Franciscan Observants and the Union of Florence: Crafting Church Unity in Ruthenia and Lithuania in the Second Half of the Fifteenth Century

The Union of Florence (1439) has been often depicted as a resounding failure of an ambitious undertaking. However, this portrayal does not hold true in Lithuania and Ruthenia, where it acted as a catalyst for religious dialogue and integration, with the Franciscan Observants as its primary supporters. FOUFCCURL will pursue a comprehensive investigation into the role of the Observant Franciscans, known in Poland and Lithuania as ‘Bernardyni’, in utilising the achievements of the Union of Florence as a distinct and practical strategy for Catholicising Lithuania and Ruthenia. FOUFCCURL aims to uncover how the Observants employed the Union of Florence during the latter half of the fifteenth century, drawing on largely understudied sources beyond the important but over-relied Chronicle of Jan of Komorowo. The project will examine papal bulls, the Cismontane Observant Register, the papal ‘Instructio pro Mariano de Jeziorko’, and other lesser-known Franciscan chronicles. Another goal of the research is to bridge the historiographical gap between Western Medieval Studies and the regional historiographies of East Central Europe concerning the Franciscan Observants. To achieve this FOUFCCURL will synthesise the advanced methodologies and insights developed by Western medievalists with the unique historical contexts and sources of Ruthenia and Lithuania. Thus, the project will help illuminate broader patterns of religious and social integration in Europe.FOUFCCURL will also analyse the spatial distribution of Observant foundations in Lithuania and Ruthenia to identify discernible trends in their foundation patterns and create professional maps illustrating their expansion.FOUFCCURL seeks not only to offer a new understanding of the Union’s ‘second life’ in East Central Europe but also to contribute to wider historiographical debates on social and political integration across religious boundaries, enriching our understanding of cross-faith dynamics in the region and beyond.