The Order of Preachers (Ordo Praedicatorum), more commonly known as the Dominican Order, or Dominicans is a Catholic religious order. In England and some other countries the Dominicans are referred to as Blackfriars on account of the black "cappa" or cloak they wear over their white habits, just as the Carmelites are known as "Whitefriars" for the same reason. Founded by Saint Dominic de Guzman in the early 13th century, it is one of the great orders of mendicant friars that revolutionized religious life in Europe during the high middle ages. It is managed by the Master of ...
The modern period consists of the three centuries between the religious revolution at the beginning of the sixteenth century (Protestantism) and the French Revolution with its consequences. The Order of Preachers, like the Church itself, felt the shock of these destructive revolutions but its vitality enabled it to withstand them successfully. At the beginning of the sixteenth century the order was on the way to a genuine renaissance when the Revolutionary upheavals occurred. The progress of heresy cost it six or seven provinces and several ...
