Synopses & Reviews
A reappraisal of the image of St Francis as it was recorded in literature, documents, architecture and art.
Synopsis
An important reappraisal of the image of St Francis as it was recorded in literature, documents, architecture and art. Highly illustrated throughout, including colour and black and white plates, and containing key extracts from the major sources, this book bridges the boundaries of history and the history of art.
Synopsis
An important new study of the ways in which St Francis's image was recorded in literature, documents, art and architecture. Rosalind Brooke explores how St Francis's personality was stamped on his Order through the stories told by his companions and the construction of the Basilica at Assisi which reflected in stone, stained glass and fresco how some Popes and leading friars believed his memory should be fostered. Highly illustrated throughout, this is essential reading for medievalists, art historians and anyone interested in St Francis and the Franciscan movement.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction; The soft wax; Dawn?; 2. The image in life; The image Francis sought to present; The impression Francis made on contemporaries; 3. The image after death; The early official image in writing; Elias' letter; The papal bull of Canonisation; Thomas of Celano's First Life of St Francis; 4. The official image in stone - the Basilica of St Francis at Assisi; I. The creation of the Basilica; The achievement of brother Elias; Progress of the building and its date; Furnishing the Basilica; II. The inspiration of the Basilica; Gregory IX; Innocent IV; Sources of inspiration; The functions of the double church; Conclusion - the image; 5. The authority of St Francis: expositions of the rule; The Exposition of the Four Masters; Hugh of Digne; The bull Ordinem vestrum; The sources and characteristics of Hugh's Exposition of the Rule; The bull Exiit qui seminat; 6. Reminiscences: the convergence of unofficial and official images in writing; The writings of Leo, Rufino, and Angelo; The image of St Francis as presented by Leo, Rufino and Angelo; The anonymous of Perugia; Thomas of Celano's Second Life of St Francis; The Legend of the Three Companions; The sources of the Legend of the Three Companions and its date; The image of St Francis presented by the Legend of the Three Companions; The Sacrum Commercium; 7. Visual images; The Pescia altar panel; The Pisa altar panel; The Assisi altar panel; The Bardi altar panel; Matthew Paris; Kalenderhane Camii; 8. The official image in speech and writing; Sermons; St Bonaventure; The Legenda Maior of St Bonaventure; The Miracles of St Francis; 9. The official visual image: the decoration of the Basilica; Introduction; The decoration of the Lower Church; The decoration of the Upper Church; The stained glass windows in the Upper Church; The decoration of apse and transepts; The north transept; Cimabue; The Four Evangelists; The decoration of the sanctuary walls; The decoration of the nave of the Upper Church; The St Francis cycle; Dating the decoration of the nave; Nicholas IV; 10. The rediscovery of St Francis's body; Excavations; Reconstruction of St Francis's interment; 11. Epilogue: Angela of Foligno's image of St Francis.