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The Writings of Clare of Assisi STUDIES in EARLY FRANCISCAN SOURCES

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The Writings of Clare of Assisi STUDIES in EARLY FRANCISCAN SOURCES STUDIES IN EARLY FRANCISCAN SOURCES THE WRITINGS OF CLARE OF ASSISI STUDIES IN EARLY FRANCISCAN SOURCES Volume 3 Edited by Michael W. Blastic, O.F.M., Jay M. Hammond, Ph.D., and J.A. Wayne Hellmann, O.F.M. Conv. Published in the United States by Franciscan Institute Publications St. Bonaventure University St. Bonaventure, NY 14778 © 2011 Franciscan Institute Publications, St. Bonaventure, NY CONTENTS All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form Introduction ............................................................................................................. vii or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writ- Dedication and Acknowledgements .............................................................. xii ing from the publisher. Abbreviations ........................................................................................................ .xiii List of Contributors ............................................................................................... xv Cover design by Cover art Chapter One: Letters to Agnes of Prague 19 Ingrid Peterson 1. First Letter .............................................................................................................40 2. Second Letter ......................................................................................................41 ISBN 10: 3. Third Letter ..........................................................................................................43 ISBN 13: 4. Fourth Letter ........................................................................................................45 Chapter Two: Form of Life Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Lezlie Knox The Form of Life of the Poor Ladies .................................................................59 Chapter Three: The Testament of Clare Michael W. Blastic The Testament .......................................................................................................105 Chapter Four: The Blessing Jean François Godet-Calogeras Clare’s Blessing ......................................................................................................131 Printed in the United States of America By BookMasters, Inc. Ashland, Ohio INTRODUction Building on the scholarly research of the last half of the twentieth century, the first decade of the twenty-first century has provided new translations of the writings of Clare into modern languages. In the English speaking world, the volume, Clare of Assisi: Early Documents – The Lady1 provides new possibilities for those who are interested in reading the writings of Saint Clare. During the last ten years, translat- ing the writings and hagiography of Clare has become an international project. This is why the series Introduction to Early Franciscan Sources has begun. As of 2010 the task is to learn how to read, interpret, and apply these newly translated texts to enrich the historical understanding, theological vision, and practical living out of the Gospel message. However, the question remains: how does one get started? This third volume aims to provide assistance to those interested in deeper under- standing of the writings of Clare. Hence, the volume contains essays on the known texts written by or about her. The authors, scholars interested in and committed to the Franciscan tradition, have brought contemporary research together, applied it to each of the specific texts, and offered their own perspective. The essays make available a new resource for further study and in- terpretation in two ways. First, the essays define the status questionis by informing the reader about the state of current research on each of the texts considered. Hopefully, this will help the reader find a point of de- parture for either interpreting the texts or for moving the research for- ward. Second, the essays are intended to introduce the reader to these texts within the dimensions of their multilayered contextual-historical framework. Hopefully, this will open the door for solid theological 1 Clare of Assisi: Early Documents, The Lady, Regis Armstrong, ed. and trans. (New York: New City Press, 2006). viii The Writings of Clare of Assisi General Introduction IX reflection, the only foundation for further development of Franciscan Awareness of these inter-related and multivalent contexts are spirituality. foundational for an informed reading of these medieval texts. Because of this, the authors developed their essays with these perspectives in mind, as will be apparent. What Does This Volume Contain? The volume contains the writings of Clare. Her writings are not How Are the Essays Structured? presented historically or chronologically. Rather, the essays are or- dered thematically according to the genre of the writings. However, Each essay examines a text or group of texts with the same general each essay contextualizes the considered text within its own historical fourfold pattern: Establishing the Text, Approaching the Text, Interpreting framework. Accordingly, the historical context is foundational to each the Text, and Bibliography. While this fourfold pattern provides uni- essay. formity among the various essays, the specific execution of the essays The presentation of historical context within each essay generally varies according to the nature of and scholarship about particular texts. considers four perspectives. Consideration of these four perspectives In other words, the fourfold pattern intentionally provides uniform is crucial for understanding and interpreting historical texts. These categories while allowing for flexibility in the summaries and analysis. perspectives are the following: • Establishing the Text examines the current status of the manu- script tradition and modern critical editions upon which modern trans- 1. There is the historical context of time and place that actually lations are based. Likewise, this section, if pertinent, addresses issues situates the text in its origins. For example, when and why was the text regarding authorship and explanation of the genres of the texts under written? What were its social underpinnings? consideration. 2. There is the question of the transmission of the text or how did • Approaching the Text generally presents the text’s historical con- it develop from its origin to our own day. The study of the manuscript text, and the sources utilized within the text. Again, if pertinent, this tradition considers the text as an historical artifact. This is called the section also surveys modern studies of the text and identifies unre- codicological context. For example, how did the text survive, how did solved questions surrounding the study of the text. its migration through the centuries change the text, and how do we • Interpreting the Text, outlines the text’s structure that organizes know it is authentic? the material and also identifies significant themes, symbols, and images 3. The receptive context identifies how scholars of more recent that encode the text’s meaning within its structure. Often this third times have accepted and interpreted the text. For example, how do section ends with a consideration of the text’s significance. modern scholars read the text, and what questions do they ask of the • The Bibliography, provides reference to the manuscript tradi- text? tion, critical editions, modern translations, at least in English, and key 4. Finally, there is the context of Clare herself. This involves a secondary studies that explore various issues in the text under consid- study of how these text provide insight into the life of Clare and her eration. community, and, at the same time, how these texts give crystallized With these four categories, the volume attempts to examine the expression of the Clarian life itself. For example, how is authorship various interrelated contexts that surround the investigation of the text understood? Along with the related questions of intertextuality, e.g., that emerge out of a specific thirteenth-century social/religious move- how does an earlier Letter of Clare to Agnes condition the interpretation ment that underwent rapid and dramatic development. of a later letter? x The Writings of Clare of Assisi General Introduction XI What is the Wider Context? The Franciscan Movement Although the essays in this volume strive to provide the background Carmody, Maurice. The Franciscan Story: St. Francis of Assisi and His Influence for understanding the various contexts for specific texts, as well as bib- since the Thirteenth Century. London: Athena Press, 2008. liographies for those texts, the essays presuppose a familiarity with the Flood, David. Francis of Assisi and the Franciscan Movement. Quezon City: FIA story of Clare, as well as with the history of the early Franciscan move- Contact Publications, 1989. ment. The following resources can help the reader become familiar Iriarte, Lazio. Franciscan History: The Three Orders of St. Francis of Assisi. Trans. with the more general medieval Franciscan context. Patricia Ross, with an appendix, “The Historical Context of the Francis- can Movement,” by Lawrence C. Landini. Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1982. Merlo, Grado Giovanni. In the Name of St. Francis: History of the Friars Minor and Franciscanism until the Early Sixteenth Century. Trans. Raphael Bon- nano. Ed. Robert J. Karris and Jean François Godet-Calogeras. Saint Bo- naventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 2009. Moorman, John. A History of the Franciscan Order from its
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