Abstract

This contribution starts out with discussing some of the preconditions that set the stage for thinking about New World mission and the role of the mendicant orders in it, which was partially self-assigned and partially expected. Among other things, these preconditions include the impact of mendicant master narratives of conversion and mission to the infidel from the later medieval period, the experiences with reconquista, and the confrontations with Muslims and Jews in newly conquered territories in Spain and North Africa. Against this background, this contribution provides a preliminary sketch of the nature of early mendicant missions in the New World, and their transformation under influence of local..