Creating Clare of Assisi: Female Franciscan Identities in Later Medieval Italy (The Medieval Franciscans, 5)

Earlier scholarship has characterized female Franciscanism as an institution established by Clare of Assisi in collaboration with Saint Francis. This understanding is anachronistic, however, and overlooks the more complicated disputes over what it meant for enclosed women to have a mendicant vocation. This book clarifies Clare’s contributions to these debates by distinguishing the historical figure from the uses made of her legacy by the papacy, the Friars Minor, and, most importantly, the enclosed sisters between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. By examining the diversity of female communities and their complicated institutional formation in medieval Italy, it examines how and when Clare was appropriated as a model of spiritual authority by the women to shape their identity as Franciscans. The Friars And Sisters -- Clare And The Poor Sisters Of San Damiano -- The Order Of Saint Clare -- Beyond Clare : A Franciscan Centered Order -- The Clarisses And Observant Reform -- Writing Female Franciscan Identity -- Conclusion: The True Daughters Of Francis And Clare. By Lezlie S. Knox. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [191]-213) And Index. Previous scholarship has characterized female Franciscanism as an institution established by Clare of Assisi in collaboration with Saint Francis. According to Knox, this understanding is anachronistic. This book examines how and when Clare was appropriated as a model of spiritual authority by female Franciscans Introduction The friars and sisters Clare and the Poor Sisters of San Damiano The Order of Saint Clare three beyond Clare : a Franciscan centered order The Clarisses and observant reform ... Writing female Franciscan identity Conclusion: The true daughters of Francis and Clare. Drawing upon the writings of medieval women, this book distinguishes the historical figure of Clare of Assisi from the uses made of her spiritual legacy in debates over the role of women in the Franciscan Order in later medieval Italy.