The early fifteenth century was the age of conciliarism, of a crisis in the church; it was a time of fragmentation. In such an age it may be difficult to tell the separate parties apart, to distinguish the defenders of the old order from its critics. Whatever the nature of the parties, each may claim to stand for its own particular version of reform. This paper deals with such a rivalry as it surfaces in On Avarice, one of the dialogues of a prominent curial humanist, Poggio Bracciolini (1380-1459). Though the point has never been noted, it will be seen that the essence of this work is to be found in the conflict between curial humanists or secretaries and mendicant friars, two groups whose fortunes had traditionally been closely identified with those of the papacy.