The Franciscan order as Francis himself had initially imagined it was one of true absolute poverty, with no material possessions, no means of support beyond the kindness of others.

The OFM, however, was extraordinarily useful to the Church, both as a means of evangelizing the faithful and combating heresy, and the pure vision of St. Francis made the full utilization of their talents difficult. After Francis's death, the Church quickly began "holding" property and possessions which the Franciscans would then use. This allowed members of the order to do things like engage and learn in the great universities, which benefited the Church immensely. So, while canon lawyers had worked their way around the letter of the Rule of St. Francis, a vocal minority felt that they had violated its spirit.

These so-called "Spiritual Franciscans" emphasized the more mystical message of St. Francis, attempting to cultivate simplicity in both life and thought. This was not inherently problematic, except that they also denied the validity of any other interpretation of the Rule, and, eventually, of any other way of life. This latter claim in particular was seen as a direct challenge to papal authority - the papacy had, after all, endorsed the more lax interpretation of the Rule - and in the early fourteenth century a great many Spirituals found themselves on fire while tied to a stake.

I would check out, among other works

• R. N. Swanson, Religion and Devotion in Europe, C. 1215-C. 1515, Cambridge Medieval Textbooks (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995).

• Kevin Madigan, Olivi and the Interpretation of Matthew in the High Middle Ages (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2003).