THE JOACHITES. 19 human wickedness ; and as the Gospel of Christ and the Rule of Francis had not accomplished the salvation of mankind, a new gospel was indispensable. Besides, Joachim had predicted that there would arise a new religious Order which would rule the world and the Church in the halcyon age of the Holy Ghost. They could not doubt that this referred to the Franciscans as rep- resented by the Spiritual group, which was striving to uphold in all its strictness the Rule of the venerated founder.* Such, we may presume, were the ideas which were troubling the hearts of the earnest Spirituals as they pondered over the prophecies of Joachim. In their exaltation many of them were themselves given to ecstasies and visions full of prophetic insight. Prominent members of the Order had openly embraced the Joa- chitic doctrines, and his prophecies, genuine and spurious, were applied to all events as they occurred. In 1248 Salimbene, the chronicler, who was already a warm believer, met at the Francis- can convent of Provins (Champagne) two ardent condisciples, Gherardo da Borgo San Donnino and Bartolommeo Ghiscolo of Parma. St. Louis was just setting forth on his ill-starred Egyp- tian crusade. The Joachites had recourse to the pseudo-Joachim on Jeremiah, and foretold that the expedition would be a failure, that the king would be taken prisoner, and that pestilence would decimate the host. This was not calculated to render them popu- lar ; the peace of the good brethren was sadly broken by quarrels, and the Joachites found it advisable to depart. Salimbene went to Auxerre, Ghiscolo to Sens, and Gherardo to Paris, where his learning secured for him admission to the university as the repre- sentative of Sicily, and he obtained a chair in theology. Here for four years he pursued his apocalyptic studies. f
- Protocoll. Commiss. Anagniae (Denifle, Archiv far Litteratur- und Kirchen-
geschichte, 1885, pp. 111-12). t Hist. Tribulat. (ubi sup. pp. 178-9).— Salimbene, pp. 102, 233. According to the exegesis of the Joachites, Frederic II. was to attain the age of seventy. When he died, in 1250, Salimbene refused to believe it, and remained incredulous until Innocent IV., in his triumphal progress from Lyons, came to Ferrara, nearly ten months afterwards, and exchanged congratulations upon it. Salimbene was present, and Fra Gherardino of Parma turned to him and said, "You know it now ; leave your Joachim and apply yourself to wisdom " (lb. pp. 107, 227).
