A Companion to Clare of Assisi: Life, Writings, and Spirituality

Description

St. Clare of Assisi: Life, Writings and Spirituality examines Clare not merely as an obedient footnote to the friars, but as a Franciscan founder in her own right who kept primitive Franciscan ideals alive into the middle of the thirteenth century and transposed them into a woman’s key. Bringing together the best of international research, the text examines Clare’s importance within the early Franciscan milieu and her contribution to the thirteenth-century women's movement. It studies the radicalism of Clare's Franciscan choice, her life within the Monastery of San Damiano, her politicking with Agnes of Prague for the "privilege of poverty," and her uniqueness among other women in Gregory IX's Damianite ordo. Following this historical study are critical translations and literary analyses of Clare's four letters to Agnes of Prague as well as a new translation and commentary on Clare’s Forma Vitae. Contents List of Illustrations Abbreviations Introduction Part I Clare: Franciscan Women Chapter One The Franciscan Choice Chapter Two The Monastery of S. Damiano Chapter Three The Politics of “Infant’s Milk”: Clare of Assisi and the Privilege of Poverty Chapter Four The Ordo that Gregory IX Founded: Clare among other Ugolinian Sisters Part II Clare: Her Writings Chapter Five Reading Clare’s Letters in Context Chapter Six The Agnes Legend in Clare’s Letters Appendix: The Legend of S. Agnes of Rome Chapter Seven Clare’s Forma Vitae: Unique Contributions Part III Clare: Her Writings in Translation Clare’s First Letter to Agnes Clare’s Second Letter to Agnes Clare’s Third Letter to Agnes Clare’s Fourth Letter to Agnes Clare’s Forma Vitae Bibliography Index of Subject Illustrations