Thirteenth-century friars modeled every behavior on the literal apostles

Evidence

Francis and his friars came to symbolize the apostolic life (vita apostolica) for Christians of the thirteenth century. Wandering barefoot from town to town, begging for their daily sustenance, living in community, preaching to the poor and the marginal, Francis and his followers sought in everything to follow the apostles: so much so that debates over (for example) whether the apostles had carried coin purses could rage hot; whatever the apostles had done, it seemed, the Franciscans ought to do. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1099

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Connects to the sacrifice article’s theme of imitatio as lived devotion, though the martyrdom angle here is more direct.