Francis of Assisi and His “Canticle of Brother Sun” Reassessed (The New Middle Ages)

Bringing the skills of a literary historian to the subject, Brian Moloney considers the genesis of Saint Francis of Assisi's Canticle of Brother Sun to show how it works as a carefully composed work of art. The study examines the saint's life and times, the structure of the poem, the features of its style, and the range of its possible meanings. Title 10 Copyright 11 Dedication 12 Contents 14 Preface 16 Quotations and References 18 Acknowledgments 20 “Il cantico di frate sole” (Italian Text) 22 “Canticle of Brother Sun” (Translation) 24 “Canticle of Brother Sun” (An Alternative Translation) 26 List of Abbreviations 28 1. Introduction 29 2. Francis of Assisi: A Man of His Time 37 3. Pain and Praise: The Composition of the “Canticle” 56 4. Words and Meanings 70 5. The Form and Structure of the “Canticle” 80 6. Francis’s Mysticism and the “Canticle” 98 7. “My Sister Death” 113 8. The “Canticle” and Its Contexts 128 9. The “Knight of Christ”: Christian Chivalry in the “Canticle” 136 10. A Commentary on the “Canticle” 147 11. Conclusion 164 Select Bibliography 175 Further Reading 180 Index 183 "In his fairly short life - he lived from 1181 or 1182 to 1226 - Francis of Assisi wrote relatively little, but he taught, preached and lived so influentially, so charismatically, that his voice still speaks to us across the centuries. His Canticle of Brother Sun has been paid little attention by literary critics, despite being one of the first known works of literature in the Italian language. Bringing the skills of a literary historian to the subject, Brian Moloney considers the genesis of the canticle to show how it works as a carefully composed work of art, rather than as a spontaneous effusion of feeling. The book also includes a line by line commentary on the canticle."-- Provided by publisher "In his fairly short life-he lived from 1181 or1882 to 1226-Francis of Assisi wrote relatively little, but he taught, preached and lived so influentially, so charismatically, that his voice still speaks to us across the centuries. His spirituality finds full expression in his celebrated and much loved Canticle of Brother Sun. This book examines the genesis of the Canticle in the context of the saint's life and times, as well as analyzing the structure of the poem, the features of its style, and the range of its possible meanings. The book includes a line by line commentary on the canticle"-- Provided by publisher Front Matter....Pages i-xxvii Introduction....Pages 1-8 Francis of Assisi: A Man of His Time....Pages 9-27 Pain and Praise: The Composition of the “Canticle”....Pages 29-42 Words and Meanings....Pages 43-52 The Form and Structure of the “Canticle”....Pages 53-70 Francis’s Mysticism and the “Canticle”....Pages 71-85 “My Sister Death”....Pages 87-101 The “Canticle” and its Contexts....Pages 103-110 The “Knight of Christ”: Christian Chivalry in the “Canticle”....Pages 111-121 A Commentary on the “Canticle”....Pages 123-139 Conclusion....Pages 141-151 Back Matter....Pages 153-169