Franciscan Sources

The Franciscan Sources are a collection of biographical documents regarding the life of Saint Francis of Assisi and the history of the early Franciscan fraternity during the 13th century and up to the end of the 14th century. They also include the sources for the life of Saint Clare of Assisi and other chronicles about the Franciscan family. This is necessarily a very incomplete presentation of such a complex collection of documents, but it can serve as a first approach for the study of these Sources, which are now published online in English and even in a Maltese translation, which remains one of the best attempts to make them available to the general public, a remarkable achievement made possible thanks to the expertise of Br. Walter Vassallo OFM.

The pioneer of modern Franciscan studies was Paul Sabatier who, in 1894, published the Vie de Saint François d’Assise, the first modern biography of Saint Francis. Sabatier discovered many of the ancient 13th and 14th century documents related to Saint Francis and his order. He founded the International Society of Franciscan Studies, which to this day publishes the critical editions of these documents and presents them in the annual Congress held in Assisi. Thanks to Sabatier even the Franciscan Order embarked upon a scientific analysis of the Sources. In 1877 Fr. Bernardino dal Vago da Portogruaro, Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, founded the Collegio San Bonaventura in Quaracchi, Florence, entrusting Fr. Fedele da Fanna and his collaborators with the publication of a critical edition of the Opera Omnia of Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio. They also worked on the publication of many of the Sources on the life of Saint Francis in Volume 10 of the Analecta Franciscana. After the devastating flood of the Arno River in 1966 the Quaracchi college moved to Grottaferrata in 1971, and since 2008 it functions at Saint Isidore’s College in Rome. This College of the Irish OFM Province was founded by Fr. Luke Wadding, who in 1623 published in Antwerp the first critical edition of the Opuscula or Writings of Saint Francis. Among the various scholars of the Quaracchi editors we mention Fr. Kajetan Esser (1913-1978) who published a modern critical edition of the Writings of Saint Francis. When Paul Sabatier was researching in Assisi he found important documentary material in the Library of the Sacro Convento, where the Codex 338 is conserved, containing the most ancient manuscripts on the Writings of Saint Francis and other Sources. Another great historian and scholar of Franciscan medieval documents was Arnaldo Fortini, who studied many of them and discovered precious material in the archives of the Assisi cathedral. He is the author of a 4 volume Nuova Vita di San Francesco. Although the conclusions of Sabatier are not accepted entirely by all Franciscan scholars, given the great progress of Franciscan studies during the last century, his distinction of the Franciscan Sources between the “official” and “non-official” Sources remains highly helpful to beginners. By “official” Sources we intend those biographies or documents that were the result of official requests by Popes, Ministers Generals, etc., and who therefore portray Saint Francis in such a way to extol his holiness and the importance of the Franciscan family during its first century of existence. The “non-official” Sources are those collections of documents written spontaneously by the companions of Saint Francis or their disciples, presenting their memoirs and having the intention to describe the beginnings of the Order in a more simple and straightforward manner. Both kinds of documents are important if we need to have a clear picture of the early history of the Franciscan Order.

When Saint Francis was still alive we are already in possession of a precious testimony of the first Franciscan fraternity, found in the letters written by Jacques de Vitry-sur-Seine, who was elected bishop of Acre in the Holy Land in 1216. It is he who gives us the first picture of the fratres minores and sorores minores in the Umbrian plain around Assisi, and it is also he who describes the visit by Saint Francis to the Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil of Egypt during the Fifth Crusade in 1219.

The first biography of Saint Francis was written by Tommaso da Celano (1190-1260). Born in Celano in the Abruzzo region of Italy he joined the Order when Francis was still alive. In 1221 he was sent to Germany with a group of brothers accompanying Caesar of Speyer, leader of the German mission. After Francis died in 1226 Celano came back to Italy. In 1228 Pope Gregory IX entrusted him with composing an official biography of Saint Francis, entitled Vita beati Francisci [Life of Saint Francis] for the occasion of the canonization of the Saint. The biography was presented to Pope Gregory IX on 25 February 1229 and became the first official life of Saint Francis. Celano also composed an abridged biography for liturgical use, entitled Legenda ad usum chori [Legend for use in the choir] in 1230.

During the time when Elias of Cortona was Minister General (1232-1239) we find other new biographies being composed. In Paris, Julian of Speyer composed the Officium Rhythmicum Sancti Francisci [Rhymed Office of Saint Francis], which was used for the liturgy of the feast and octave of Saint Francis. Around 1235 he also composed the Vita Sancti Francisci [Life of Saint Francis], which resembles Celano’s biography but has important additions, particularly the account of the transfer of the relics of Saint Francis to the new basilica in 1230. In the meantime Tommaso da Celano composed another abridged life of Saint Francis which he dedicated to Elias. This life was discovered by the French scholar Jacques Dalarun in 2014 in a 13th century manuscript acquired by the National Library of France. It is called Vita beati patris nostri Francisci, or Vita brevior [The Shortened Life], and is the last biography that has been discovered among the Franciscan Sources. Another Sources coming from the same period is the Legenda Sancti Francisci versificata [The Versified Life of Saint Francis] by Henri d’Avranches.

After the downfall of Elias in 1239 the Order felt the need to rediscover the original freshness of the Franciscan charism, with an increased interest in the experience of the brothers who lived with Francis, many of whom were still alive. In 1241 John of Perugia, who was companion of Egidio (Giles) of Assisi, composed the De inceptione vel fundamento Ordinis [On the beginnings and foundation of the Order], better known as the Anonymous of Perugia, from the manuscript which belonged to the library of San Francesco al Prato in Perugia. This short life is more a description of the Assisi fraternity of friars Minor than a life of Saint Francis. It was published by the Jesuit Daniel Papebroch in 1671 in the Acta Sanctorum of the Bollandists.

In 1244 the Minister General Crescenzio da Jesi, during the general chapter of Genoa, requested the companions who knew Saint Francis personally to send him their memoirs. Three brothers, namely Leo, Rufino and Angelo, who were residing in Greccio, answered the minister with a letter dated 11 August 1246, in which they presented him with a florilegium or collection of their recollections on Francis and the first Franciscan fraternity. These were the famous “three companions”, but they also included documentation by many other brothers who knew Francis. All this documentary material was then presented to Tommaso da Celano who produced another biography of Saint Francis entitled Memoriale in desiderio animae [Remembrance in the Desire of a Soul], written in 1246-1247. This life is much longer than the one written in 1228-1229 and contains many new elements. The same documentary material, which Celano used in the “official” biography requested by Crescenzio da Jesi, could have been used to produce another “non-official” Sources, chief among which is the Legenda trium sociorum [Legend of the three companions], which gives once more importance to the Assisi environment of the primitive fraternity of brothers. Celano was also asked to produce a Tractatus de miraculis [Treatise on the miracles] as an addition to the Memoriale, which he presented to the minister general Giovanni Buralli da Parma during the chapter of Metz in 1254.

Another important moment for the composition of official biographies was during the generalate of Bonaventure of Bagnoregio (1257-1273). Indeed, as minister general, Bonaventure embarked upon the composition of what he considered to be the final and most official biography of Saint Francis, the Legenda Maior Sancti Francisci [Major Life of Saint Francis] and its liturgical abridged form the Legenda minor [Minor life]. He presented this masterpiece of mystical theology to the brothers during the chapter of Pisa in 1263. In the chapter of Paris in 1266 he decreed that all the other preceding biographies of Saint Francis were to be “deleted” (deleantur) from the friaries and monasteries, so that only the Legenda Maior would be officially considered as the true life of Saint Francis. This decision was unfortunate, since many of the preceding legendae or lives were destroyed or lost. Fortunately some survived in Benedictine monasteries and other libraries and were subsequently rediscovered.

After the end of the generalate of Bonaventure, the desire of the brothers to discover the original freshness of the Franciscan ideal did not wane. After 1274 and up to 1318 we assist at the composition of various “non-official” sources, all of which make ample use of the documentary material of the three companions, the florilegium of Greccio, which was probably still stored in the library of the Sacro Convento in Assisi. Among the main sources of this period we find the Compilatio Assisiensis [Assisi Compilation] and the Speculum Perfectionis [Mirror of Perfection], which is dated 1318 and exists in two versions, namely the shorter version edited by Leonhard Lemmens and the longer one edited by Paul Sabatier. These Sources are not biographies in the strict sense, but rather a collection of sayings and deeds of Saint Francis and the first brothers, depending especially on the rotoli or parchments left by Francis’ closest companion, brother Leo of Assisi, in the Verba sancti Francisci (Words of Saint Francis) and the Intentio Regulae (Intention of the Rule).

Another interesting Source is the Sacrum commercium sancti Francisci cum domina Paupertate [The Sacred Exchange of Saint Francis with Lady Poverty], an allegory written by an anonymous companion of the saint to celebrate his love for Madonna Povertà.

The tensions generated in the Order during the first quarter of the 14th century with the family of the Spirituals and the poverty controversy during the time of Pope John XXII, prompted friars to compose other documents of a spiritual or polemical nature in order to defend the Franciscan ideal. Thus we find Spiritual friars such as Angelo Clareno who composed the Chronica septem tribulationum Ordinis Minorum [Chronicle of the seven tribulations of the Order of Minors], and Ubertino da Casale who composed the Arbor vitae crucifixae Iesu [Tree of Life of the Crucified Christ], a mystical treatise on Saint Francis’ conformity to Christ crucified on La Verna. During the same period we find the famous Italian poet Dante Alighieri who composed the Divine Comedy, in which he dedicates the Canto XI of Paradise to the figure of Saint Francis.

Other chronicles which were composed towards the end of the 13th century include three very important ones, namely the Chronicle of Jordan of Giano, which describes the mission of the first Franciscans in Germany, the De Adventu fratrum minorum in Angliam [The arrival of the friars minor in England] by Thomas of Eccleson, and the Chronicle of Salimbene de Adam of Parma. These are importance sources for the early history of the Franciscan Order.

The mid-14th century also witnessed the composition of other Sources, which also originated from the disciples of the companions of Saint Francis, who were all dead by then. Among them the most significant are the Actus beati Francisci et sociorum eius [The Acts of Blessed Francis and his companions] by Ugolino di Monte di Santa Maria, or Montegiorgio, a Spiritual friar from the Marche region. These were then reproduced in the Tuscan language by an anonymous friar during the last quarter of the 14th century with the title Fioretti di San Francesco [Little Flowers of Saint Francis] and are among the most widely-known Sources for the life of the Poverello, even in them legendary elements abound. Most importantly was the desire to present Francis as the saint who conformed to Christ in a perfect way. The theme of conformity is best seen in the De cognatione sancti Francisci [The Kinship of Saint Francis] by Arnald of Sarrant, who is also the author of the Chronica XXIV Ministrorum Generalium [Chronicle of the XXIV Ministers General]. At the end of the 14th century we find the voluminous work by Bartolomeo da Pisa, entitled Liber de conformitate beati Francisci ad vitam Domini Iesu [Book of Conformities of Blessed Francis to the life of the Lord Jesus].

Among the Franciscan Sources we should also include many papal documents given to the Order of friars Minor during this period, particularly regarding the interpretation of the Rule of Saint Francis. The first among them is the Bulla “Quo elongati” by Pope Gregory IX (1230).

The Franciscan Sources also include the biographies written during the same period to describe the life of Saint Clare of Assisi and the Poor Ladies of San Damiano. Here we list the most important among these Sources, namely the Privilege of Poverty, the Process of Canonization of Saint Clare, the Legend of Saint Clare, written probably by Tommaso da Celano, the Bulla of Canonization of Saint Clare by Pope Alexander IV and the Rule of the Poor Clares by Pope Urban VI.

We are also privileged to have published the Sources for the Life of Saint Anthony of Padua in Maltese. These include the Legenda Assidua [Life of Saint Anthony], the Rhymed Office of Saint Anthony by Julian of Speyer, the Life of Saint Anthony by Julian of Speyer, the Dialogus de gestis beati Antonii, the Benignitas by John Peckham, the Raymundina by Peter Raymundi, the Rigaldina by Jean Rigaud, the Liber Miraculorum, and other sources including Papal documents.

A group of Maltese Franciscans worked hard on the translation of all the Franciscan Sources in the 1980s and 1990s. They were Marjanu Vella, Ġużepp Beneditt Xuereb and Noel Muscat. The Sources were published by Edizzjoni TAU in four volumes, two volumes for the Sources on the Life of Saint Francis, one for the Sources on the Life of Saint Clare and one for the Sources on the Life of Saint Anthony of Padua. This was a remarkable achievement, which is now available on-line under the name Fonti Franġiskani, thanks to the work of Br. Walter Vassallo. One can consult these Sources just by clicking upon the names of the various documents and authors. One can find not only the Maltese translation of each of the Sources, but also a scholarly introduction to each Source and a detailed critical appartus in the notes.

• ACCROCCA FELICE, Un Santo di Carta. Le Fonti biografiche di San Francesco d’Assisi, Edizioni Biblioteca Francescana, Milano 2013.

• Francis of Assisi. Early Documents, Vol. 1 Francis the Saint; Vol. 2 Francis the Founder; Vol. 3 Francis the Prophet, (eds. J.A. Wayne Hellmann, Regis J. Armstrong, William Short), New City Press, New York 1999 – 2001.

• Fonti Francescane, Editrici Francescane, Padova 2012.

• Fonti għall-Ħajja ta’ San Franġisk t’Assisi, Traduzzjoni Noel Muscat ofm, Marjanu Vella ofm, Joseph Benedict Xuereb ofm, Introduzzjoni u Noti Noel Muscat ofm, Presentazione di Johannes B. Freyer ofm, Rector Magnificus Università Pontificia Antonianum, 2 Volumi, TAU Edition, Franciscan Friars, Malta 2005, pp. 599.

• Fonti għall-Ħajja ta’ Santa Klara t’Assisi, Traduzzjoni Maria Immaculata Bellizzi osc, Noel Muscat ofm, Joseph Benedict Xuereb ofm, Introduzzjoni u Noti Noel Muscat ofm, St. Clare Monastery and TAU Edition, Franciscan Friars, Malta 2006, pp. 460.

• Fonti għall-Ħajja ta’ Sant’Antnin ta’ Padova, Traduzzjoni Noel Muscat ofm u Joseph Benedict Xuereb ofm, Preżentazzjoni Raymond Camilleri ofm, TAU Edition, Franciscan Friars, Malta 2008, pp. 556.