Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/406

382 RISE OF XIMENES. VAUT the head of its numerous religious establishments. II. . ... '■ — In his frequent journeys for their inspection he travelled on foot, supporting himself by begging alms, conformably to the rules of his order. On his return he made a very unfavorable report to the queen of the condition of the various institutions, most of which he represented to have grievously relaxed in discipline and virtue. Contemporary accounts corroborate this unfavorable picture, and accuse the religious communities of both sexes throughout Spain, at this period, of wasting their hours, not merely in unprofitable sloth, but in luxury and licentiousness. The Franciscans, in particular, had so far swerved from the obligations of their in- stitute, which interdicted the possession of property of any description, that they owned large estates in town and country, living in stately edifices, and in a style of prodigal expense not surpassed by any of the monastic orders. Those who indulged in this latitude were called conventuals, while the com- paratively small number who put the strictest con- struction on the rule of their founder were denomi- nated observantines, or brethren of the observance. Ximenes, it will be remembered, was one of the latter. 2' ( prniptioii The Spanish sovereigns had long witnessed with ot the inou- A o o deep regret the scandalous abuses which had crept 21 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat61icos, Cosas Memorables, fol. 165. — MS., cap. 201. — Suma de la Vida Oviedo, Epilogo Real, Imperial y de Cisneros, MS. — Mosheim, Ec- Pontifical, MS., apud Mem. de la clcsiastical History, vol. iii. cent. Acad, de Hist., torn. vi. llust. 8. — 14, p. 2. — Peter Martyr, Opus Zurita, Hist, del Rey Hernando, lib. Epist., epist. 163. — L. Marineo, 3, cap. 15. of the luoii- Hstcries.