Munio de Zamora
Encyclopedia
Munio de Zamora became the seventh Master General of the Dominican Order in 1285, thanks in large part to the manipulations performed by his patron Sancho IV of Castile
. He was dramatically removed from his office by a papal bull dated April 12, 1291, in an action that involved the pope Nicholas IV
and the archbishop of Genoa, Jacob de Voragine (the author of the Golden Legend
).
Munio's career was rehabilitated in 1294, when he was appointed Bishop of Palencia, thanks to the interventions and bribery of his protector, King Sancho. And perhaps brother Munio was also in the background when Sancho had authorized a payment of 30,000 maravedís to Cardinal Ordoño in 1285, just one month after Munio had been elevated to Master-General. Brother Munio, dissolute and violent, made an earlier appearance in the Dominican nunnery affair in the small provincial city of Zamora, which occasioned a visitation by the bishop of Zamora in 1279. The convent
of Dominican nuns was split with faction and the Dominican friars were behaving like characters from the Decameron. The resulting depositions survive, to form the basis of a highly readable history by Peter Linehan (1997) that lays open more than just the social history of Dominican friars and nuns in 13th century Castile
. Pursuing Munio, his friends and his enemies, from Zamora to the papal Curia
over a twenty-year period, Linehan shows how events in a Castilian nunnery could influence high politics in the medieval Church.
In 1285 Munio promulgated the Rule of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance of the Blessed Dominic (Regula Fratrum et Sororum Ordinis de Paenitentiae Beati Dominici), which provided a rule of life (lasting into the 20th century) for the "penitent" laymen and women that were linked to the Dominican Order of Preachers. In its opening, the rule lays down the prerequisites: "They must be filled with the utmost jealous, burning zeal, after their own fashion, for the truth of Catholic faith".
The Master of the Order thus offered an opportunity to lay people, who had been independent until then, to adopt a rule of life and be placed under the jurisdiction of the Order of Preachers by making a promise of obedience to the Master General of the Order.
Thus Munio de Zamora receives reverential official biography from the Dominican order.
Munio is entombed in the ancient basilica
of Santa Sabina
, the center of the Dominican order in Rome.
Sancho IV of Castile
Sancho IV the Brave was the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1284 to his death. He was the second son of Alfonso X and Yolanda, daughter of James I of Aragon.-Biography:...
. He was dramatically removed from his office by a papal bull dated April 12, 1291, in an action that involved the pope Nicholas IV
Pope Nicholas IV
Pope Nicholas IV , born Girolamo Masci, was Pope from February 22, 1288 to April 4, 1292. A Franciscan friar, he had been legate to the Greeks under Pope Gregory X in 1272, succeeded Bonaventure as Minister General of his religious order in 1274, was made Cardinal Priest of Santa Prassede and...
and the archbishop of Genoa, Jacob de Voragine (the author of the Golden Legend
Golden Legend
The Golden Legend is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that became a late medieval bestseller. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived, compared to twenty or so of its nearest rivals...
).
Munio's career was rehabilitated in 1294, when he was appointed Bishop of Palencia, thanks to the interventions and bribery of his protector, King Sancho. And perhaps brother Munio was also in the background when Sancho had authorized a payment of 30,000 maravedís to Cardinal Ordoño in 1285, just one month after Munio had been elevated to Master-General. Brother Munio, dissolute and violent, made an earlier appearance in the Dominican nunnery affair in the small provincial city of Zamora, which occasioned a visitation by the bishop of Zamora in 1279. The convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
of Dominican nuns was split with faction and the Dominican friars were behaving like characters from the Decameron. The resulting depositions survive, to form the basis of a highly readable history by Peter Linehan (1997) that lays open more than just the social history of Dominican friars and nuns in 13th century Castile
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
. Pursuing Munio, his friends and his enemies, from Zamora to the papal Curia
Curia
A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...
over a twenty-year period, Linehan shows how events in a Castilian nunnery could influence high politics in the medieval Church.
In 1285 Munio promulgated the Rule of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance of the Blessed Dominic (Regula Fratrum et Sororum Ordinis de Paenitentiae Beati Dominici), which provided a rule of life (lasting into the 20th century) for the "penitent" laymen and women that were linked to the Dominican Order of Preachers. In its opening, the rule lays down the prerequisites: "They must be filled with the utmost jealous, burning zeal, after their own fashion, for the truth of Catholic faith".
The Master of the Order thus offered an opportunity to lay people, who had been independent until then, to adopt a rule of life and be placed under the jurisdiction of the Order of Preachers by making a promise of obedience to the Master General of the Order.
Thus Munio de Zamora receives reverential official biography from the Dominican order.
Munio is entombed in the ancient basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
of Santa Sabina
Santa Sabina
The Basilica of Saint Sabina at the Aventine is a titular minor basilica and mother church of the Roman Catholic Dominican order in Rome, Italy. Santa Sabina lies high on the Aventine Hill, beside the Tiber, close to the headquarters of theKnights of Malta....
, the center of the Dominican order in Rome.
External links
- Mary Laven's detailed review of Peter Linehan, The Ladies of Zamora 1997
- Peter Linehan article in History Today March 1997.
- The Dominican Story: brief laudatory biography