Franciscans
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Franciscans. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
fran-sis'kanz, a general name given to three religious orders founded in the thirteenth century by St. Francis. The first order is that of Franciscan friars; the second order is that of Franciscan nuns; the third order includes both men and women. The last order, now little known, consisted of people unable to break existing domestic ties or to withdraw themselves from the ordinary pursuits of life. They were bound by oath to dress plainly, to eat simple food, to fast, to pray, and to lead lives that would be an example to the community in which they lived. The order of Franciscan friars was approved by Pope Innocent III in 1210. It grew rapidly. In ten years there were 5,000 members. In 1260 there were 1,400 Franciscan houses in France, where the members were known as Cordeliers. In England and Scotland they were known from their garb as Grey Friars. In 1680, according to the historian of the order, there were 100,000 Franciscans in Europe. Many of their houses were known as centers of learning. More than one Franciscan friar filled a university chair. The noted Roger Bacon was a member of the order. There are a number of Franciscan houses in the United States . The total number of members of the order in all countries is now estimated at about 17,000. See Monasticism
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
or Friars Minor, popularly called Gray Friars; (b) the Dominicans, or Preaching Friars, popularly called Black Friars; (c) the Augustinians; (d) the Carmelities, popularly known as White Friars. In printing, a friar is a pale patch on a printed sheet.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Aiton's said in 1910 that the third order was "now little known"; it survives as the Secular Franciscan Order, given a new rule by Paul VI in 1978, and is now much the largest Franciscan body, with membership counted in the hundreds of thousands worldwide. The friars themselves remain split into three independent branches — the Order of Friars Minor, the Capuchins and the Conventuals — together numbering roughly 25,000 to 30,000 men, though all three have shrunk sharply in Europe and North America since the 1960s while growing in Africa and Asia. The most conspicuous change came in 2013, when Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, a Jesuit, became the first pope to take the name Francis. In the United States, where Aiton's noted "a number of Franciscan houses," the friar Junipero Serra of the California missions was canonised in 2015 amid protest from Native American groups over the missions' treatment of indigenous people.
Written for this edition, 2026.