Haymo from Faversham

Haymo von Faversham or Haymo of Faversham (* around 1200 in Faversham ( Kent ), † 1243 in Anagni , Italy) was an English Franciscan and scholar. He had already made a name for himself as a professor at the University of Paris and as a preacher before he probably joined the Franciscan order in 1224 or 1225. He was an influential Minister General of the Order.

Scholar

Shortly after joining, Haymo became a curator in Paris. From there he took part in the General Chapter in Assisi in 1230 and was one of the envoys from the Chapter to Pope Gregory IX. were sent to petition for an explanation of certain parts of the Rule that had been discussed in the Order. The Pope reacted with the bull " Quo elongati " of September 28, 1230.

After this chapter Haymo may have gone to England, as there is a mention of him in Henry III's patent scrolls . from England. He appears to have been in Oxford in 1232 , possibly to teach at the Franciscan School there. In 1233 he was one of the Friars Minor sent by the Holy See to Constantinople to negotiate the reunification of the Latin and Greek Churches.

Faversham's Haymo led a particularly active life. During these years he taught not only in Oxford, but also in Tours , Bologna and Padua . Gregory IX. entrusted him with a revision of the breviary of the Roman Curia , and the edition of this breviary of 1241, which later became the breviary of the entire Catholic Church with some modifications, was mainly the work of Haymo.

General Minister

In 1239 he took part in the general chapter in Rome, in which the controversial Elias of Cortona was removed from his office as general minister. After portraying Thomas Eccleston , Haymo was one of the main speakers against Elias. He also arranged for the dismissal of Gregory of Naples , a follower of Elijah and nephew of the Pope. After the impeachment of Elijah, Albert of Pisa was elected Minister General and Haymo succeeded him as Provincial in England. However, Albert died during the first year of his generalate, after which Haymo was elected to that office. After Lukas Wadding , Haymo was elected in 1239, but this is obviously a mistake. Eccleston specifically states that while Haymo served as Provincial in England, Ralph of Maidstone , Bishop of Hereford , was accepted into the Order. However, he held his bishopric until December 17, 1239, so Haymo could not have been elected Minister General before 1240.

Haymo immediately set about correcting the irregularities in the Order and the quarrels between the brothers that had been caused by Elijah. He had increased the number of provinces to seventy-two, after the biblical 72 disciples, as Eccleston says, and because he wanted to surpass the Dominicans , who had divided their order into twelve provinces, in honor of the 12 apostles . Haymo reduced the number of provinces to 32, sixteen south of the Alps and sixteen north of the Alps. Elias had his main supporters among the lay brothers whom he had promoted to high posts, but Haymo determined that no lay brother should hold office unless a priest was available. Haymo also redefined the rights of the superiors and set fixed limits to their jurisdiction. He fought passionately for poverty according to the rule, but he was also aware of the disadvantages of being dependent on alms and preferred it when the brothers earned a living from their own work. As a provincial superior in England, he therefore bought large estates for the brothers to cultivate and thus support themselves so that they did not have to beg.

End of life and obituary

On his death bed, says Eccleston, Pope Innocent IV visited him , which means that his death can also be scheduled for the second half of 1243.

On
Haymo's gravestone you can read: Hic jacet Anglorum summum decus, Haymo, Minorum,
Vivendo frater, hosque regendo pater:
Eximius lector, generalis in ordine rector.

Translation:
Here lies Haymo, the greatest glory of the English,
a minor brother in life, leading them like a father,
an excellent teacher and general minister of the order.

As a scholar, he was referred to as Speculum honestatis (mirror of truthfulness). He was also called with the epithet "Inter Aristotelicos Aristotelicissimus", ie "of all Aristotelians the most Aristotelian". In addition to his lectures on the sentences of Petrus Lombardus , he left a pamphlet on the liturgy of Holy Mass and a book of sermons.

literature

• Justin Lang: Haimo v. Faversham . In: LThK ³ Vol. 4, spp. 1150-1151.

Footnotes

1. ^ Pierre Batiffol, History of the Roman Breviary, p. 213
2. ↑ Lazaro Iriarte: The Order of St. Francis. Verlag der Bayerischen Kapuziner 1984, p. 52