YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE LIBRARY OF THE
DIVINITY SCHOOL

A GUIDE TO
FRANCISCAN STUDIES

HELPS FOR STUDENTS OF HISTORY. No. 23
Edited by C. Johnson, M.A., H. W. V. Temperley, M.A., and
J. P. Whitney, D.D., D.C.L.

A GUIDE TO
FRANCISCAN STUDIES

BY
A. G. LITTLE

LONDON
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING
CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE
NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAW^OWPAisY
1920
Yale Divinity Library
New Haven. Conn.

ixs

Igu

CONTENTS
PAGE
I. Lives of St. Francis - - -7
II. The Early Friars - - -24
III. Official Documents - -27
TV. Chronicles - - - 31
V. Controversial Writings - 87
VI. Missions and Travels ... 48
VII. Sermons and Books of Exempla - - 46
VIII. Learning - 50
IX. Art and Poetry - - 52
X. St. Clare and her Order - - 57
XI. Third Order 60

A GUIDE TO
FRANCISCAN STUDIES
I.— LIVES OF ST. FRANCIS
It is difficult for a modern to enter into the
thoughts and feelings of the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries. Anyone who reads about St. Francis
without having studied the age and country in
which he lived is certain to misunderstand a good
deal of what he reads ; he would undoubtedly gain
much from such reading, and might by degrees
build up round the central object of his study the
knowledge necessary to understand the general
environment; but knowledge so acquired is apt to
be deficient, one-sided, and full of gaps, and it is
safer for a student to start from a general acquaint
ance with the European history of the period before
embarking on any special medieval study.
A student equipped with this general knowledge,
who was attracted by St. Francis (1182-1226),
might begin by reading one of the numerous Lives
7

8 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
which have been published recently — either Saba
tier's famous Vie de S. Francois d'Assise (1st
edition, 1894), which should be read in the original
French, or Father Cuthbert's sympathetic Life of
St. Francis of Assisi (Longmans, 1912), which has
the advantage of being based on later researches.
Gebhart's L'ltalie mystique (Paris, 1890), though
often inaccurate in details, contains very sugges
tive chapters on a phase of thought and feeling
characteristic of the thirteenth century and of the
early Franciscan movement. The present writer
was led to begin a long course of Franciscan study
by reading Brewer's preface to Monumenta Francis-
cana, I. (Rolls Series) — an essay which is more or
less out of date now, but still retains inspiring
qualities. St. Francis was not altogether an exceptional
phenomenon, and previous movements of an ana
logous character may be studied in E. S. Davison's
Some Forerunners of St. Francis of Assisi (Columbia
University, 1907), a thesis capable of expansion.
The starting-point of all recent investigations in
the history of St. Francis is found in Paul Sabatier's
brilliant " E^tude critique des Sources " prefixed to
his Vie de S. Francois d'Assise (Paris, Fischbacher,
1894) and in his subsequent edition of the Speculum
Perfectionis (1898). Of the enormous literature to

LIVES OF ST. FRANCIS 9
which Sabatier's researches have given rise it will
suffice at present to mention three writings: the
present writer's "Sources of the History of St.
Francis " in Engl. Hist. Rev., xvii., 643; Die Quellen
zur Geschichte des hi. Franz von Assisi, by Walter
Goetz (Gotha, 1904), the ablest and most detailed
study of primary sources; and Father Paschal
Robinson's Short Introduction to Franciscan Litera
ture (New York, 1907), which has a wider scope and
has packed an enormous amount of valuable in
formation into a very small space.
The first thing in studying St. Francis is to study
his own writings. Though some works attributed
to St. Francis, such as the Collationes Monastics,
are merely compilations from later sources, there
remain a considerable number which are well
authenticated and which leave no doubt as to his
ruling ideas. Two editions of the genuine (and
some doubtful) works appeared in 1904, one by
H. Boehmer in Analekten zur Geschichte des
Franciscus von Assisi (Tubingen and Leipzig), the
other by the Fathers of Quaracchi, Opuscula
S. P. Francisci (Quaracchi);1 the latter contains
only the Latin writings and excludes the Italian
Canticum Fralris Solis or Laudes Creaturarum.
1 See Sabatier's criticism of these editions in Opuscules de
Critique hislorique, x.

10 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
A translation of The Writings of St. Francis of
Assisi by Father Paschal Robinson was published
at Philadelphia in 1906. The exact process by
which the so-called First Rule acquired its present
form is somewhat obscure, and it is certain that
some points were included in and others excluded
from the final Rule in opposition to the will of St.
Francis. References to St. Francis and his Order written
during his lifetime are rare but of peculiar interest.
The most important, besides a few papal bulls,
are two letters of Jacques de Vitry in 1216 and
1220 and a chapter in his Historia Orientalis:
these are printed in Golubovich, Biblioteca-Bio-
bibliografica delta Terra Santa, i., 2-10, and elsewhere.
The earliest Life of St. Francis (f October 3,
1226) is the First Life of Celano (/. Cel.) written in
1228-1229, by order of Gregory IX. The only
critical edition of the First and Second Lives by
Celano is that of Edouard d' Alencon, which con
tains also the " Miracula "— S. Francisci Assisiensis
Vita et Miracula additis opusculis liturgicis auctore
Fr, Thoma de Celano, Roma;, 1906. It may be
noted that the Harleian MS. (No. 47) of the First
Life, which contains a few variants of some im
portance, has not been adequately collated. The
First and Second Lives of Celano have been trans-

LIVES OF ST. FRANCIS 11
lated by Ferrers Howell (Methuen, 1908). Saba
tier's theory that I. Cel. was a party manifesto
issued by the moderate party in the Order against
a. work — the original of the Speculum Perfectionis —
published by Leo, the companion of the Saint, in
1227 (Pisan calculus, 1228) is untenable: the
authority which led Sabatier to adopt this date
is a copyist's error in a late MS.—" MCCXXVIII "
for " MCCCXVIII " (E.H.B., xvii., 656). Celano
probably had the assistance of the companions
of the Saint, as may be seen by comparing his
account of the origin of the Stigmata with the letter
of Elias announcing the fact of the Stigmata written
after the Saint's death (Lempp, Frbre Elie, 71).
Thomas of Celano was probably chosen as
biographer on account of his literary ability and
learning; he had no close connection with Francis
and lacked the gift of incisive characterization.
His style is coloured and to some extent his pre
sentation of his hero conventionalized by his
knowledge of hagiogr aphical literature .x In a work
intended for edification it was perhaps natural
to slur over the troubles which arose during
Francis' absence in the East (1219-1220) and the
controversies which embittered his last years.
1 See Tamassia, St. Francis of Assisi and his Legend (TJnwin,
1910).

12 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
Most of the leading ideas of St. Francis are faith
fully represented in I. Cel. — e.g., the imitation of
Christ (I., xxx.), the ideal of poverty (I., xiv.,
xv., xix.), the care of lepers (I., vii.), humble sub
mission to priests (I., xv., xvii., etc.), manual
labour (I., xv.). No allusion is made to the prohibi
tion to ask for papal privileges. The influence of
Gregory IX. and of Elias makes itself felt.
Several abridgments of J. Cel. soon appeared,
such as that by Julian of Speyer (re-edited by
Van Ortroy in Anal. Boll., xxi.). Some of these are
noticeable as being written by persons outside the
Order. One was compiled by John of Ceperano,
a papal notary: of this only a liturgical resume
(ed. by E. d'Alencon, Spicilegium Franciscanum,
Rome, 1899) has yet been found. Another, written
about 1244, was by a Dominican, Bartholomew
of Trent (ed. Lemmens, Excerpta Celanensia, Qua
racchi, 1901). Another curious production is the
Life of St. Francis in Latin hexameters dedicated
to Gregory IX. and written by Master Henry of
Avranches, who was later " archipoeta " or poet
laureate of Henry III. of England. Apart from
classical allusions it follows /. Cel. closely, but con
tains some new statements, based perhaps on oral
tradition. The poem was published by Cristofani
from an Assisi MS. (II piu antico poema delta

LIVES OF ST. FRANCIS 13
Vita di S. Francesco, Prato, 1882), but there is
another thirteenth-century MS. of it, giving the
author's name, in the Cambridge University
Library (Dd., xi., 78) which has not been collated;
this MS. seems to have belonged to St. Albans.
As a study in the growth of legends it might be
worth while to put together and analyze the ac
counts of St. Francis which occur in early chronicles,
such as those of Roger of Wendover and Matthew
Paris. In 1244 the General Minister Crescentius and the
General Chapter appealed for further facts to
supplement the existing Life, which was considered
incomplete and deficient, especially in signs and
wonders. The deposition and apostasy of Elias
may also have rendered a revision of the official
Life desirable. The text of the decree or appeal
is not extant ; its contents have to be surmised from
the following passages: II. Cel., prol.; //. Cel.,
ii., cap. 167; Leg. 3Soc. (dedicatory letter); Salim
bene (ed. Holder-Egger), p. 176; Chron. XXIV.
Gen. (Analecta Franciscana, iii.), p. 262.
The following works come under review as a
result of this decree : the Legenda Trium Sociorum,
Celano's Second Life and Tractatus de Miraculis,
the Speculum Perfectionis, and the Dialogus de
Vitis sanctorum fratrum minorum.

14 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
The Dialogus was written about 1245 by ani
unnamed friar at the command of Crescentius,
Long unknown, it was first edited by Lemmens in!
1902 (Rome). It contains nothing of interest about
St. Francis and is almost entirely occupied with
stories of miracles performed after death by St,
Anthony of Padua and some eighteen less known
friars. The Legenda Trium Sociorum (of which the most
handy edition is that by Faloci-Pulignani, Foligno,
1898)1 consists of a dedicatory letter from Leo,
Angelus, and Rufinus to Crescentius, dated August
11, 1246, and nineteen chapters. The letter
promises a collection of notes on the Saint's life
derived from personal knowledge and not arranged
in chronological order; the legend consists of a
chronological history of the earlier life of the Saint
derived largely from /. Cel. Sabatier's explanation
of the contradiction is that the existing legend is a
fragment ; Van Ortroy and Goetz have subjected the
text to a searching criticism, and maintain that
it was not written by the Three Companions, but
compiled towards the end of the thirteenth cen
tury; the dedicatory letter is of doubtful authenti
city. The question is not yet finally decided.
1 Translation by Miss Salter, Temple Classics, 1902. A crit
ical edition has been prepared by Sabatier but not yet printed.

LIVES OF ST. FRANCIS 15
It must be decided, not by general considerations of
the primitive flavour of the book and the historical
insight of the author or authors, but by detailed
textual criticism. What is the true relation be
tween the Leg. 3 Soc. and the corresponding pas
sages in II. Cel., Bonaventura, Bernard of Bessa,
and the Anonymus Perusinus ? What is the nature
of those parts which are independent of any known
authority ? The discovery of the supposed original
common to the Anon. Perus. and certain chapters
of the Leg. 3 Soc. would throw some light, but the
problem could probably be definitely solved from
the existing materials by an acute and unprejudiced
critic. The following works should be consulted :
Van Ortroy, " La Legende de S. Fr. d'Assise dite
Leg. Trium Soc," Anal. Bollandiana, xix., 119-
197; Sabatier, "De Fauthenticite de la Legende de
S. Fr. dite des trois compagnons," Rev. Historique,
Ixxv.; Goetz, Quellen, 91-147. The Anon. Perus.
is edited by Van Ortroy in Miscell. Francescana, ix.,
33-48. The " complete " Leg. 3 Soc. edited by
Marcellino da Civezza and Teofilo Domenichelli
(Rome, 1899) from an Italian MS. with the corre
sponding Latin texts represents an early attempt
to reconcile the contradiction between the dedica
tory letter and the traditional text and to recon
struct the original Legend by adding to the nine
teen chapters of the traditional Legend a number

16 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
of chapters from the Speculum Perfectionis and
some other sources.
The Second Life of Celano (II. Cel.) is in the
main a revised version by Celano of the information
sent in to Crescentius by the companions of the
Saint. The prologue addressed to the General
Minister states: "It was the pleasure of . . . the
late Chapter-General, and of you, most reverend
father ... to enjoin on our insignificance ... to
write of the deeds and also of the words of our
glorious father Francis, since through long experi
ence they were better known to us than to the rest
by reason of our constant companionship with
him and the mutual intimacy between us." The
last chapter is a " prayer of the Saint's Companions
to him." " We beseech thee also, O kindest
father . . . for this thy son who now and before
has devoutly written thy praises. He, together
with us, offers and dedicates to thee this httle
work which he has put together." It is owing to
the collaboration of the Companions that the
Second Life of Celano supplies materials for a more
living picture of St. Francis in his later years
than the First Life, in spite of its later date and
the inevitable growth of the legendary element.
Is it possible to get behind Celano to the original
contributions of the Companions ?
II. Cel. is divided into two unequal parts. The •

LIVES OF ST. FRANCIS 17
first deals largely with the earlier life of the Saint,
supplementing the First Life, and is related to the
traditional Legenda Trium Sociorum. The second
and longest part consists of narratives illustrating
different qualities or ideals of the Saint — e.g.,
poverty, humility, obedience, charity, etc. — and
his last illness and death.
The Second Part, II. Cel., ii., contains 167
chapters: 77 of these appear in a more or less
different form in 75 of the 124 chapters of the
Speculum Perfectionis* (ed. Sabatier, 1898). Is the
Speculum Perfectionis the original material (or
part of it) supplied by the companions, Leo, Angelo,
and Rufino, to Crescentius ? The frequent re
currence in the Speculum Perfectionis of such
phrases as " Nos qui cum ipso fuimus " and " Nobis
sociis ejus " shows that we are dealing with a work
purporting to emanate from the companions of St.
Francis: the context in which these phrases are
used generally gives no ground for suspicion, and the
freshness of the narratives confirms the impression
of first-hand evidence.
The existence of certain writings by Brother Leo
is well authenticated at the end of the thirteenth
century by trustworthy witnesses (see Sabatier,
Speculum Perfectionis, Introduction). The most
1 Translated by Evans (Nutt), Okey (Dent), etc. 2

18 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
important of these is Ubertino de Casale, who in
his controversy with the Community of the Order
makes several quotations from these writings.
All these are found in the Speculum Perfectionis.
In 1305 Ubertino mentions certain rolls of Brother
Leo, written with his own hand, which he deposited
for safe custody in the Monastery of St. Clare,
and adds: " Cum multo dolore audivi illos rotulos
fuisse distractos et forsitan perditos, maxime
quosdam ex eis." In 1311 he mentions writings
of Leo on the intention of St. Francis " in libro
qui habetur in armario fratrum de Assisio et in
rotulis ejus quos apud me habeo, manu ejusdem
fratris Leonis conscriptis." Either, therefore, the
rumour about the dispersion of the documents in
1305 was untrue or some at any rate had been re
covered in 1311. The Spiritual friars were eager
at this time to preserve whatever they could collect
of the writings of the Companions of the Saint,
and one such collection with the title Speculum
Perfectionis was made at the Portiuncula in 1318,
beginning, " Istud opus compilatum est per modum
legendse ex quibusdam antiquis quae in diversis
locis scripserunt et scribi fecerunt socii beati
Francisci." A copy of this collection was edited
by Sabatier with the sub-title Legenda Antiquissima
auctore fratre Leone. A similar but smaller com-

LIVES OF ST. FRANCIS 19
pilation from the same materials was made or
copied by a friar at Avignon a few years later.
A number of MSS. of each of these types exists;
they are described in Sabatier's Speculum Perfec
tionis, Tract, de Indulgentia, and Opuscules de
critique historique. Yet another grouping of part
of the same materials is found in a MS. at St.
Isidore's, Rome, under the titles of Speculum
Perfectionis, Intentio Regulce, and Verba quae
scripsit frater Leo, edited by Lemmens, Documenta
Antiqua Franciscana, I. and II. (Quaracchi, 1901).
An examination of the chapters containing narra
tives common to the Speculum Perfectionis and
II. Cel., ii. will prove that in some cases the
Speculum Perfectionis preserves the reading of the
original from which IX Cel., ii. is derived (allow
ing for the inevitable deterioration which results
from MSS. being transcribed by successive copyists,
especially when the copyists are not merely trained
scribes but persons interested in the matter they
are transcribing); in other cases the Speculum
Perfectionis copies from II. Cel., ii.; in other cases
the priority is doubtful.
To take one instance: II. Cel., ii., 22, tells how
St. Francis one night in his last illness wished for
some parsley, and of the difficulty he had in per
suading the cook to go and look for it in the dark.

20 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
When the parsley was eventually found, Francis
said: "My brethren, obey orders at once, and do
not wait for them to be repeated; and do not allege
that anything is impossible, for even were I to bid
you to do anything beyond your strength, obedi
ence would not be wanting in strength." This
chapter is represented in the Speculum Perfec
tionis (Sabatier, cap. 47) merely by an almost
verbal reproduction of the words which Celano
puts into St. Francis' mouth, divorced from their
context. The " complete " Leg. 3 Soc. of Mar
cellino and Teofilo (cap. 26) repeats the Spec. Perf.
It is evident that the original was not among the
materials collected at the Portiuncula in 1318.
It was, however, not lost and has recently been dis
covered in a Phillipps MS. described in Collectanea
Franciscana, i. (Brit. Soc. Fr. Studies) and in
Opuscules de Critique Hist., xviii. The story of
the parsley is there given (§ 187) in simpler language
than Celano's and far more vividly, and St. Francis'
words are: "My brethren, you should not make
me say a thing so often " (Fratres mei, non debetis
me facere dicere rem totiens). In Lemmens'
Spec. Perf. (cap. 84) the story is represented by the
words (apart from their context): " Dicebat b.
Franciscus ad socios, quando sibi statim non
obediebant: Fratres mei, non debetis mihi rem

LIVES OF ST. FRANCIS 21
facere": this confirms the conclusion formed on
other grounds that the Spec. Perf. of Lemmens
is a series of extracts based on an earlier text than
that of Sabatier's Spec. Perf.
The MS. which contains the story of the parsley
also contains the originals of eleven more chapters
of II. Cel., ii., which are not in the Spec. Perf.
Probably further discoveries of this kind may be
made. The chapters of the Spec. Perf. which are not
found in II. Cel. seem to fall into three classes:
some are later than 1246-1247; the most obvious
is that marked by Sabatier " Interpolation " (p. 140),
though it occurs in all the MSS. Others may
either be earlier than 1246-1247 or more likely
may have been rejected by Celano as likely to
foment the quarrels in the Order. This applies
especially to the groups of chapters corresponding
to Intentio Regulce and Verba qua; scripsit frater
Leo, edited by Lemmens (Doc. Antiqua Fr., i.).
The Second Life of Celano contained too few
miracles to give satisfaction, and at the reiterated
command of John of Parma, General Minister
1247-1257, Thomas of Celano supplied the defect
by his Tractatus de Miraculis. This was edited —
first by Van Ortroy, Anal. Bolland., xviii., and
then by E. d' Alencon (op. cit.). Neither edition

22 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
gives a complete account of the sources of the work
nor of its relation to other documents . The treatise
has historical value: e.g., it authenticates the visit
of Jacqueline de Settesoli to St. Francis on his
deathbed narrated in the Spec. Perf., cap. 112.
Some of the miracles appear in a more primitive
form in the Phillipps MS. above mentioned.
The official Life of St. Francis now consisted of
three separate works, I. Cel., II. Cel., and Miracula.
A revision was needed. But there was a stronger
reason for revision than this inconvenience. The
Order had moved far from the simplicity of
the early years; it had, e.g., become a " student
Order"; and the official Life, even with Celano's
omissions and modifications, preserved too much
of the primitive spirit and gave too much support
to the contentions of the zealous upholders of the
Rule to suit the new times. Bonaventura, at the
request of the General Chapter of 1260, wrote
what was meant to be the definitive Legend of St.
Francis. It was compiled mainly with a view to
pacifying the discords in the Order. It adds little
that is new, and its chief historical value lies in its
omissions and in its subsequent influence. It
formed, for instance, the basis of Giotto's frescoes
in the Upper Church at Assisi. The best edition
is that by the Fathers of Quaracchi in Vol. VIII. of

LIVES OF ST. FRANCIS 23
Bonaventura's Opera Omnia, reprinted separately
at Quaracchi, 1898.
In 1266 the General Chapter ordered the destruc
tion of all earlier legends of St. Francis. This
decree accounts for the paucity of the MSS. of
II. Cel. and the difficulty of recovering the writings
of Leo and other companions of the Saint.
The Liber de Laudibus S. Francisci, by Bernard
of Bessa, Bonaventura's secretary (printed in
Anal. Franc, iii.), contains a statement on the earlier
biographies and a few notes of some value on the
history of the Order, but can hardly itself be classed
among the Lives of St. Francis, the series of which
ends with Bonaventura.
To these historical writings should be added
the exquisite allegory known as the Sacrum Com-
mercium B. Francisci cum Domina Paupertate,
ed. E. d' Alencon (Rome, Kleinbub, 1900); Italian
translation by Minocchi, Le Mistiche Nozze di
S. Francesco e Madonna Povertd (Florence, 1901);
English translations by Montgomery Carmichael,
The Lady Poverty (Murray, 1902), and by Rawnsley,
The Converse of Francis and his sons with Holy
Poverty (Temple Classics, 1904). This is variously
ascribed to John Parenti, first General Minister
after St. Francis, or to John of Parma, General
Minister 1247-1257, who survived till 1289.

II.— THE EARLY FRIARS
The earliest legend of St. Anthony of Padua was
probably written in or soon after 1232, but hke
the later legends it contains few facts and gives a
very faint impression of St. Anthony as a man.
A full account of the sources is printed in Leon de
Kerval's S. Antonii de Padua vitas duos (Paris,
Fischbacher, 1904). Of a different and much more
human type are the Lives of Bernard, Juniper,
Giles, and others, inserted in the fourteenth-century
compilation, Chronica XXIV. Generalium. The
Life of Giles is extant in two versions — a longer
one in the Chron. XXIV. Gen., and a shorter one
edited by Lemmens (Doc. Ant. Franc., i.) and by
W. W. Seton (with a translation) in Brit. Soc. of
Franciscan Studies, vol. viii. In several MSS.
the shorter Life is attributed to Brother Leo, and
both the editors maintain that it is nearer to the
original than the longer Life. Their arguments
are not wholly convincing. It may be said generally
that, where two versions exist, there is no a priori
reason for claiming priority for the shorter ver-
24

THE EARLY FRIARS 25
sion: medieval compilers proceed just as much
by way of abridgment as by way of expansion,
and even sometimes omit miraculous stories for
the sake of brevity. Thus even the well-founded
principle of hagiographical criticism, which Saba
tier uses with such effect, "that the r6le of the
miraculous in a document is in inverse ratio to the
age of that document," has to be applied with
discretion. The Life of Giles should be read in
connection with his Dicta or Verba Aurea (ed.
Quaracchi, 1905, translated with full introduction
and bibliography by Fr. Paschal Robinson, The
Golden Sayings of the Blessed Brother Giles of Assisi,
Philadelphia, 1907). Most of the Golden Sayings
reappear in the Fioretti.
The Leonine or " Spiritual " tradition is carried
on in the Fioretti and their Latin original, Actus B.
Francisci et Sociorum ejus; a provisional edition
of the latter was issued by Sabatier in 1902, and
he has a critical edition ready for press. The
Latin originals of a few chapters of the Fioretti
hitherto missing in the Actus have been discovered
and printed in Collectanea Franc. I. (Brit. Soc.
Fr. Studies, v.) and Opuscules de critique hist.,
xviii. It is difficult to appraise the precise his
torical value of the Actus, which appeared in
their present form about 1322-1328. Of the

26 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
Fioretti there is no edition answering the require
ments of modern historical criticism: a handy
edition is that by Passerini (Florence: Sansoni,
n.d.). There are several English translations —
e.g., by Arnold (Temple Classics), Okey (Everyman's
Library), etc.

III.— OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS
(a) Among the records of the Order itself the
most important are the General and Provincial
Constitutions and the acts of the General and Pro
vincial Chapters. The earliest General Constitu
tions were issued in the Chapter of 1239; these
have not been found, but are contained in a revised
and supplemented form in those of 1260. For the
next hundred years there is a fairly complete
series, but as they are not collected together it
will be useful to give references.
General Constitutions, 1260 (Narbonne), printed
in A.L.K.G., vi., 87-138.
General Constitutions, 1292 (Paris), alterations
noted ibid.
General Constitutions, 1316 (Assisi), printed in
A.F.H., iv., 269-302, 508-526.
General Constitutions, 1325 (Lyons), printed in
A.F.H., iv., 526-536.
General Constitutions, 1331 (Perpignan), printed
in A.F.H., ii., 269-292, 412-430, 575-599.
Papal Constitutions, 1336 (Benedict XII.), Bull.
Franc., vi., 25-42. 27

Jih

28 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
General Constitutions, 1340 (Assisi), A.F.H.,
vi., 251-266.
General Constitutions, 1346 (Venice), A.F.H., v.,
698-708. General Constitutions, 1354 (Assisi), Bull. Franc,
vi., 639-655.
Papal Constitutions, 1430 (Martin V.), Wadding,
Ann. Min., x.
The Observant General Constitutions of 1451
(Barcelona) are printed in Monumenta Ord.
Minorum, 1506, and in Monumenta Franciscana
(R.S.), ii., 81.
Some acts of General Chapters between 1260 and
1310 are collected in A.L.K.G., vi., 33-71, E.H.R.,
xiii., 703-708, A.F.H., iii., 491-504, iv., 62-73, v.,
708-709, vii., 676-682.
Provincial Constitutions and statutes of Pro
vincial Chapters are rare; the following have been
edited in A.F.H. : France, thirteenth century —
vii., 447-453 (re-edited from E.H.R., xvii., 512-
518); 1337— vii., 481-501; Aquitaine, thirteenth
century — vii., 466-481; Province of St. Anthony
or March of Treviso, thirteenth century — vii.,
453-465 (re-edited from E.H.R., xviii., 483-496);
St. Angeli in Apulia (Observant), 1448, and Tus
cany (Observant), 1456, 1507, 1518, 1523— viii.,
92-105, 146-225: Cologne, Chapter at Fulda, 1315

OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS 29
— i., 88-93; Observant Statutes, 1474, 1524— vii.,
710-738; Saxony, 1467 and 1494— iii., 98-114,
280-293. Among official documents may be classed the
lists of provinces, custodies, and houses (edited by
Golubovich, Biblioteca Bio-Bibl. delta Terra Santa,
ii., 214-260); letters of Ministers to the Order or its
members — such as that of Elias on the Stigmata
(see above), several of Bonaventura (Opera Omnia,
viii., 468-474), and that of Jerome of Ascoli in
1275 (A.F.H., i., 85); letters of confraternity: the
earliest of the latter appear to be those issued by
John of Parma in 1254 (A.F.H., iii., 494); and letters
patent, such as that issued by John of Parma at
the Chapter of Metz in 1254 (A.F.H., iv., 428),
Every house kept an obituary; some of these sur
vive, generally in late and sometimes fragmentary
form (e.g., the Aberdeen Necrology, Mon. Franc,
ii., 123; cf. Anal. Franc, vi., which contains a
number of necrologies).1 The better endowed
houses probably had cartularies; part of the
Register of the Grey Friars of London, which
had no property except its site, was a semi-official
cartulary (ed. Kingsford, Brit. Soc. Fr. Studies, vi.).
1 The list of burials in the Register of the Grey Friars of
London (ed. Kingsford, Brit. Soc. Fr. Studies, vi., and Shepherd
in Archceol. Journal, lix., pp. 238-287) deserves special mention
for its genealogical and historical value.

30 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
None of these various classes of documents, except
the lists of provinces, have been systematically
collected or catalogued.
(b) The largest and most valuable series of
official documents are the papal letters issued in
connection with the Order and its members; these
have been collected down to 1431 in the eight
folio volumes and supplements of the Bullarium
Franciscanum (ed. Sbaralea and Eubel, 1759-
1908); after 1431 the papal letters may be con
sulted in the later volumes of Wadding's Annates
Minorum ; cf. also for England the volumes of
Calendars of Papal Letters. Bulls which escaped
the editors of the Bull. Franc are continually being
found and will necessitate a fresh supplement;
some are printed in various vols, of A.F.H. ; a
series relating to the Clares of Toulouse is printed
in La France Franciscaine, iii. (1914).
Allusion may also be made to episcopal registers,
especially those of Franciscan bishops, such as
the Journal des visites pastorales d'Eude Rigaud,
archevesq. de Rouen (ed. Bonnin, Rouen, 1847),
and Regist. Epist. Jo. Peckham (ed. Martin [R.S.]);
and a reference to any modern history of a Fran
ciscan province or house will show how much
Franciscan history is based on pubhc records,
both central and local.

IV.— CHRONICLES
Franciscan history is complicated by the diver
gent tendencies in the Order, and by the divisions
and schisms to which these tendencies gave rise.
A short summary of the principal periods may
make things clearer.
(1) C. 1226-c. 1330. The " spiritual friars," or
" Zelanti," who maintained the Divine inspiration
of the Rule and adhered to " the intention of St.
Francis," were in conflict with the " community "
of the Order, who obtained papal interpretations
and relaxations of the Rule. Eventually those of
the spiritual friars who were not crushed out or
reabsorbed into the Order separated themselves
from their Order and the visible Church, and were
persecuted as heretics under the name of " Frati
celli." (2) C. 1330-1415. Individual friars and con
vents, while not asserting the Divine inspiration of
the Rule, aimed at a stricter observance of the
vow of poverty and a stricter discipline than the
body of the Order, now beginning to be known as
31

32 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
" Conventuals," were willing to accept. The re
formers were known as " Observant Friars," or
" Friars of the Strict Observance." During this
period they formed small groups of convents and
struggled for existence.
(3) 1415-1517. The Council of Constance con
ceded to the Observants a certain measure of in
dependence and a separate organization, under a
Vicar-General, and general and provincial chapters,
subject to a more or less nominal supremacy of the
Minister-General. (4) 1517. Leo X., after a vain attempt at
union, recognized the complete and definitive
separation of Observants and Conventuals into
two distinct Orders.
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries many
groups of convents adopted reforms and acquired
a temporary and partial independence, but were
compelled from time to time (e.g., in 1506, 1517,
1897) to join one or other of the main Orders. Only
the " Capuchins," who appealed especially to the
poorest classes, succeeded in turning the recogni
tion, which they won in 1528, into complete inde
pendence in 1 61 9. But the history of the Capuchin
Order falls outside the limits of this book.
General histories of the Order seem to have grown
out of lists of General Ministers. The earliest

CHRONICLES 33
example of the kind was contained in the Chronicle
of Peregrinus of Bologna (c. 1304), which only
exists in an abridged form (Eccleston, ed. Little,
App. II.). From about the same time dates the short
Chron. XIV. vel XV. Generalium (Anal. Franc, iii.,
693-707). This was followed by the Chron. XXIV.
Generalium (ibid., 1-575), compiled by Arnold
of Sarano, Provincial Minister of Aquitaine, and
finished in 1379, but containing many early docu
ments, more or less remodelled. The historical
parts of Bartholomew of Pisa's curious De conformi-
tate vitoe B.P. Francisci ad vitam D. N. Jesu Christi,
approved by the General Chapter in 1399, contain
a great deal of material now rendered accessible
by the Quaracchi edition (Anal. Franc, iv. and v.).
Later General Chronicles are those of Fr. Bernardino
of Aquila, Chronica fralrum minorum Observantios
(ed. Lemmens, Rome, 1902), relating chiefly to
Italy, ending incomplete in 1468 and written about
1480; the Observant Friar, Nicholas Glassberger1
(c. 1508) (Anal. Franc, ii.), which deals largely
with Germany and Bohemia; Marianus of Florence
(before 1527) (printed in A.F.H.); and the great
Annates Minorum of Wadding and his continuators
1 Seton has identified the lost Chronica Major of Glassberger "
in a MS. collection at Briinn in Austria; Brit. Soe. Fr. Studies, vii.,
p. 35 seq.

34 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
(1st edition, 8 vols., Lyons, 1625-1654; new edition
and continuation, 19 vols., Rome, 1731-1745).
Chronicles dealing especially with a single pro
vince or group of provinces arose earlier. Ger
many is perhaps the most fortunate, with the
charming chronicle of Jordan of Giano, written
about 1262 (ed. Boehmer; Paris: Fischbacher,
1908); the Chron. Provincial Argentinensis, i.e.,
Strasbourg, 1206-1325 (A.F.H., iv., 671-687);
and the Chronica Anonyma (Anal. Franc, i., 279-
300). England has for the thirteenth century the
Chronicle of Thomas of Eccleston (ed. Little; Paris:
Fischbacher, 1909), to which should be added the
valuable letters of Adam Marsh (Monumenta
Franciscana, i.). Salimbene's Chronicle is rather
of the nature of memoirs, but throws much light
on Franciscan history, especially in Italy and
France, in the thirteenth century (ed. Holder-
Egger, Mon. Germanize, Script., xxxii., 1905-1908).
Johannes de Komorowo at the beginning of the
sixteenth century wrote Tractatus cronice fratrum
Minorum (Archiv f. oest. Gesch., xlix., 1872) and
Memoriale ord. fratrum minorum (Mon. Polon.
Hist., v., 1888), dealing chiefly with the Observant
Friars in Poland.
A good many chronicles and annals of a more
general type written by Friars Minor naturally

CHRONICLES 35
contain much information on Franciscan history.
Among these may be noted the Chronicle of Albert
of Stade to 1256 (Mon. Germ. Script., xvi.); the
Lanercost Chronicle (ed. J. Stevenson, 1839),
written in part by Friar Richard of Durham (cf.
E.H.R., xxxi., 269); the chronicle of the Minorite
of Erfurt towards the end of the thirteenth century
(Mon. Germ. Script., xxiv., 172); the Annates
Gandanses, written between 1308 and 1337 (ed.
Lappenberg, Mon. Germ. Script., xvi., 555-597;
and Funck-Brentano, Collection de Textes pour
servir a V etude . . . de Vhistoire, fasc. xviii., 1896);
the Historia Satyrica of Paulinus of Venice,
Bishop of Pozzuoli, of which extracts are printed
in Muratori, Antiq. Ital., iv., 951 seq. under the
title of Jordanus;1 Clyn's Annates Hibern. (Irish
Archxzol. Soc, 1849); John of Winterthur's
Chronicle to 1348 (ed. Wyss in Archiv f. Schweiz.
Gesch., xi., 1856); and others.
A list of recent histories of the Order and of
provinces may be useful. Holzapfel's Handbuch
d. Gesch. d. Franziskanerordens (Freiburg-i-B.,
1909), written by command of the General Minister,
provides an excellent general sketch. Histories
of Provinces strictly so called are: Eubel, Gesch.
l See Golubovich, ii., 74-102. Thera is no complete edition
either of the Satyrica or the Chronologia Magna of Paulinus.

36 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
d. oberdeutschen (Strassburger) Minoriten-Provinz
(Wiirzburg, 1886), and Gesch. d. Kblnischen Minori-
ten-Ordensprovinz (Koln, 1906); Schlager, Beitrage
z. Gesch. d. Kblnischen Franziskaner-Ordensprovinz
im Mittelalter (Koln, 1904); Othon de Pavie,
L' Aquitaine Seraphique (Auch, 1900); etc. Minges,
Gesch. d. Franziskaner in Bayern (Munich, 1906),
and Moir Bryce, The Scottish Grey Friars (Edin
burgh, 1909) deal with geographical areas which
are not, strictly speaking, provinces. The British
Society of Franciscan Studies is about to issue a
volume of " materials for the history of the Fran
ciscan province of Ireland, 1230-1450."

V.— CONTROVERSIAL WRITINGS
Two1 classes of controversial writings bearing on
the history of the Order are to be distinguished:
according as they are concerned — (a) with the con
troversies between the Mendicant Orders and the
secular clergy; (b) with controversies within the
Franciscan Order about the interpretation of the
Rule and the observance of poverty.2 Both were
complicated by the adhesion of a powerful section
of the Franciscans to the doctrines of Joachim of
Flora and the inferences drawn from them.3
1 A third class of controversies may be mentioned — those
concerning disputes between the Mendicant Orders, especially
the Dominicans and Franciscans; see, e.g., the" controversy at
Oxford, 1269, printed in Grey Friars in Oxford (Oxf. Hist. Soc),
pp. 320-335, and Pecham's treatise against Kilwardby, ed. Tocco,
in Br. Soc. Fr. Studies, ii., 91-147. (Kilwardby's treatise has
not been discovered.) Cf. also Bonaventura, " De Sandaliis
Apostolorum," Op. Om., viii., 386. The disputes between the
two Orders were largely philosophical and theological— e.g.,
about the Immaculate Conception.
2 Cf. Balthasar, Geschichte d. Armutsslr cites im Franziskaner-
orden b. z. Konzil v. Vienne (Miinster-i.-W., 1911).
3 See Gebhart, Italie mystique (Paris, 1890),; Fournier, Etudes
sur Joachim de Flore et ses doctrines (Paris, 1909); Tocco, L'Eresia
nel medio evo (Florence, 1884); Denifle, A.L.K.G., i., 90-142;
Gardner, " Jochim of Flora," in Franciscan Essays (Brit. Soc.
Fr. Studies, 1912). 37

38 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
(a) The chief protagonists of the secular clergy
were William of St. Amour (c. 1254), Richard
Fitzralph, Archbishop of Armagh (c. 1357); and, to
a certain extent, Wiclif.
The principal Franciscan writings against William
of St. Amour and his followers were Bonaventura's
" Qusestio disputata de paupertate " (Op. omnia,
ed. Quaracchi, vol. v.), and " Apologia Pauperum "
and " Quare fratres minores prsedicent," etc.
(ib., vol. viii.); Pecham's Tractatus Pauperis (Br.
Soc. Fr. Studies, ii.); and an anonymous treatise
beginning " Manus quae contra omnipotentem "
which has not yet been published. The chief
opponent of Fitzralph was Roger Conway; the
opponents of Wiclif were William Woodford and
John Tyssington; on these and their works see
Grey Friars in Oxford (Oxf. Hist. Soc).
(b) The interpretation of the Rule and the de
mand for modifications in it produced a series of
papal declarations by Gregory IX., Innocent IV.,
Nicholas III., Clement V., John XXII., Martin V.,
and a number of commentaries by Minorites repre
senting conflicting views. The earliest of the latter
is that by the Four Masters about 1242, which
supports in the main the strict observance; the
only edition of this work so far is in Firmamenta
trium Ordinum (Venice, 1513), pt. iv. Hugo de

CONTROVERSIAL WRITINGS 39
Digne,. in his " Expositio Regulae " printed in the
same work, adopts a similar standpoint. Bona
ventura in his " Expositio Regulae " and " de
tribus quaestionibus " (Op. Om., viii.) and Pecham
in his " Expositio Regulae " in Tractatus Pauperis
represent a less rigorous attitude, and still more is
this the case with David of Augsburg (Firm.
Trium Ord.). The Expositio Regula; of Angelo of
Clareno, written about 1322 (ed. Livarius Oliger;
Quaracchi, 1912), is valuable, not only as giving
the views of the Spiritual Friars, but as containing
extracts from the writings of Brother Leo and
other early sources.
After the moderating influence of Bonaventura
was removed (1274) the cleavage in the Order be
came more accentuated, and the quarrel between
the Community and the Spiritual Friars or Zelanti
more acrid. Under the influence of their intel
lectual leader, the Joachite, Peter John Olivi, and
under the pressure of persecution, the Zelanti
became more isolated from the Community and
divorced from the fruitful activities which it com
bined with a laxer interpretation of the Rule and
a less rigid observance of poverty; they tended to
withdraw to hermitages, and to become to some
extent a sect of contemplative fanatics. (On Olivi's
life and writings see Ehrle in A.L.K.G., iii., 409 seq. ;
cf. A.F.H., i., 617.)

40 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
The attitude of the Spiritual Friars at the be
ginning of the fourteenth century is illustrated by
theArbor Vita; Crucifixa; Jesu of Ubertino of Casale
(Venice, 1486), written in 1305. It is a confused
and confusing book — mystic, dogmatic, ascetic:
Joachite influence is strong throughout. It contains
some passages of beauty and poetic power, but
shows a narrow and embittered spirit, abounding
in invectives against the " carnal Church " and its
rulers and against the degenerate Community
of Franciscans. Of greater historical value are the
letters of Angelo of Clareno (A.L.K.G., i., 515-569)
and his Chronica Septem Tribulationum, written
about 1330. A complete edition of the latter is
being prepared by the Fathers of Quaracchi:
hitherto only fragments have been published —
by Ehrle in A.L.K.G., ii., 125-155, 256-327; by
Dollinger in Beitrdge z. Sektengeschichte des Mittel-
alters, ii. (Munich, 1890); and by Tocco, Le due
prime Tribolazioni dell' Ordine Francescano (Rome,
1908). It is a controversial history from the
Spiritual standpoint and might be included under
the heading " Chronicles." It preserves important
matter and primitive traditions. Though the work
is " tendencious," the quotations from early
authorities do not appear to be garbled or invented.
In their heroic devotion to the ideal of evangelical

CONTROVERSIAL WRITINGS 41
poverty and the Spiritual Church of the future,
Angelo and his followers were driven to refuse
obedience to their superiors and to the carnal
Church of the present. The story of the
" Fraticelli " and their persecution may be studied
in Ehrle's articles in A.L.K.G. ; Tocco, Studii
Francescani, i.; and Livarius Oliger, " Documenta
Inedita ad Historiam Fraticellorum," A.F.H.,
iii.-vi. Finke's Acta Aragonensia, 1291-1327
(Berlin and Leipzig, 1908), is also important in
connection with the Spiritual Friars. The Chroni-
con de Gestis contra Fratricellos auctore Joanne
Minorita (Baluze, Miscell., iii., 206-358) is a col
lection of documents relating to the quarrels
between the friars and John XXII.
Meanwhile another crisis in the controversy
on poverty followed from two bulls of John XXII.
in 1322 and 1323. The first, Ad conditorem, with
drew from the Minorites the privilege of holding
property in the name of the Roman Church; the
second, Cum inter nonnullos, pronounced it heresy
to maintain that Christ and His Apostles had no
property individually or in common. It was now
the turn of the Community of the Order to rebel
against ecclesiastical authority. The majority in
course of time submitted, but among the rebels
were the General Minister Michael of Cesena and

42 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
William of Ockham. Ockham's political writings
took their origin from the controversy on poverty.
The account of him and his works in Grey Friars in
Oxford should be corrected and supplemented by
reference to Hofer's " Biographische Studien iiber
W. von Ockham" (A.F.H., vi., 209-233, 439-
465, 654-669); Knotte, Untersuchungen z. Chrono
logic v. Schriften d. Minoriten am Hofe Kaiser
Ludwigs des Bayern (Bonn, 1903); Scholz, TJribe-
kannte Kirchenpolitische Streitschriften aus d. Zeit
Ludwigs d. Bayern (1911, 1914); Livarius Oliger,
"De Dialogo contra Fraticellos" (A.F.H., iv.,
1-23).

VI.— MISSIONS AND TRAVELS
The Rule of 1223 devotes a special chapter to
"those who go among the Saracens and other
infidels," and Francis and many of the early friars
went to the East inspired both by the hope of
martyrdom and of making converts. The story
of the first martyrs of the Order, at Morocco, had
a profound influence: one of the accounts of it,
which seems to have been specially popular in
England (see Eccleston, pp. xi., xiv.), is printed
in K. Muller's Anfange d. Minoriten Ordens, 207,
another in Anal. Franc, iii., 579. The history of
the Missions is given in Marcellino da Civezza's
Storia Universale delle Missioni Francescane (Rome,
1857; 5 vols.), and in Golubovich's Biblioteca Bio-
Bibliograftca delta Terra Santa e dell' Oriente
Francescano (vols. i. and ii.; Quaracchi, 1906, 1913).
This last is a chronological collection of references,
notes and extracts from sources (many printed for
the first time) relating to the missionary activities
of the Order; vol. i. deals with the thirteenth cen
tury, vol. ii. with the first half of the fourteenth
and additional matter on the thirteenth. The
48

44 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
work is to be continued and is invaluable; it is a
collection of materials for a history, not a history,
and the proper use of it requires some patience.
Two incidental outcomes of the missionary work
of the friars may be mentioned: the first is the
impulse given by it to the study of Oriental lan
guages, with which the names of Roger Bacon and
Raymund Lull are specially connected. Refer
ences will be found in Golubovich; for Roger Bacon
see also Roger Bacon Commemoration Essays (ed.
Little; Oxford, 1914). The second is the impulse
given to the study of geography and the history
and customs of Eastern countries. Among the
itineraries written by Franciscan travellers may be
mentioned :
John de Piano Carpinis, Liber de factis Tartar-
orum (or Mongolorum), ed. Hakluyt, i., 21-37
(London, 1598); and ed. D'Avezac, Recueil de
Voyages . . . publie par la Soc. de Geographic, iv.
(Paris, 1839). Cf. Golubovich, i., § 55.
William of Rubruk: "Itinerarium anno 1253 ad
partes Orientales " (Recueil de Voyages, iv.).
John of Montecorvino, Archbishop of Pekin,
Letters from the East, references in Golubovich, § 88.
Simon Simeonis, Itinerarium in Terram Sanctam
(ed. Nasmith, 1778); cf. Esposito in Geogr. Journal,
vols. 50, 51.

MISSIONS AND TRAVELS 45
Odoric de Pordenone, Descriptio de partibus
infidelium (ed. Marcellino de Civezza, Storia
Universale, iii., 741; Cordier, Les Voyages du Frere
Odoric de Pordenone, Recueil des Voyages, x. (Paris,
1891). On all these see Yule, Cathay and the Way
Thither (Hakluyt Soc, 1866), and Beazley, The
Dawn of Modern Geography.

VII.— SERMONS AND BOOKS OF EXEMPLA
The formal Sermones ad clerum, and even many
of those addressed to various classes of men, are
generally too vague and conventional, too much
occupied with allegorical interpretations of Scrip
ture to supply much historical information or any
means of estimating the characteristics of the
preacher. Friar Guibert de Tournay (c. 1261)
issued a collection of sermons Ad diversa statuum
et officiorum genera, including sermons to citizens
organized in communes, school children, etc.,
which, in spite of their alluring titles, are very
indefinite and excessively dry; a modern cannot
fail to sympathize with the copyist of one of the
MSS. of this collection, who ends his work with the
request: "Date vinum scriptori." There are,
however, sometimes, especially at the end of such
sermons, allusions to contemporary events; e.g.,
Bonaventura's sermons contain references to the
troubles at the University of Paris. It might be
worth while to compile an English equivalent to
Lecoy de la Marche's admirable study, La Chaire
46

SERMONS AND BOOKS OF EXEMPLA 47
Francaise. As a specimen of one of the sources
which would be utilized in a book of this kind may
be mentioned the reports of sermons preached at
Oxford, c. 1290-1291, chiefly by Dominicans and
Franciscans, preserved by John de Dombeltone,
monk of Worcester, now in the Worcester Cathe
dral Library (MS. Q. 46). From this we learn
among other things the names of several hitherto
unknown Oxford friars, and can fix the dates of
others ; two sermons of Raymund Gaufredi, General
Minister of the Franciscans, are included, and estab
lish the fact and date of his visitation of the English
province. A collection of sermons preached in
various places in England c. 1430 by a Franciscan,
Nicholas Philip, is in the Bodleian (MS. Lat.
Theol. d. 1).
Popular sermons, especially those preserved in
the vulgar tongue, give much light on social life,
manners, and morals, and on the methods of the
preachers. The most famous Franciscan collec
tions are those of Berthold of Regensburg in the
thirteenth century and those of Bernardino of
Siena in the fifteenth. The German sermons of
Berthold were edited by Pfeiffer and Strobl (2 vols. ;
Vienna, 1862, 1880), and a modern German version
published by Gobel (4th edition, Regensburg,
1906). Cf. Coulton, "A Thirteenth-Century Re-

48 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
vivalist," in Medieval Studies (1st ser., 2nd ed.), and
Schonbach, Die Ueberlieferung der Werke Bertholds
von Regensburg (Vienna, 1905, 1906, 1907); also
A. Franz, Drei Deutsche Minoritenprediger — namely,
Conrad of Saxony, Ludwig, and Greculus (Freiburg-
i-B., 1907). The Italian sermons of Bernardino
were edited by Luciano Banchi, Le Prediche Volgari
di S. Bernardino da Siena (Siena, 1880-1888). For
an admirable study of these see Ferrers Howell,
S. Bernardino of Siena (Methuen, 1913), which also
contains an excellent sketch of the rise of the
Observant Friars. The French sermons of Olivier
Maillard (f 1502) were edited by A. de la Borderie
(Nantes, 1877).
England is singularly deficient in Franciscan
sermons in the vernacular, but prolific, on the other
hand, in collections of exempla for the use of
preachers. The earliest of these is the Liber
Exemplorum of an English Franciscan in Ireland
c. 1275, edited in Brit. Soc. Franc. Studies, vol. i.
The Speculum Laicorum (ed. Welter; Paris, 1914)
was compiled probably by a Franciscan c. 1280-
1290. Les Contes moralises de Nicole Bozon frere
Mineur, in French, c. 1320, were edited by Lucy
Toulmin Smith and Paul Meyer in 1889. Another
collection still in MS., Fasciculus Morum, written
probably between 1320 and 1330, is described in

SERMONS AND BOOKS OF EXEMPLA 49
the present writer's Studies in English Franciscan
History (Manchester, 1917). The famous Gesta
Romanorum (ed. Oesterley; Berlin, 1872) was
probably put together by a German friar c. 1340,
but is based largely on English materials. Many
MSS. of these and of other collections of exempla
and moralized tales are described by Herbert in
Catalogue of Romances in the Dep. of MSS. in the
British Museum, vol. iii. (1910). The fullest and
most illuminating study of exempla in general is
that in Crane's edition of Exempla of Jacques de
Vitry (Folklore Soc; Nutt, 1890). Exempla are
repeated over and over again, and before taking a
story as typical of English Society in the fourteenth
century, one has to investigate its origin and make
sure, e.g., that it is not taken from the Vita; Patrum.
In this section reference may be made to the
numerous treatises for the use and instruction of
preachers issued by Franciscans in the Middle
Ages. A series of these manuals by Friar John of
Wales, which enjoyed a great vogue for over two
centuries, is described in Studies in English Fran
ciscan History.

VIII.— LEARNING
In spite of St. Francis' opposition to learning,
the Franciscans soon became, like the Dominicans,
a " Student Order." Bonaventura recognized and
boldly defended the development: "I confess
before God that what chiefly made me love the
life of St. Francis is its similarity to the begin
ning and the development of the Church, which
first began from simple fishermen and afterwards
grew to include the most famous and accomplished
teachers ; you will see the same in the Order of St.
Francis " (Op. om., viii., 336). In theory learning
was devoted to preaching and the salvation of
souls, but it was impossible to limit it: in Roger
Bacon's words, " The study of theology demands
the whole of human wisdom."
Wadding's Scriptores Ordinis Minorum, with
Sbaralea's Supplementum, retains its value but
needs revising: the new edition published by
Nardecchia (Rome, 1906) remains unfinished and
is unfortunately little more than a reprint. The
early history of the movement should be studied
50

LEARNING 51
in Hilarin Felder's scholarly Geschichte der Wissen-
schaftlichen Studien im Franziskanerorden bis um
die Mitte des 13 Jahrhunderts (Freiburg-i-B., 1904)
which has been translated into French (Hilarin
de Lucerne, Hist, des Etudes, etc., Picard; Paris,
1908), but not into English. A list of Roger
Bacon's writings, printed and in MS., is given in
Roger Bacon Commemoration Essays (Oxford, 1914).
Other works dealing with the subject (besides those
on scholastic philosophy in general) are Denifle's
Chartularium Univ. Paris., The Grey Friars in
Oxford (Oxf. Hist. Soc), and Studies in English
Franciscan History. The history of the Grey
Friars in Cambridge remains to be written.
Attention may be drawn to the unpublished
catalogues of learned friars — " Qualiter fratres
Minores fuerunt grammatici, logici, philosophi
naturales, perspectivi, philosophi morales et meta-
physici, legistse civiles, juristae canonici, theologi
practici, theologi positivi sive in scholis informativi,
theologi speculativi " — in Bodl. MS. Canon. 525
(see Description, in Opuscules de critique hist., v.),
which should be compared with the list in Barth.
of Pisa, " De Conform.," Anal. Franc, iv., 336 seq.

IX.— ART AND POETRY
The two classical works on these subjects are
Thode's Franz von Assisi und die Anfange der
kunst der Renaissance in Italien (Berhn, 1885;
new and revised edition, 1904) and Ozanam's
Les Poetes franciscains en Italie au IS1 Si&cle (1852;
6th edition, 1882).
1. Among many books on Franciscan influence
in art deserving of notice are Miss Salter's Fran
ciscan Legends in Italian Art (Dent, 1905); Beren-
son's A Sienese Painter of the Franciscan Legend,
i.e., Sassetta (Dent, 1909); and Louis Gillet's
lectures on Hist. Artistique des Ordres Mendiants
(Paris, 1912). Of more general interest are Male's
fascinating books, L'Art religieux du xiii. sidcle en
France (Leroux; Paris, 1898; translated by D.
Nussey; Dent, 1913) and L'Art religieux de la
fin du moyen dge en France (Collin; Paris, 1908).
The subject of Franciscan art is a very wide one,
and students would be well advised to concentrate
their researches on some particular branch; e.g. :
52

ART AND POETRY 53
(a) Representations in art of St. Francis or any
particular member of the Order. Even St. Francis
is not quite exhausted; an early thirteenth-century
fresco of the Saint was recently uncovered in the
Church of SS. John and Paul at Spoleto. The
subject of St. Louis of Toulouse in art is treated
in A.F.H., ii., 197; that of St. Bernardino in Howell
Ferrers' St. Bernardino of Siena.
(b) The architecture and arrangement of Fran
ciscan Churches and houses, or any special features
of them in any country. As an example Bie-
brach's dissertation, Die holzgedeckten Franzis-
kaner-und Dominikanerkirchen in Umbrien u. Tos-
kana (Berlin, 1908), may be instanced. The re
mains in England are scanty, but Ireland offers
a good field.
(c) The work of Franciscan artists in some
specified line, period, or country. Thus the
mosaics of Fr. Jacobus "musivarius" (not to be
confused with the later Jacobus Turrita) form the
subject of Davidsohn's "Das alteste Werk der
Franziskanerkunst " (Repeat, f. kunstwissenschaft,
1899). One of the earliest extant works of Fran
ciscan artists is the beautiful drawing of the
Apocalyptic Christ, by Fr. William of England,
reproduced and described in Brit. Soc. Fr. Studies,
Collect. Franc. I. Franciscan miniaturists might

54 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
be a fruitful subject. A few notes on some of
these are put together in A.F.H., i., 471.
The editors of the A.F.H., La France Francis-
caine, and the Brit. Soc. of Franciscan Studies
have all advanced more or less vague schemes for
collecting and co-ordinating materials on the history
of Franciscan art. All these schemes have been
interrupted by the war, but may perhaps be
resumed. Among miscellaneous finds in England
— all in rather unexpected places — may be men
tioned the thirteenth-century picture of St. Francis
at Christ Church, Oxford (reproduced in Fr. Cuth
bert's St. Francis), the representations of the Stig
mata in the screen at Bradninch Church, Devon,
and of St. Francis and St. Clare in a reredos at
Romsey Abbey.
2. Latin poems of the Friars Minor are largely
liturgical, the most famous being the " Dies Irae,"
probably by Celano and certainly early Franciscan,
and the " Stabat Mater Dolorosa " of Jacopone
da Todi. The rhymed offices by Celano, Julian of
Speyer, and Pecham are also well known. Pecham's
Latin poems also include the " Philomela " (Dreves,
Analecta Hymnica, vol. 50, p. 602) and " Disputatio
Mundi et Religionis " (Brit. Soc. Fr. Studies, ii.).
Brother Pacifico — " rex versuum " — probably
wrote in the vernacular, but none of his poems

ART AND POETRY 55
have been discovered, nor is his name before he
entered the Order known. The greatest Francis
can poet was Jacopone da Todi (f 1306), the
ardent and persecuted spiritual. His poems were
printed in 14901 and again in 1558; no critical
edition of his collected poems seems to have been
published in modern times, though much prelimin
ary work has been done. A book on him by
Evelyn Underhill is announced,2 with a selection of
his writings. Meanwhile, attention may be drawn
to the article on Jacopone in Miss A. Macdonnell's
charming, if not always accurate, Sons of Francis
(1902). Among Franciscan poets who wrote in English,
Thomas of Hales (c. 1250) deserves the first place;
the only poem which can certainly be ascribed to
him is the well-known " Luve Ron," printed in
Morris's Old English Miscellany (E.E.T.S.) and
elsewhere. The poetical works of James Ryman,
Friar Minor, c. 1450, are printed in Herrig's
Archiv, vol. 89, p. 167-338, and do not seem to
have much merit. Perhaps the most important
poetical work of the English Franciscans was
done in connection with the miracle plays, York
Plays, Chester Plays, etc. (E.E.T.S.). The friars'
influence on the drama is, however, still obscure,*
1 Reprinted by Soc. Filologica Romana, 1910. 2 Dent, 1919
3 Cf. A. W. Pollard, English Miracle Plays (Oxford, 1914).

56 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
and students may be warned against a curious
mistranslation which appears in accounts of the
friars in this connection : Drake, Eboracum, App. 29,
turned Fr. William of Melton, " sacre pagine pro
fessor " (or D.D.), into "professor of sacred
pageantry," and this error is repeated by the
editor of Monumenta Franciscana, ii., p. xxviii.,
by Capes, Hist, of the Engl. Church, 373, and else
where. The collection of poems known as the
Kildare Poems, formed and in part certainly
written by Anglo-Irish friars in south-east Ireland
c. 1300, has considerable merit (re-edited by
Heuser, Die Kildare Gedichte ; Bonn, 1904); the
Welsh poet Friar Madawc ap Gwallter was probably
a Franciscan (see Stephens, Lit. of Kymry); and in
Scotland William Dunbar was in his early life an
Observantine Friar.

X.— ST. CLARE AND HER ORDER
The Life of St. Clare, generally and probably
rightly attributed to Celano, has been edited in
Acta Sanctorum, Aug., torn, ii., and recently by
Penacchi (Assisi, 1910); a translation with valuable
notes by Fr. Paschal Robinson appeared in 1910
(Philadelphia). The legend was certainly written
within a few years of her canonization (1255), but is
disappointing and conventional. The best modern
life of St. Clare is probably that by Gilliat Smith
St. Clare of Assisi : Her Life and Legislation (Dent,
1914), though one need not accept all his points of
view. The history of the various Rules of the Order is
a complicated one ; six Rules have to be con
sidered :
(1) The Formula Vitae given by St. Francis
c. 1212; this no longer exists, but part of it was
inserted in the Rule of St. Clare, 1253; the essence
of it was poverty.
(2) The Rule of Cardinal Ugolino (Gregory IX.),
1218-1219, inserted in bulls of 1239 and 1245
57

58 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
(Bull. Franc, i., 263, 394); this placed the new
Order under the Benedictine Rule and did not
command the observance of Franciscan poverty.
How far the Clares accepted it is a disputed point.
It was modified for San Damiano by the " Privile-
gium paupertatis " in 1228 (Bull. Franc, i., 771).
(3) The Rule of Innocent IV., 1247 (Bull. Franc,
i., 488), which allows the acquisition and holding
of property through a procurator.
(4) The Rule of St. Clare, 1253, modelled on the
Franciscan Rule of 1223, and making the Order
subject to the General Minister of the Friars Minor
(Bull. Franc, Supplem., 251; Seraphica; Legis-
lationis Textus Originates, Quaracchi, 1897, p. 49,
etc.: translation in Paschal Robinson's Life of
St. Clare).
(5) The Rule of B. Isabella, sister of Louis IX.
of France, 1263 (Bull. Franc, ii., 477).
(6) Rule of Urban IV., 1263 (ib., ii., 509, Sup
plem., p. 276). This is a revised edition of the
Rule of 1247, which Clare resisted.
The question of the Rules is discussed by Livarius
Oliger (A.F.H., v.), who refers to the extensive
literature on the subject, and by Seton in his
edition of the " Rewle of Sustris Minouresses en-
closid " (Two Fifteenth-Century Franciscan Rules,
E.E.T.S., 1914). The latter is a version of the

ST. CLARE AND HER ORDER 59
Isabella Rule, which seems to have been followed
by the Clares in England, except the early Clares,
who left few traces of their short existence in this
country. Different Rules held good in different
groups of monasteries, the most widely prevalent
being the Urbanist Rule. All the monasteries were
strictly enclosed and endowed; even San Damiano,
soon after St. Clare's death, began to acquire
property. The relation of the Clares to the Minorite
Order was a matter of frequent dispute and con
flicting decisions; on this see A.F.H., hi., 664-679,
iv., 74-94.
An important contribution to the early history
of the Order is Seton's Some New Sources for the
Life of Blessed Agnes of Bohemia (Brit. Soc. Fr.
St., vii.).
A sketch of the general history of the Order,
especially in Germany, is given in Wauer's Entste-
hung u. Ausbreitung des Klarissenordens (Leipzig,
1906). Apart from Dugdale and some local
histories (e.g., Clay, Hist, of Waterbeach, Camb.
Antiq. Soc, 1859) the story of the Clares in Eng
land has not been written.

XL— THIRD ORDER
The earliest form of the Rule of the Third Order
is that edited by Sabatier in Opuscules de crit. hist.,
fasc. 1, and re-edited from a better text by Lem
mens, A.F.H., vi., 242. This dates from about
1228 and probably includes the Rule drawn up by
St. Francis and Cardinal Ugohno in 1221. The
subject of Les Rkgles et le Gouvernement de I'Ordo
de Pcenitentia au xiii" siecle is acutely treated by
Mandonnet, ibid., fasc iv. His theory, advanced
in " Les Origines de I'Ordo de Pcenitentia,"1 that
the three orders grew by separation from a common
stock, not by accretions to the First Order, has
been much criticized. The definitive Rule is con
tained in the bull Supra Montem of Nicholas IV,
1289. Many bulls relating to the Third Order will be
found in the Bull. Franc, and Wadding, and much
material has recently been brought to light.2
1 Compte Rendu du IV" Congrls Scientifique international
des Catholiques (Fribourg, 1898), pp. 183-215.
2 F. Bordoni, Chronologium tertii ordinis S. Francisci (Parma,
1658), is still of value but is a rare book.
60

THIRD ORDER 61
Among the most interesting are the following,
taken from A.F.H. : i., p. 544-568, Statutes of the
Congregation of Brescia, thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries, which shows the congregation as a
religious guild; ii., 62-71, acts and statutes of the
General Chapter of the Third Order held at Bologna,
1289, relating to twenty-four " Provinces '" (or
congregations) of Italy; iv., 713-731, " Statuts des
religieuses du Tiers Ordre Franciscain dites Sceurs
Grises Hospitaheres," 1483, mostly in Flanders;
vii., 227-233, lists of members of the Third Order
in Bologna, 1252 and other years; viii., 23-55,
documents relating to the Third Order at Imola,
1266-1450; ix., 118-133, "Analecta de Tertio
Ordine." The statutes of the Tertiaries of Aachen
in 1334 were edited by Quix in Beitrage z. Gesch.
d. Stadt Aachen, 1844. Allmang's Gesch. d.
ehemaligen Regulartertiarierklosters St. Nicolaus
(bei Schloss Dyck Grevenbroich, Rheinland), 1400-
1911 (Essen-Ruhr, 1911), illustrates the change
from congregations of " brethren and sisters living
in their own houses " to groups living in com
munities (with endowments) under regular dis
cipline and often in close connection with the
Observant Friars. A contribution to the history
of the Tertiaries in England has been made by
Seton in his edition of an English version of the

62 A GUIDE TO FRANCISCAN STUDIES
Rule (E.E.T.S., 1914). Among unpublished docu
ments those relating to the Tertiary sisters of St.
Onuphrius in Florence (MS. Bodl. Can. Misc., 347)
may be cited.
The Third Order was a loose and elastic organiza
tion and developed varying features in different
countries; there is, e.g., some evidence that in
Ireland its activity was largely educational. A
useful preliminary to the serious study of its history
would be the collection of the scattered notices
relating to it.
From the references in the foregoing pages it
will be obvious how essential to students of Fran
ciscan history is the Archivum Franciscanum
Historicum, now in its twelfth year; address:
Rev. P. Director, " Archivi Franciscani Historici,"
Quaracchi presso Firenze, Italy; annual subscrip
tion outside Italy, 20 francs. The British Society
of Franciscan Studies has, since its reorganization,
issued nine volumes to its members and possesses
a small but select library, including the A.F.H. ;
address: Paul Descours, Secretary, B.S.F.S., 65,
Deauville Road, Clapham S.W.; annual subscrip
tion, 10s. 6d.

SOME ABBREVIATIONS USED 63
Some Abbreviations Used
A.F.H. = Archivum Franciscanum Historicum
(Quaracchi). A.L.K.G. = Archiv fur Litteratur-und Kirchen-
geschichte des Mittelalters, ed. Denifle and Ehrle.
Anal. Boll. = Analecta Bollandiana.
Anal. Franc. = Analecta Franciscana (Quaracchi).
Br. Soc. Fr. St. = British Society of Franciscan
Studies. Bull. Franc. = Bullarium Franciscanum.
E.E.T.S. = Early English Text Society.
E.H.R. = English Historical Review.

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