Full citation – Référence complète:
Jerković, M. “Quarrels and harmony in the Dominican order. The commentary of Humbert of Romans on the Rule of Augustine”. Živa Antika / Antiquité Vivante 75.1-2 (2025), pp. 257–280.

DOI: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Download this article – Téléchargez cet article

Abstract. – The 13^th century Expositio regulae sancti Augustini, written by the Dominican friar Humbert of Romans, provides some useful insights into the utilization of Saint Augustine’s thought within medieval monasticism. This paper deals with the chapter of the Expositio concerned with the dangers of quarrelling and Augustine’s commands about harmony. Such analysis examines the textual strategies, spiritual conceptions and practical procedures that had to be appropriated by the Dominican brethren to preserve the Apostolic ideal of “one heart and one mind”, mandated by Augustine. The paper is concerned with Humbert’s main topics: the correlation among quarrelling, harmony and the religious state; sin and conscience; monastic authority; achieving justice; silence, virtues, prayer, and love. The preservation of the Apostolic ideal was not only a matter of spiritual edification; it also carried institutional implications. Namely, Humbert’s text was written as a conservative response to the initiative to change the normative set-up of the Dominicans. It was a text that strongly advocated the utility of the Rule of Augustine for his Order.