The ''Little Flowers of St. Francis'' () is a

florilegium In medieval Latin, a ' (plural ') was a compilation of excerpts or sententia from other writings and is an offshoot of the commonplacing tradition. The word is from the Latin '' flos'' (flower) and '' legere'' (to gather): literally a gathering ...

(excerpts of his body of work), divided into 53 short chapters, on the life of

Saint Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italian mystic, poet and Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Christian life of poverty, he ...

that was composed at the end of the 14th century. The anonymous

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

text, almost certainly by a Tuscan author, is a version of the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, of which the earliest extant manuscript is one of 1390 AD.

Luke Wadding Luke Wadding (16 October 158818 November 1657), was an Irish Franciscan friar and historian. Life Early life Wadding was born on 16 October 1588 in Waterford to Walter Wadding of Waterford, a wealthy merchant, and his wife, Anastasia Lombar ...

ascribes the text to Ugolino da Santa Maria, whose name occurs three times in the . Most scholars are now agreed that the author was

Ugolino Brunforte Ugolino Brunforte (c. 1262 – c. 1348) was an Italian Friar Minor and chronicler, known principally as the author of the ''Fioretti'' or ''Little Flowers of St. Francis''. Life Few details of Ugolino's life are known. His father Rinaldo, Lo ...

( – c. 1348).

History

''Little Flowers of Francis of Assisi'' is the name given to the classic collection of popular legends about the life of Francis of Assisi and his early companions. The main body of the collection was translated into Italian by an unknown fourteenth-century friar from a larger Latin work, the , attributed to

. The four appendixes (on the stigmata of Francis, the life of

Juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

, and the life and the sayings of Egidio) are additions of later compilers.Robinson, Paschal. "Ugolino Brunforte". The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 15 Jun. 2016 A striking difference is noticeable between the earlier chapters of the , which refer to Francis and his companions, and the later ones, which deal with the friars in the province of the

March of Ancona The March of Ancona ( or ''Anconetana'') was a frontier march centred on the city of Ancona and later Fermo then Macerata in the Middle Ages. Its name is preserved as an Italian region today, the Marche, and it corresponds to almost the entir ...

. The first half of the collection reflects traditions that go back to the early days of the order; the other is believed to be substantially the work of Ugolino da Monte Giorgio of the noble family of Brunforte. Living as he did a century after the death of Francis, Ugolino was dependent on hearsay for much of his information; part of it he is said to have learned from Giacomo da Massa, who had been well known and esteemed by the companions of Francis. Whatever may have been the sources from which Ugolino derived his materials, the fifty-three chapters that constitute the Latin work in question seem to have been written before 1328.Robinson, Paschal. "Fioretti di San Francesco d'Assisi". The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 15 June 2016

Stories

Written a century and a half after the death of Francis of Assisi, the text is not regarded as an important primary source for the saint's biography.

Madeleine L'Engle Madeleine L'Engle (; November 29, 1918 – September 6, 2007) was an American writer of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and young adult fiction, including ''A Wrinkle in Time'' and its sequels: '' A Wind in the Door'', '' A Swiftly Tilting Planet'' ...

, and W. Heywood. ''The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi''. New York: Vintage Spiritual Classic, 1998 However, it has been the most popular account of his life and relates many colourful anecdotes, miracles and pious examples from the lives of Francis and his followers. These poetic stories shed much light upon the genesis and development of the following of Francis. Some stories contained in the can be found in much earlier works. , Chapter 13: ''Preaching to the Birds'' relates that

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

, Masseo and Agnolo traveled to and preached at a city called Saburniano (

Cannara Cannara is a town and comune on the Topino River in the floodplain of central Umbria, in the province of Perugia. It is located about 7 km west of Spello and 9 km north of Bevagna. It is a low-key agricultural village: its main busines ...

). Those that heard them were so inflamed by their message that they desired to leave the city and follow these friars into the wilderness. Francis told them that such a thing was not necessary, but instead he established the third order "for the universal salvation of all people". Francis had already been concerned about the expansion of his order at the expense of families. He refused entrance to his order by married men (and the women from admission to the

Poor Clares The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare (Latin language, Latin: ''Ordo Sanctae Clarae''), originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and also known as the Clarisses or Clarissines, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Or ...

) who sought to follow the Franciscan way, because families should not suffer. Francis preaching to the birds was described by Masseo, and written of by the Englishman

Roger of Wendover Roger of Wendover (died 6 May 1236), probably a native of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, was an English chronicler of the 13th century. At an uncertain date he became a monk at St Albans Abbey; afterwards he was appointed prior of the cell ...

, in 1236. The vernacular version is written in Tuscan and is reckoned among the masterpieces of Italian literature. Arthur Livingstone, author of a 1930s edition of the ''Little Flowers'', characterizes it as "a masterful work of folk literature from the Middle Ages".Davis, Emmalon. "Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi", Christian Classics Ethereal Library
/ref> The earliest manuscript is dated 1390, and is in Berlin. The Italian translation was first printed at Vicenza in 1477.

In popular culture

The text was the inspiration for

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such a ...

's 1950 film (''Francis, God's Jester''), which was co-written by

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and ...

. It was also used as a source for the libretto of

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

's opera . In

Lore Segal Lore Vailer Segal (née Groszmann; March 8, 1928 – October 7, 2024) was an Austrian-American novelist, translator, teacher, short story writer, and author of children's books. She was the author of five novels, and was known for her autobiogr ...

's short story "Other People's Houses: A Liberal Education" (''The New Yorker,'' February 24, 1961), the narrator's brother and his friend Dolf give the book as a gift to each other.

References

eBook

* Francis of Assisi, ''The Little Flowers (fioretti)'', London, 2012. limovia.net

External links