Franciscan Institute Publications

A companion to the four-volume publication of Francis of Assisi: Early Documents and a resource for those studying early Franciscanism. This book helps the reader appreciate St Clare in the context of her culture and time. This third edition of Clare of Assisi: Early Documents offers evidence of a greater sophistication in interpreting and presenting the texts emerging from a new wave of scholarship. Unlike the earlier editions, the writings of Clare appear in two separate sections: the first, entitled "May You Live Blessed Poverty," presents Clare's letters to Agnes of Prague, her Testament, and her Blessing; the second, "Together with My Sisters," brings together the earlier documents of Pope Honorius III, Cardinal Hugolino, later Pope Gregory IX, and Pope Innocent IV that affected and eventually culminated in Clare's Form of Life. The editor and his collaborators hope that, in this way, the depth of Clare's Gospel spirituality will underscore her struggle to articulate her vision of the daily life of her sisters. The third section of this edition of Clare of Assisi: Early Documents presents another dimension of the scholarly work done on these texts. Entitled "The Brilliance of Her Life," the critical apparatus accompanying the hagiographical texts affords the reader and the student of Clare's life more user-friendly cross-references. Clare of Assisi: Early Documents provides new translations of Clare's writings and related primary sources, revised and new introductions from earlier editions, as well as previously unpublished documents to chronicle the life of Saint Clare.

This authoritative account of the Church in England covers its history from earliest times to the late twentieth century. Includes chapters on the Roman, Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Norman, and Medieval periods before a description of the Reformation and its effects, the Stuart period, and the Industrial Age, with a final chapter on the modern church through 1972.

This book examines the story of the ‘discovery of America’ through the prism of the history of the Franciscans, a socio-religious movement with a unique doctrine of voluntary poverty. The Franciscans rapidly developed global dimensions, but their often paradoxical relationships with poverty and power offer an alternate account of global history. Through this lens, Julia McClure offers a deeper history of colonialism, not only by extending its chronology, but also by exploring the powerful role of ambivalence in the emergence of colonial regimes. Other topics discussed include the legal history of property, the complexity and politics of global knowledge networks, the early (and neglected) history of the Near Atlantic, and the transatlantic inquisition, mysticism, apocalypticism, and religious imaginations of place.

"The Supplicationes variae is an extraordinary manuscript: an anthology of devotional texts and images, dated 1293 and made for use in Genoa, ending with a long series of full-page tinted drawings. This study uses the Supplicationes to explore the intersection of art and religion--not only the manuscript designer's theological premises but also the practical use of the book and its broader social and historical significance. In doing so, it provides a new perspective on Franciscans' impact on the visual arts in late medieval Italy, in particular Saint Bonaventure, whose concepts of humanity, prayer, and salvation inform text and image, style and iconography in the Supplicationes. The manuscript's artists faced the challenge of creating images that convey both complex ideas and vivid emotions; their use of models from Italy, northern Europe, and Byzantium creates a unique hybrid of eastern and western Christian cultures. Incorporating nearly 250 colour illustrations, A Soul's Journey illuminates and enlarges the scope of long-standing questions about the contributions of Byzantine art and Franciscan spirituality to cultural change preceding the Italian Renaissance."--

This is the first English translation of St. Bonaventure's Collationes de septem donis Spiritus Sanctus to appear in print. The Collationes were the next-to-last of the Seraphic Doctor's major writings, dating to 1268. This translation is similarly a crowning achievement for Fr. Zachary Hayes, a pre-eminent commentator on Bonaventure's thought for the last four decades. Scholars of medieval theology and of Bonaventure in particular will find a treasure trove here, thanks to the flowing translation of Fr. Hayes. Ample footnotes citing ancient philosophers, biblical texts, ancient Christian writers and contemporary scholars provide a rich resource for further study. Those interested in the contemporary question of how faith relates to reason will especially welcome the final two conferences - or, collations, on understanding and wisdom, in which Bonaventure wrestles with that same issue in the framework of this thought and times. Gil Ostdiek, O.F.M., Catholic Theological Union.