La doppia povertà. Una inedita disputatio tra Giovanni XXII e Michele da Cesena

The article provides a study and critical edition of a short latin dialogue on the question of the poverty of Christ and the Apostles. The text, so far unknown, is transmitted by the commentary on the Old Testament written around 1450 by the Sienese magister Pietro de’ Rossi. Even if it has a dialogical structure, in which both Michael of Cesena and a spokesperson of John XXII present their thesis, the work is clearly favorable to the Pope. The article argues that the text, dating back to about 1340-1350, offers an unusual perspective on the controversy, providing new insights on this stage of the debate. In particular, the dialogue takes advantage of arguments used, contested and sharpened for years during the discussion, and presents several references to the dissident friars living in the Eremo delle Carceri (near Assisi) or in Corsica, and to Ubertino da Casale’s opinion on the apostolic poverty controversy.