious engagement of a franciscan... 495

which compelled even Jews and Muslims to participate. It was a way
to make them aware of the peacemaking power of the most holy name
of Jesus. Queen Mary, impressed by what had happened, thus decided
to found a convent for the observant in Valencia as well . The oppo-
62
sition of the Friars Minor Conventual, however, was not long in com-
ing: they expressed to the king all their displeasure with Matthew and
his confreres, who had harshly criticized their way of life. Work on the
new abode for the Observants began anyway, thanks to the protection
afforded to the reform movement by Queen Mary .
63
The mission conducted by the Agrigentine in the Iberian domains
of the Trastámara between 1427 and 1428 must have been particu-
larly challenging for Matthew, as it was characterized by the friar’s
constant travels from city to city and his intense sermocinal activity.
His presence in Alfonso’s continental kingdoms was, however, crucial
to the consolidation of the observance in Spain. After stopping for a
very brief period on the island of Majorca in mid-1428, Matthew de-
cided to return to Sicily .
64

5. Between Sicily and Spain

In mid-1428, Matthew returned to Sicily to give new impetus to the
Franciscan observance movement. On the strength of the permission
granted to Alfonso by the papal legate Pierre de Foix, which allowed him
to found five new convents, the Agrigentine dedicated himself to estab-
lishing the new observant communities on the island . Two letters from
65
the queen sent in 1428 to two of her Syracuse officials seem to betray
the Franciscan’s presence in this city: probably Matthew went there
both to preach and to discuss the construction of the new convent of
St. Mary of Jesus . Unfortunately, the lack of documentary sources
66
does not allow us to shed light on the Franciscan’s activities in Syra-
cuse, much less to clarify the terms of the foundation of the Cammarata
convent during the same 1428. Thus, it has been assumed that the
establishment of an observant community in the latter town was in-
tended to counter the dense Jewish presence in the Agrigento

62 Cf. J. Rubió i Balaguer, El beat Mateu d’Agrigento cit., p. 117, and, therefore,
A. Amore, La predicazione del B. Matthew cit., pp. 272-274.
63 See A. Amore, La predicazione del B. Matthew cit., p. 279.
64 Valencia, General archives of nation, Registros 35, c. 100r.
65 Cf. J. Rubió i Balaguer, El beat Mateu d’Agrigento cit., p. 115, and F. Rotolo,
Il beato Matthew d’Agrigento cit., pp. 151-152.
66 Aca, Real Cancilleria, Registros 2967, cc. 130r – 130v. (see A. Amore, Nuovi
documenti cit., p. 29).

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