... imposing a telelogy one can view the rise of the Franciscans as a symptom of the spiritual decline of the Cluniacs and the rise of the mendicants as a response to the increasing worldliness of the Franciscans. This can be explained in terms of Michels theory of oligarchy. The new orders require organization but as soon as one starts to organise one creates a division between the organised and the organisers. The latter quickly acquire knowledge and expertise that set them apart and give them power over ordinary monks. Preserving the organisation becomes more important than the organisation's goals. This can be seen in the rise of obedient system, whereby a group of monks known as obedientaries ran their departments vertically, exploiting their own sources of revenue and collecting the produce of their lands, which they applied to the services and purchases of their department. The system helped to destroy ...

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