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THE SOURCES FOR THE LIFE OF ST. FRANCIS Lecture 1
INTRODUCTION The Sources for the life of St. Francis embrace the first two centuries of Franciscan history, from the death of St. Francis in 1226 to roughly the last decades of the 14th century. They are fundamental to understand not only the life of St. Francis, but also that of the movement of which he is the founder. Although secondary in importance to the writings of St. Francis, which remain the prime source for his life and ideals, the Sources provide an indispensable aid to situate Francis within the historical context of medieval Italy and within the social, political and ecclesiastical framework in which he lived. The Sources are primarily documents of spirituality, but they are also rich in historical content. Their aim is to be a mirror of the ideals and intentions which Francis lived and which he proposed to his followers. That is why the study of the Sources has to be accompanied by the analysis of the history of the Franciscan Order during the first two centuries of its existence. We are fortunate to live in a period when the majority of the Sources for the life of St. Francis have been critically edited in the original Latin, and when many of them are also translated into modern languages. The most recent version in English of the Sources is now available and will constitute the basis of these study units: Francis of Assisi. Early Documents, Vol. I: The Saint; Vol. II: The Founder; Vol. III: The Prophet; Index, Franciscan Institute of St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, NY, 1999-2002. The study of the Sources can now also be done following a chronological order. The period between the death of St. Francis in 1226 and the end of the generalate of brother Elias in 1239 marks the time when the sanctity of Francis is celebrated by biographers like Thomas of Celano and Julian of Speyer. A second period goes from the beginning of the generalate of brother Haymo of Faversham in 1240 to the end of the generalate of St. Bonaventure in 1274. This period witnesses the institutionalisation of the Order and its presentation as one of the great movements of reform in the Church. In this period Francis is presented as the founder of this great movement of evangelical reform. The third period starts from the Chapter of Padova in 1276 and moves on to the last decades of the 14th century. This period is one of the most interesting in Franciscan history, because it is closely linked with the Order’s growing self-awareness of its eschatological mission. In this period Francis is shown to be a prophet who incarnates the values of the Gospel and announces them through his movement, which is seen as a harbinger of a new era of salvation. The medieval lives we shall be studying comprise a variety of documents and authors. Some of them are known as Legends (from the Latin legendae, or classical lives of the saints of patristic times), having the aim of being treatises of spirituality and mystical theology centred upon the Christ-like figure of Francis of Assisi. Others are