Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/744

724

 title changed to Varia Historia de la Nueva España y Florida, which are cited by Nicolás Antonio, ''Bib. Hist. Nova,'' iii. 175.

As shown in the title the work consists of a series of biographies of the more prominent Dominican friars who flourished in Mexico between 1540 and 1590, in connection with whose lives, which consist largely of tedious and prolix descriptions of saintly virtues and miracles, occasional historical facts are given, but often without dates. The style, which was not uncommon among the religious writers of that period, is rather that of a sermon than of a historical narrative. While in Spain Felipe III. appointed him general chronicler of the Indies and royal chaplain, and he was also named general chronicler of his order. In 1599 he was made archbishop of Santo Domingo, where he died in 1604. According to Alcedo, ''Bib. Am., i. 321, he received the appointment of bishop of Santo Domingo, but Nicolás Antonio, Bib. Hisp. Nova, iii., whose statements are to be preferred, says of him, 'fervidus atque facundus ecclesiastes, insulæ Sancti Dominici tandem creatus archiepiscopus.' A manuscript work entitled Historia de los Antigüedades de los Indios'' is also attributed to Davila-Padilla by Alcedo.

Cyriaci Morelli, Fasti Novi Orbit et Ordinationum Apostolicarum ad Indias pertinentium breviarium cum Adnotationabus Venetiis, 1776, 4to, pp. viii. 642, is the pseudonyme [sic] of a Spanish Jesuit named Domingo Muriel, who was a professor of his order at Tucunsan. [sic] He prepared his work in Italy, after the expulsion of his order from the Spanish dominions. He died at Faenza in 1795, and the book was published by A. Zatta. The first part of the volume is a brief compendium in chronological order of the chief events connected with the history of the Spanish American colonies from the discovery of America until 1771. This is valuable chiefly because of the author's correction of errors made by other writers. Then follow in chronological order the papal ordinances on questions of ecclesiastical government and the like, arising between those dates. Most of these ordinances apply to America in general, while a few are entirely local. Many of them are accompanied by valuable notes in which the author has brought together all papal decrees and royal ordinances bearing upon the subject under consideration. He also quotes frequently and extensively from a vast array of authors who contain matters germangermain [sic] to those discussed.

Disturbios de Frailes, fol, 2 vols, the first with 525 pages, and the second with 465 pages, is the title given to a collection of documents, printed and in manuscript, mostly of the latter, relating to the religious history of America, chiefly New Spain, and embracing the period between 1524 and 1811. A large portion of the collection refers to the constant bickerings between friars born in Spain and friars born in America about the distribution of offices in their respective orders, and the measures upheld by some and objected to by others to settle the question and secure peace and harmony. Another large portion treats of the differences between the regular and secular clergy on the subject of curacies of parishes, with a long list of complaints by Indians of Puebla against the bishop and his clergy. Among the most important documents are those relating to trials of religious by the secular judiciary, and claims of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction in favor of the accused; one of the cases being that of a friar who murdered his prelate in 1789, and