The Dulcinian movement was a heretic movement inspired by the Franciscans' ideals, influenced by the Joachimites and derived from the Apostolics. It was lead by Fra Dolcino of Novara (ca. 1250-1307) , who was burnt as a heretic in 1307 on the orders of Pope Clement V.

History

The Dulcinian movement began in 1300 when Gherardino Segalello founder of the Apostolics sect was burned in Parma, a brutal repression of the movement followed and his followers had to hide to save their lives. Fra Dolcino a member of the movement since 1290 repaired in Dalmatia, here he wrote the first of his letters to the other followers of the movement explaining his ideas about the development of ephocs during history based on the theories of Gioacchino da Fiore.

Reunion of the Apostolics

Soon Fra Dolcino was recognised as the leader of the Apostolics and at the beginning of 1303 he reunited the movement near the Lake Garda where he met Margherita of Trento (real name Margherita Boninsegna, his lover or sister in spirit), and here she wrote the second letter to the Apostolics. At the beginning of 1304 3 members were burned by the Inquisition so Dolcino decided it was better to organize their defence and moved the whole movement (around 3000 peoples according to some sources, just a few dozens according to other) to the left side of the Sesia valley near his natal Novara with a forced march through the mountains.

At the beginning they settled in the lower parts of the valley entusiastically welcomed by the inhabitants and there the movement grew (the number reported again vary from a few hundreds to 4000 members and even 15000) as escaped serfs and scholars from various parts of Italy joined it. Soon the troops of the Bishops of Novara and Vercelli attacked them and they were forced to move to higher grounds helped by some of the inhabitants of the valley. They were repeatedly attacked and fled again suffering great losses, at the end of 1304 only 1400 (4000 according to other sources)

Dolcino justified every evil action committed by the Dulcinians in this period, he affirmed that they were so perfect they could do everything they wanted without Sin basing his affirmation on Saint Paul (Epistle to Titus 1,15): To the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure; their very minds and consciences are corrupted.

The League and the crusade against heretics

With the "Statutum Ligae contra Haereticos" (Statute of the League against the Heretics) signed on the 24 August 1305 in Scopello, most cities and villages of the valley united in a League to fight the Dulcinians and on the third September of the same year representatives of the communities of the Sesia valley met in the "Ecclesia Sancti Bartholomaei" (st. Bartholomew Church) of the nearby Scopa, swearing on the Gospels to fight the "Gazzari" to their death. A few historian disputes the existence of this League affirming it was invented in 1793 to prevent a positive re-evaluation of Dolcino after the French revolution, however does exists older documents citing the statute.

The winter of 1305 was particularly cold and the pressure from the Catholic troops and the inhabitants of the valley was particularly effective so Margherita of Trento decided to lead another march through the mountains to escape the siege. The weak and the wounded were abandoned to their fate and the Dulcinian eventually reached the mount Rubello (m 1410), on right side of the Sesia river near Vercelli in March 1306 were they fortified again.

In the mean time Pope Clement V in 1306 called for a crusade to finally crush the movement and troops from various parts of northern Italy joined the siege of the mountain. The Dulcinians could no longer descend the mountain to find food but they resisted for a year eating rats, horses,

The end

Margherita of Trento and Dolcino were captured alive and brougth to the nearby Biella where Margherita was burned at the stake on the 1st of Juny 1307. Dolcino was forced to watch his mistress (or sister in spirit) being burnt and later conducted to Vercelli on an open wagon, during the travel he was tortured with hot instruments, evirated, his fingers, his nose, his ears were amputated, his tongue and his eyes extirpated and when they reached Vercelli he was finally burned at the stake.

The number of his followers was greatly exaggerated in by the Catholic Church to justify the failure to get rid of them for 3 years, and probably the smaller numbers are correct; the higher Sesia Valley at the time counted less than 500 inhabitants and the city of Novara whose troops fought initialy the Dulcinian counted 5000 inhabitants at the time.

Aftermath

Three years of armed resistance in the name of Christ ended but other Dulcinians survived disperded in the north of Italy there are traces of them until 1374. Dolcino, Margherita and the Apostolics become symbols of freedom and emancipation to the present times and were never forgotten. In year 1907, 600th anniversary of the martyrdom huge celebrations were held in the Sesia valley and a 12 meter high obelisk posed in the place of their last resistance. The obelisk was later destroyed by the Fascists in 1927 and a small monument was posed again in 1974.

Since 1974 on the second Sunday of September every year a Dulcinian meeting is held by this obelisk and bigger celebrations are being organized for the 700th anniversary in 2007.

Theories

The main concepts of the Dulcinian Heresy were:

• Vaticinated the fall of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and return of the Church to its original ideals of humility and poverty
• Vaticinated the fall of the Feudal system which oppressed the people
• Human liberation from any restraint and from entrenched power
• Creation of a new equalitarian society based on mutual aid and respect, holding property in common and respecting equality between sexes

Fra Dolcino was inspired by the millenarist theories of Gioacchino da Fiore he thought that the history of humanity was characterized by 4 periods:

• The period of the Old Testament when the human race multiplicated
• The period of Jesus Christ and the Apostles charcterized by castity and poverty
• The period that began with the Emperor Constantine and Pope Silvester I characterized by the decline of the Church caused by ambition and excessive accumulated wealth
• The period of the Apostolics lead by Segalelli and Dolcino characterized by a Apostolic way of life, by poverty, by castity and the absence of government and this period would last for eternity.

In his first letter Dolcino gave his interpretation of the seven Angels and seven Churches of the Apocalypse of John:

• the Angel of Ephesus was st. Benedict and his church the monastic order
• the Angel of Pergamom was Pope Silvester and his church the clerical order
• the Angel of Sardis was St. Francis and his church the Friars Minors
• the Angel of Laodicea was St. Dominic and his church the Friars Preacher
• the Angel of Smyrna was Gerard of Parma and his church the Apostolics
• the Angel of Thyatira was Fra Dolcino and his church the Dulcinians
• the Angel of Philadelphia would be the new holy pope and the latest three churches would constitute the new church of these new days.

Following the death of Boniface VIII this scheme had to be corrected so Dolcino gave a scheme of 4 popes:

• Celestine V
• Boniface VIII and ruin would fail on him and the king of south
• his successor, again ruin would fail on him and all the Cardinals
• The new holy pope

So the advent of this new holy pope was posponed of one after the death of Boniface VIII, besides Dolcino never proposed himself as the new Pope in his letters but this was one of the accusation that the Inquisition brougth against him.

Despite his prophecies never become true his followers always trusted him and believed to the promise that after the advent of the Angel/Pope the Apostolic would receive the Holy Spirit, preach and live in peace to the end of times.