ABSTRACT
In his advice to Dominican preachers the fifth Dominican Master General, Humbert of Romans, had pointed out: 'it is advantageous to have bodily strength so that he can stay up late at night studying, speak loudly when preaching, endure the labours of travelling, the poverty of not having the things he needs and many other hardships as the apostles did'. Narrative sources frequently refer to candidates who wanted to join the Orders but were unable to do so because of their state of health. In 1221 Reginald of Orleans, who had been gravely ill with fever, was able to join the Order of Preachers in Bologna and impose his authority there only after receiving a miraculous cure from Dominic. Health was apparently beneficial to the Order but illness was not always correspondingly seen as harmful. In many hagiographical writings illness was not purposeless or inexplicable, or even inconvenient and incapacitating.
