The mendicant orders and the wars of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, 1230-1415

Abstract

This thesis is a study of the involvement of the mendicant orders in the wars of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with particular reference to the Franciscan order. Drawing on a wide range of primary and secondary sources, it seeks to examine how the friars became politicised during the wars of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The research is organized into five chapters and an epilogue, which have been ordered both thematically and chronologically - a dual approach necessitated by the nature of the material, which spans three countries and almost two hundred years. The first two chapters are thematic, outlining the arrival and spread of the Franciscans friars and the reception they received from the native populations, as well as the established religious and clergy.