ABSTRACT
The Dominican order often utilized Peter's cult when it created or reorganized pious associations of the faithful. Some societies claimed Peter as their founder, so as to align themselves more closely with the saint. The historian must measure the desires of the Dominican order, which coordinated the efforts of these confraternities, against the needs of the laity, among whom they found their membership. In Italy, the young communes had dynamic relationships with the saints. A patron saint was a protector of the commune — a public power symbol. These saints, sometimes drawn from the commune's own ranks, gave nascent civic associations access to an authority greater than that of the rulers they sometimes opposed. Individuals sought contact with the saints for very specific reasons: miracles and protection. When successful, lay people sometimes publicized the results of their requests. Clerics usually compiled these various miracle stories into collections for cultic promotion and to obtain material for preaching.
