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Webster 1913 Edition


Fratricelli


Fraˊtri-cel′li

,
Noun.
pl.
[It.
fraticelli
, lit., little brothers, dim. fr.
frate
brother, L.
frater
.]
(Eccl. Hist.)
(a)
The name which St. Francis of Assisi gave to his followers, early in the 13th century.
(b)
A sect which seceded from the Franciscan Order, chiefly in Italy and Sicily, in 1294, repudiating the pope as an apostate, maintaining the duty of celibacy and poverty, and discountenancing oaths. Called also
Fratricellians
and
Fraticelli
.