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Among the most beloved saints in the Catholic tradition, Francis of Assisi (c. 1181–1226) is popularly remembered for his dedication to poverty, his love of animals and nature, and his desire to follow perfectly the teachings and example of Christ. During his lifetime and after his death, followers collected, for their own purposes, numerous stories, anecdotes, and reports about Francis. As a result, the man himself and his own concerns became lost in legend.
In this authoritative and engaging new biography, Augustine Thompson, O.P., sifts through the surviving evidence for the life of Francis using modern historical methods. The result is a complex yet sympathetic portrait of the man and the saint. Francis emerges from this account as very much a typical thirteenth-century Italian layman, but one who, when faced with unexpected crises in his personal life, made decisions so radical that they challenge his own society―and ours. Unlike the saint of legend, this Francis never had a unique divine inspiration to provide him with rules for following the teachings of Jesus. Rather, he spent his life reacting to unexpected challenges, before which he often found himself unprepared and uncertain. The Francis who emerges here is both more complex and more conflicted than that of older biographies. His famed devotion to poverty is found to be more nuanced than expected, perhaps not even his principal spiritual concern. Thompson revisits events small and large in Francis's life, including his troubled relations with his father, his contacts with Clare of Assisi, his encounter with the Muslim sultan, and his receiving the Stigmata, to uncover the man behind the legends and popular images.
A tour de force of historical research and biographical writing, Francis of Assisi: A New Biography is divided into two complementary parts―a stand alone biographical narrative and a close, annotated examination of the historical sources about Francis. Taken together, the narrative and the survey of the sources provide a much-needed fresh perspective on this iconic figure. "As I have worked on this biography," Thompson writes, "my respect for Francis and his vision has increased, and I hope that this book will speak to modern people, believers and unbelievers alike, and that the Francis I have come to know will have something to say to them today."
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"A common pitfall faces all the biographers of Francis of Assisi: how reliable are the early legends about the saint? How does one find the 'historical' Francis behind sources that have theological points to make, standard hagiographical tropes to draw on, and political arguments to press? Augustine Thompson, O.P., is acutely aware of this problem and takes a very interesting and unique approach to overcoming it. In this very well-written book, he first gives us a biography of Francis based on the best use of the sources as he understands them, then assesses the biography itself in light of the sources and the scholarship about them. He brings to his examination the careful eye of a trained medieval historian."--Lawrence S. Cunningham, John A. O'Brien Professor of Theology (Emeritus), University of Notre Dame, author of A Brief History of Saints and Saint Francis of Assisi
"Among Thompson's many keen yet painful insights into the historical Francis, one stands out and serves to bind together the entire narrative and to shed light on the discordant history of the Franciscan order: Leadership was an 'intolerable burden' to Francis, spiritually, 'one he wished to be rid of as quickly as possible.' . . . The stripped-down, bare-bones historical Francis of this biography is at once immensely likeable and deeply disturbing. He is appealing insofar as Thompson makes him seem much more like an ordinary man who accomplished extraordinary things rather than a heaven-sent, self-assured prophet. His befuddlement, his inner turmoil, his inability to control events make him seem not just very human but also much like nearly anyone who is likely to pick up this book."--Carlos Eire, First Things (Spring 2012)
"As one of the best-loved figures in the Christian tradition, Francis of Assisi has been the subjet of innumberable studies and biographies. Is another one necessary? Is there anything further to say? Are new interpretations possible? This biography, by the American Dominican medievalist Augustine Thompson, answers these questions with a resounding 'yes', and the result is a genuinely ground-breaking tour de force that should become the standard English language introduction to Francis and his times."--Colman O Clabaigh, OSB, Religious Life Review (September/October 2013)
"Augustine Thompson, O.P., presents us with a compelling Francis. This is not the heroic founder of a religious order, but an imperfect, yet sensitive individual who is trying to understand how a Christian should live in a thirteenth-century Italian town. Thanks to this impressive biography we have a very new and moving picture of St. Francis of Assisi."--Duane J. Osheim, University of Virginia, author of A Tuscan Monastery and Its Social World, San Michele of Guamo (1156-1348)
"Francis of Assisi so impressed the people of his own time that even before his death a rich field of stories, images, anecdotes, and reports of miracles had sprung up. These so enveloped the saint that many scholars have despaired of uncovering the man behind the legends. But this new, lucid study by Thompson largely achieves this goal. A distinctive feature of the project is its division into two complementary parts. Part 1 is an engaging, well-written new biography of the saint. Part 2 is a closely annotated examination of the sources and debates about Francis. The advantage of this division is that the biography stands alone, unencumbered by scholarly apparatus, yet in the second part the author displays the reasoning that leads him to believe that he gives a truer picture of the man Francis than other biographers do."--Choice (October 2012)
"I recommend this book strongly to anyone serious about understanding Francis of Assisi. I admire the clarity and brevity of the writing. With decisiveness, Thompson cuts through the conflicting medieval accounts of each event in Francis' life, adjusts for the hagiographers' spin and creates a credible chronology out of the blurry dates. His knowledge of medieval Italy allows him to provide insightful explanations of the legal, liturgical, and ecclesiastical practices of the time."--Paul Moses, America
"Meticulously researched and beautifully written, this book will set a new standard for all studies of the famously familiar and yet deeply enigmatic Francis of Assisi. Avoiding both romantic piety and academic hypercriticism, Augustine Thompson, O.P., a master historian who knows the Italy of Francis as well as anyone, painstakingly assembles a credible portrait. His method is at once simple and sophisticated: Part One comprises a concise biography; Part Two comprises learned explorations of the evidence and of what that evidence does and does not permit us to say."--Thomas F. X. Noble, University of Notre Dame, author of Images, Iconoclasm, and the Carolingians
"The book's division into two sections, the biography proper followed by the critical apparatus, gives Thompson greater freedom to engage both the primary sources and the tangle of modern Franciscan scholarship more vigorously. Such an arrangement also renders the book eminently accessible to the general reader while maintaining its status as a substantial contribution to a variety of academic disciplines, including Medieval history, cultural studies, Christian spirituality, and Italian literature. . . . By contextualizing and grounding Francis in his precise historical and cultural milieu, Thompson gives us a Francis who is more human, more alive, and more relevant to our own times--and no less a saint."--Scott Surrency, Canadian Journal of History (Spring/Summer 2013)
"The Francis that Thompson portrays is both more complex and more conflicted than older biographies. His famed devotion to poverty was actually more nuanced, and perhaps not even his principal spiritual concern, says Thompson. . . . This new biography may be a more realistic picture of the life of this noteworthy forerunner and well-known spiritual aspirant."--The Beacon (January-March 2013)
"This book earns its place in the modern scholarship bracket on this favoured subject. [Thompson] shows the deepest respect for the Saint but tests every story for the authentic character of Francis the man. . . . [T]his is a critical and masterly work, free of sentimentality, legend and the craft of saintliness"--Damian SSF, Franciscan (September 2014)
"This is an excellent book for lay readers and professional historians alike with two distinct, albeit related, works between its covers: an elegant and highly accessible biography of St. Francis of Assisi, followed by a learned and in-depth analysis of the most important scholarship on Francis from the late nineteenth century to the present. . . . Thompson's talents as a historian are evident throughout his work. . . . This is not merely a new but also an outstanding biography of St. Francis that deserves a wide readership from scholars immersed in the study of this legendary saint and also from the many individuals today (Christian and non-Christian alike) who continue to find deep meaning in the life and deeds of this medieval holy man from Assisi"--Bernard Schlager, The Historian (April 2014)
"This is not a typical biography of Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). Thompson, a Dominican priest and church historian, bases his biography solidly on verifiable material. He seeks the historical Francis, not the Francis of legend, and succeeds admirably in this task. Anyone interested in Francis will like the first part: a well-written, straightforward biography. In the second part, which will appeal to scholars and more serious readers, Thompson discusses in some detail the sources for Francis's life, weighing one against another, and makes some judgments on the work of previous biographers. He also tries to distinguish practices instituted by Francis himself from those instituted later. A well-written, scholarly portrait of a saint whose biography has been based too often on legends. This one is accessible to the lay reader and a treasure for historians."--Library Journal (starred review)
"This new biography is the work of an accomplished medieval scholar and a Dominican friar, Augustine Thompson OP, who brings to his examination of the Franciscan sources a welcome freshness and objectivity which lead him to question some of the hagiographical assumptions about il poverello d'Assisi and the movement which he inspired."--Michael Robson, Journal of Ecclesiastical History (July 2013)
"Thompson's biography of Francis is history-writing at its modern best. It challenges and rewards the non-expert reader who is willing to leave aside holy cards and legends to glimpse one of Christianity's most familiar yet least well-known saints, the beloved, impulsive, contradictory, strange yet attractive Francis of thirteenth-century Italy."--Andrew Thornton, American Book Review (March 2013)
About the Author
Augustine Thompson, O.P., is Professor of History at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California. His most recent book is Cities of God: The Religion of the Italian Communes, 1125–1325.
Product details
ASIN : 0801450705
Publisher : Cornell University Press; Annotated edition (April 15, 2012)
Language : English
Hardcover : 312 pages
4.5 out of 5 stars 145 ratings
Augustine Thompson
Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P. (born New York, 1954), is a Catholic priest of the Order of Preachers and Professor of History at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Berkleley CA. He holds a Ph.D in medieval history from the Univ. of California, Berkeley CA. Until 2009 he was Professor of Religious Studies and History at the Univ. of Virginia, Charlottesville VA. His books and publications focus on medieval Italy and medieval religious history.
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4.5 out of 5 stars
cheapie pie
4.0 out of 5 stars Meet the REAL Francis of AssisiReviewed in the United States on May 9, 2021
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Thompson's biography was recommended by Daniel Horan, OFM. I appreciated the presentation of Francis's early life and the historical context of the times in which he lived. The chapter on Francis's creation of The Rule bogged me down and a put the book aside for a while. It was too detailed for my purpose of learning more about Francis the person and his spirituality. Francis's last days were of interest because of how difficult he could be and evidence of miracles during his life and shortly afterwards. This biography presents a more complicated picture of Francis. The animal loving gentle saint is only a fragment of the person he was. Beware! This book will appeal more to academic readers than to general readers. A significant portion of the book is devoted to the sources used for the claims made by the author. Recommended!
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William Powers
3.0 out of 5 stars 3 Stars--I Wish I Could Give the Biography More...Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2013
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When I began to read this 141 page biography of St. Francis of Assisi I had intended to give the entire book 4 Stars, with the proviso that the latter part of the book (pp.142-291) which is devoted to Franciscan scholarship, rated 5 Stars. Alas, the more I read of the actual life of St. Francis the less the kindly saint came into my mind's eye. Father Thompson did an admirable job of verifying all the instances of Francis' life that could be put up to an--shall we say--investigative light, but it (the seeming obsession of confirming or at least testing everything associated to Francis) caused the writer to overlook the subject's life in the pursuit of recounting all the facets of life Francis was at the center of.
Writing, to be done correctly, is a tricky business. One of the Cardinal Rules of writing (my caps, for my review) is the old dictum: "Show, Don't Tell." Granted, the rule is usually used when talking about fiction (dare I say Creative Writing)but the show-don't-tell command is a good one for biographers as well. Too many times I sensed myself asking, "But where's Francis?" when Father Thompson went on and on and on about the Rule, or Francis' reluctance to lead, or the many, many characters that come into Francis' life with whom he has minimal face-to-face, i.e., REAL contact with.
And this, this dearth of life in the story of Francis of Assisi is the Achilles heel of the book--the story is lifeless. Near the end of the biography, on page 137, for the first time, Jacoba de' Settosoli is mentioned. Father Thompson writes, "She was probably the only woman whom Francis ever developed a close friendship, one so close that he even called her a 'brother' and excepted her from the rules excluding women from the cloister." No, I don't think there was anything amiss in this relationship, but I believe the person's existence in Francis' life should not have been left out of the biography either. If there was an even minimal attempt to add a little scene here and there, or just occasional dialogue where we envision the saint talking, or more description to SHOW 13th century life to the 21st century reader the biography it would have been easily a 4-Star book. As it is, though, so heavily weighed toward scholarship it stands as 3-Stars--and 5-Stars (easily!) for research.
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Claire's Amazon
3.0 out of 5 stars Informative, but a bit disappointingReviewed in the United States on September 14, 2020
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I was intrigued by the claim that this book was essentially a two-parter: one half narrative, one half deeper discussion. Actually, the deeper discussion was just the masses of end notes that are perfectly common to academic works and the book itself was both rather dry and lacking in interesting detail.
It also lacked skepticism about some of the wilder claims, for instance that St. Francis bore the stigmata. The author takes that claim as gospel truth, ignoring some of the historic evidence (including testimony from people who knew and loved him) that Francis' physical sores might have been from either liver disease or leprosy, not miraculous intervention.
Miracles or no, St. Francis was a great man and a unique figure in history whose life echoes from the Middle Ages down to the present. Every writer or filmmaker who takes him on likes to reinvent Francis for his/her own time, place, and inclinations. I've read several books about St. Francis and this one adds a religious-yet-academic perspective into the mix. My favorite Francis biography remains the popular one by Donald Spoto. Yes, Spoto is known for his bios of classic Hollywood figures and "serious" people like to deride his biography of Francis as being too "light." But the Francis Spoto presents is so very relatably human. If I were to read only one Francis bio, that's the one I'd choose.
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Clint Schnekloth
5.0 out of 5 stars the quest for the historical FrancisReviewed in the United States on August 21, 2013
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I believe this counts as the first book I've read where the critical apparatus (footnotes, bibliography, etc.) exceed in total pages the body of the work itself.
The book is divided into two sections. Part I is the life of Francis. Part II are the sources and debates. In a sense, this makes the book two books.
This book is a life of Francis.
This book is about the sources and debates that participate in the quest for the historical Francis.
I love it. The life itself can simply be read as a life of Francis. On this level, it is inspiring. There are significant insights, too many to list in brief review. But here just one: Whereas Francis is credited with being a lover of animals (and he was), he was actually more interested in his writings with the praise of inanimate things and the whole of creation. Object oriented ontologists, take note!
In addition, although he is the patron saint of animals, he also ate them. He was less strict about fasts from meat than most of his contemporaries, because he wanted to live out the gospel, and the gospels say, "Eat what is set before you."
The sources and debates will be of greater interest to scholars, although many audiences are probably interested in learning about the "real" Francis. Since the current pope has taken the name Francis for his papacy, clarity on the real Francis is an urgent topic.
This book is the best of the best. I will be returning to it often.
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A. McGuire
5.0 out of 5 stars First rateReviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2013
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This is an excellently conceived and executed book. The author is well aware of the many problems of writing a good modern biography of Francis, which arise chiefly because so many of the sources are late and are of sometimes questionable accuracy. He has chosen to concentrate on the earlier sources, but in a discerning not a slavish manner.
He divides his book into two parts. The first half is a straightforward and reliable description of Francis`s background and life. It assumes no previous knowledge and can be read by anyone. He is no sceptic: the sermon to the birds, the healings, and the stigmata are all here, and treated with an open mind. I found it fascinating, not least for the insight he gives into Francis`s character.
In the second half of the book he goes over the material again, but this time as an academic. He discusses the sources and gives a full treatment of the views of other scholars. So effectively this is two books in one: a reliable history for the general reader, and a full academic discussion for the scholar. It's such a good idea that I can't understand why it's not done more often.
Highly recommended, and pretty-well essential reading for anyone interested in Francis.
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C Armitage
5.0 out of 5 stars Impeccably researched historical accountReviewed in the United Kingdom on May 25, 2022
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A really excellent modern scholarly look at Francis of Assisi. I particularly liked the way the narrative occupies the first part, allowing the ‘story’ to flow, while the robust assessment of the sources reviewed and reason for the choices are in an equally readable second section
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David Bridges
5.0 out of 5 stars A book that could only be written by a DominicanReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 4, 2015
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I have to admit, I've never really liked St Francis. The hagiographies, such as GK Chesterton's, present Francis as a man I cannot associate with, and far far too holy. Fr Augustine, presents a man deeply wounded by his experiences in war, yet at the same time wanted the best for God ( he always complained when Altars had dirty linen). While I still do not like St Francis (I found someone who wanted to be in control yet not in control of his Order, and someone I always want to force to take a bath), I can compassionate more with him.
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Mr. J. Severn
5.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting read about a complex characterReviewed in Germany on January 6, 2018
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The book provides a readable story of the man and some more detailed study with references. It seems that Francis never wanted to lead, but simply to follow God. He brought no great theological insights but determined devotion and humility.
It's nice too to read a hardback book instead of just a paperback.
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agilus
3.0 out of 5 stars A good readReviewed in Australia on June 22, 2015
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A clear cut scientific and honest appraisal on a much loved and revered saint of the church. Worth the read which removed much of the 'pious myth' associated with st francis. Recommended read. I feel I know the man better - his character traits, spirituality and personal concerns for his brothers and sisters.
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A critical history of the life of Francis of Assisi. While the author discounts the historicity of much of what previously has been written about Francesco, he manages in eight chapters to portray a very human life which nevertheless reveals qualities that make it understandable why even during his life, Francesco was considered to be a saint. A second section of the book is filled with copious footnotes for the earlier chapters. Many of these footnotes explain why the author agrees with or disagrees with earlier historians who have written about Francis of Assisi.
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Libby
Jun 19, 2012Libby rated it liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: religion, saints
Francis of Assisi is everybody's favorite saint, you know, the sweet faintly hippieish guy who preached to the birds and invented the Christmas creche, right? Well---sorta right. This new bio by Augustine Thompson O.P. has something to say about that. Thompson's stated aim is to sift through the historical evidence and see Francis through the mist of miracle stories and wishful thinking. That's quite a task, especially as he admits in his preface that he had never had much devotion to Francis. Thompson is a member of the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans, who are pretty much considered both the twin order and the chief rivals of St. Francis' creation, the Friars Minor, the Franciscans. However, the Dominicans were often known as the Domini Cane, the bloodhounds of God, and the author has done a major job of sniffing out the contemporary evidence, weighing it and creating a picture of a Francis who is less a hippie and more of a Medieval man. Using Francis' own writings and those of people who were close to him, Thompson shows us a young man from a wealthy merchant family who just liked to have fun; who possibly envied the nobility; who dreamed of glory and chivalry. As a young man, Francis liked wine and good food, fast horses, and leading a batch of teenage pranksters. He worked for his father and acquired a merchant's knowledge of reading, writing, business math, Latin and French. He could ride a horse and use a sword, so when his home city of Assisi went to war with Perugia, Francis joined the militia and went off to fight. The first battle was a disaster for Assisi and Francis was captured and imprisoned. As is the case with many soldiers, Francis came home deeply changed. He no longer wanted to work for his father, found himself unable to enjoy his former pleasures and was plagued by nightmares. As might any Medieval man, he was sure that his symptoms were caused by sin, and he followed the path of penitence. He gave any beggar generous alms, including the clothes from his back. He began to spend time in the forests and in ruined churches in the countryside. He felt peace when praying before the crucifix. Eventually, he cut his ties with home and family and became a full time penitent, living in the run-down church of San Damiano and doing manual labor for his meals. Eventually, he was joined by two other penitents and without Francis' having foreseen such a thing, he had what he called a fraternitas. Over time, his followers increased until it was obvious that they needed a more formal structure. Francis' reputation grew, too, until the folk around him regarded him as a miracle worker. The stories increased as did Francis' order.
Thompson gives us as clear a picture of a reluctant saint, a man uncomfortable with the roles thrust on him, passionate about his personal piety and his vision of what his "fraternitas" should be doing. He had not thought of being a preacher, but the pope told him to preach and he obeyed. Descriptions survive of his dancing and singing while preaching. It must have been a great show, and the common people were dazzled. Francis was unhappy that he was singled out above his brothers, for his ideal was perfect humility. Even in the last days of his life, when he was terribly ill, almost blind and suffering greatly from chills, he would give away his cloaks and covers to the poor. He shows as a terrible patient, in need of tons of care and cranky when his caregivers tried to take good care of him. But he also shows a deep contrition toward the recipients of his crankiness and a deep love and concern for the future of his fraters.
Thompson structures his book so that the narrative of St. Francis' doings is in the first eight chapters. If you do not wish to immerse yourself in academic debate, you can quit there. The last half of the book is densely written description of what experts said what about the existing evidence and why or why not they are wrong. This half of the book is densely written and makes the assumption that the reader has lot of background in Italian history and culture, as well as a familiarity with the Medieval Catholic Church. This is heavy going and I don't recommend it for the casual reader. I slogged through it because I'm an obsessive compulsive and I had to do it. The first half of the book was entertaining and instructive and I think history lovers would benefit from it. (less)
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Katie
Apr 03, 2012Katie rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: religious-history, medieval, franciscan, italian-history
Francis of Assisi is the most malleable of medieval saints. People started projecting ideologies onto him within a few years of his death and the process has continued up to the present, to the extent that you can describe a thousand different Francises to fit nearly whatever mold you’d like. He’s liberal and conservative, an animal rights activist, a pacifist, an environmentalist, a feminist, a threat or a bolster to the early days of capitalism, an exemplar of obedience to the Church, a radical figure who challenged its traditional hierarchy. He’s left more documentation than any comparable figure, but it’s simultaneously much harder to figure out exactly what he’s about or who he was.
Augustine Thompson’s work is aiming to cut through all these romanticized and anachronistic images to figure out precisely who Francis was. He winds up with the picture of an individual that’s very human, very vivid, and frequently very sad. Francis comes across as an emotionally tormented individual with the distinct problem of building his life upon a paradox: he was the leader of a rapidly swelling religious order that was predicated on the idea of abject humility and obedience. Unlike many other religious founders, Francis seems to have somewhat stumbled into the founding of an order, and his loose, charismatic, and exmplary style of leadership quickly became insufficient when he was in charge of thousands of brothers rather than a handful. This seems to have resulted in massive amounts of psychological distress for Francis.
Thompson’s biography is unique in a couple of ways. The most noticeable is the way in which it sidelines the issue of poverty in Francis’s thought and elevates Eucharistic piety. It offers up a picture of an individual who wasn’t particularly innovative in theology or its application – he was spotlessly orthodox and had a persistent reverance for the priesthood, and his ideas about the Eucharist were only different from contemporary lay piety in their vehemence. Where Francis really shone was his personal spiritual charisma. He seems to have been gifted with the ability to make a striking and lasting impression on those that surrounded him, from his earliest companions to popes like Innocent III and Honorius III. He essentially founded an order by accident: he and his earliest followers wished to simply be utterly humble, but once his spontaneous charisma drew followers whom he refused to ever turn away, he eventually crashed headlong into the problem of how to deal with an order that had suddenly become too big to lead through personal spiritual authority.
Thompson conveys all of this really well, and I think that his overall picture of the trajectory of Francis’s life is very convincing (particularly the lack of early intention in founding the order). It’s a very human portrait, which I like. My only qualm (it’s a fairly small one) is that Thompson perhaps marginalizes poverty a bit too much as a factor in Francis’s life and the Franciscan order. That’s understandable – it’s been overemphasized for a very long time due to the drastic problems that it created later in the order’s history. But I honestly do think that poverty was a big role in Francis’s life and his mission, and it seems strange to me that Thompson seems to feel the need to explain away every reference to poverty as anachronistic or a misinterpretation. It needs a downgrade, but not a total removal from an account of Francis’s life. Also an issue – though an unavoidable one, really, given the nature of the sources – is that Thompson’s account decides to include or to abandon certain stories regarding the saint based largely on what feels right. I’m not sure there’s a better way to do it, but when Thompson decides to include a story because it fits in with his earlier interpretations, the thinking seems a little circular.
They’re small issues, though, really. Even when I didn’t entirely agree with Thompson’s interpretations I thought that his work was carefully researched, well articulated, and it always made me think. (less)
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Andrew
Aug 23, 2012Andrew rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: religion-faith
As some folks know, I am a secular Franciscan. But even it wasn't part of our Rule, I would still be reading books about the life of Francis of Assisi. I first became acquainted with the saint around 1971 when I visited a Catholic church in Kansas City with a group of young people from my Episcopal church, St. Mary's. The priest there was Franciscan, and had a sliver from one of the saint's bones preserved in a monstrance (a vessel used for displaying both the consecrated host and a holy relic), which he blessed us with. Not long after that, the movie Brother Sun, Sister Moon, by Franco Zefferelli, came out; to an adolescent of that era, it was wonderfully inspirational (although now it seems almost embarrassingly saccharine, as well as being less than historically accurate).
Father Thompson, a Dominican and professor of History at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, has created a very carefully accurate portrait of The Povarello--the Little Poor Man of Assisi. As a true historian, he cuts past the hagiography of the centuries following the saint's death in 1226, many of which were written in the style of the times to emphasize the fantastic "miraculous" events that probably never happened. Instead, Fr. Thompson relies on the writings of Francis himself, his contemporaries, and the more trustworthy records of the times. What emerges is a portrait of a real person who was trying to live out a vocation that he himself found hard to grasp.
I'm finding this portrait of Francis refreshing, but I also feel a bit sad. I'm happy to let go of the more fantastic stories, such as the wolf of Gubbio, but I'm feeling a little remorse over some of the others, such as the rebuilding of San Damiano (it was probably less a ruin than the stories would have us believe). Still, isn't it better that a saint's life be shown as more down-to-Earth? It's hard enough trying to live a Christian life without setting our role models so far removed from our world that they could never be imitated.
Fr. Thompson's rational approach is satisfying, but it's important to respond in kind. He does an excellent job of citing his sources, but as is true of most historical work, his conclusions are, to greater or lesser extent, extrapolations, well-reasoned as they may be. We'll never have a perfect picture of Francis, of course, but somewhere between the facts and the myths lie truths that are transcendent. (less)
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Pat
Jun 08, 2012Pat rated it liked it · review of another edition
I wanted this book to be exceptional, and in a way it was. Certainly well researched and dispassionately written, I found it to be strangely cold and souless. It certainly does a good job of pointing out the inner struggles and contradictions in the man. I had only a casual interest in this book, and probably shouldn't have been surprised or dismayed by my discovery that it probably was not intended for the casual reader. In terms of structure, I found the information in the second part of the book, in which the author explains his analysis and evaluation of source documents and prior biographies, to be useful and informative. However, having to constantly flip back and forth between the sections really interrutped the overall flow. I wish the author would have incorporated some of the narrative into the biography itself and have otherwise used the more traditional footnote approach. I also wish that he would have provided a little more information regarding the political, religious and social climate in which these events took place. The book did make me curious enough about this strange and holy man to read a different biography of Francis. (less)
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Darrick Taylor
Nov 29, 2018Darrick Taylor rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: religion, theology, biography
Augustine Thompson's biography of Francis of Assisi is a fine works of scholarship that presents us with a some ways more "down-to-earth" version of the great saint than popular culture or even Franciscan tradition might be used to. Following a scrupulous method (which he explains quite well), Thompson, a Dominican Friar, eschews certain popular tales about Francis (such as the wolf of Gubbio) to focus as closely as possible on the Francis behind the various traditions that grew up after his death. Thompson's Francis is much more concerned with the Eucharist, for example, than he is with poverty; Thompson cites numerous letters by Francis ordering his friars to procure chalices and other vessels for the liturgy and to keep them clean, something that he took very seriously. Moreover, Thompson is quite impatient with the depiction of Francis in the film "Brother Sun, Sister Moon," and if you are hoping to find a Francis who is a proto-political radical arrayed against private property, you will be disappointed. Thompson's Francis is very much orthodox and mystical, rather than political. This is a fine work of scholarship, which includes a long section on the modern scholarly debate over Francis's life. Thus it is a good introduction for students and laymen alike. Highly recommended. (less)
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Patrick T.
Jun 09, 2013Patrick T. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Perhaps the best way to begin a discussion of Francis of Assisi: A New Biography by Augustine Thompson, O.P. — a rich, austere and complex portrait of one of the most famous and admired saints in Catholicism — is to look at the greeting that Francis used:
May the Lord give you peace.
Francis said he learned this greeting from God, and Thompson writes:
This phrase was not a command or a didactic instruction; it was a prayer. Its use placed Francis within a medieval “peace movement” going back to the period of the Gregorian Reforms in the eleventh century, but its use as a greeting was revolutionary in its novelty…
Francis’s greeting did not use the imperative as a priest’s blessing would have; rather, setting aside any priestly authority, he prayed that God grant the hearer peace. Something about the greeting was so disturbing and novel that when Francis was traveling with one of his early brothers…, people reacted with confusion or anger at it….
One thing that distinguishes Francis from earlier and later medieval peacemakers was his absolute lack of any program of legal or social reforms. He did not diagnose the moral roots of social disease or civil unrest. Rather, he prayed to God to remove them….Combined with Francis’s presence, [the greeting] effected an inner peace in many who heard it. That his words and presence gave a profound internal peace underlies Francis’s magnetism for the men and women of Assisi and communal Italy.
A professional historian
Okay. That’s a long quote, but I’ve used it because it illustrates or touches on a number of important points about this newly published work.
Thompson, a Dominican priest, is a professional historian, and he set out to write a biography of Francis that would find “the man behind the legends.” This means, for example, that he trusts contemporaneous or near-contemporaneous accounts more than those written later. He relies on people who actually knew the holy man rather than simply heard of him. And he is skeptical of stories that were produced to score a point in a philosophical, theological or organizational debate.
As a result, some of the most beloved stories about Francis, such as the taming of a savage wolf at Gubbio, are excluded, and others, such as the Sermon to the Birds, are presented shorn of many layers of explication.
But, most important, with this approach, the real Francis has more of a chance to emerge, as in Thompson’s commentary on the peace greeting.
It would be easy enough to miss the significance of “May the Lord give you peace.” It seems the sort of thing a saint would say, seems even sweet, maybe too sweet. Thompson, though, rolls out his research to show that it was anything but.
It was a radical prayer. It didn’t attempt to teach or command. It simply was. This shook people up initially. When coupled, however, with Francis’s presence and personality, it bestowed serenity on many who received it.
“The vomit of will”
In this light, Francis is no sugary well-wisher. His words carry a jolt, even as they come to provide comfort.
Neither is he someone who wants to give commands. He is not looking to lead, or even instruct. He just is.
He lives the life he feels called to live — essentially, the life of Jesus. The life of the lowest of the low, subject to everyone and anyone. (He once wrote of his fear that Franciscans would stray from obedience and “return to the vomit of their will.”) His goal was to live without his own will, to follow only God’s will. To be a model of submission for his followers.
His calling from God, Francis said, was to be “a new fool in the world.” He and his followers, Thompson writes, were to “live in the world as pilgrims and strangers.”
In spite of himself
And, yet, Francis was a towering personality. His magnetism and example drew people to him, led people to want to follow him. He captivated bishops and Popes. He was seen as a living saint. He was a celebrity.
And he was leading a movement of thousands of followers.
Thompson often writes of Francis as conflicted. And no wonder.
His conversion had been a private experience, a reorientation of his sensibilities. His response had been to serve the lepers he had previously detested. Then Bernard and Peter arrived, moved by similar religious conversions. Francis’s response to this unexpected development was to seek help from God through a popular divination, the random opening of the missal at San Nicolo. The result was a radical call to leave everything behind…
The increasing number of followers certainly suggests Francis’s great personal magnetism. On the other hand, Francis seemed to have none of the qualities usually found in a leader, religious or otherwise. He seemed positively averse to the responsibilities that his movement’s success forced upon him…
Francis founded his movement in spite of himself.
A small black hen
Indeed, Francis’s struggles with leadership, especially as his movement became international in scope, frequently left him feeling inadequate. During one controversy, Thompson writes:
He recounted that he had dreamt he was a small black hen, and under him so many chicks were hatching that he could no longer keep them all under his wings. As that hen desperately tried to cover and protect her brood, her young kept popping out from under her and running away. The meaning was all too clear. Francis could not perform the task of mother hen that God had given him. He had failed.
Francis’s dream of himself as a hen is a reminder of how much, in the public mind today, he is seen as a saint with a special relationship with animals and nature.
There is certainly much truth in that perception, but Thompson takes pains to emphasize that Francis was no pantheist nor a vegetarian. Indeed, in contrast to other religious orders of his time, he permitted his followers to eat meat on many days when others fasted. The key thing was not to be picky — to eat what was put before them.
And, in his final illness, Francis found God’s creatures a trial to bear. Thompson writes:
The squalor [of his quarters] attracted vermin and mice, which attacked him as he tried to sleep at night. By day they infested and defiled his food. Francis became convinced that they were no ordinary vermin, but a trial sent by the devil himself.
“Spontaneous joy”
More usually, however, Francis “took spontaneous joy” from animals, whether a sheep or a cricket or, yes, birds. Thompson’s retelling of the Sermon to the Birds story is less ornamented than the legend but richer in its psychological insight into the man.
Once while traveling near Bevagna in the Spoleto valley, Francis spied a large flock of birds in a field by the side of the road. Delighted by them, he approached and addressed them with his familiar greeting, “The Lord give you peace.” He was even more delighted that they did not fly away, even as he walked into their midst. He voiced great praise to God for this and urged his sister birds to do so too. This was something they did, singing, spreading their wings, and taking flight as he blessed them with the sign of the cross.
This incident, later elaborated into the famous “Sermon to the Birds,” exemplifies Francis’s relationship to nature: delight at its presence and greater delight when animals did not fear him, both leading to praise of the Creator who made them.
Marks
Thompson does not shy away from relating miracles if the reports of them are trustworthy, nor from writing about Francis’s stigmata.
After this vision [of an angel], Francis began to manifest strange marks on his body. On the palms of his hands and on the top of his feet, there appeared protruding bits of flesh that resembled nothing so much as nail heads. On the base of his feet and the backs of his hands, other outgrowths appeared resembling nail points. In his side, there appeared a wound that dripped blood. The phenomena on Francis’s hands and feet did not issue any blood….
These physical marks reproduced the very wounds of Christ, the same wounds on which Francis meditated daily.
Over the centuries, many writers, including Plutarch, have dismissed Francis’s stigmata as a fairy tale or tried to explain them away as a psychologically induced condition.
Thompson writes that, given the great degree of documentation about the marks, virtually all modern writers accept them as real. Even the nail-head and nail-point form of the marks in the hands and feet argues in their favor since it goes against the expected manifestation of the stigmata as a bloody laceration.
Thompson’s interpretation
Readers who go to the lives of saints for inspiration will find much in this biography to ponder. Nonetheless, they may regret the absence of much treasured stories.
Those stories — amplifications, if you will, of the life of Francis — have value, I think. They say something about religious faith and about the way believers use, manipulate and reshape the legacies of holy people, for good and ill.
I would like to read another book that would examine such stories in these various contexts, perhaps building on Thompson’s bedrock look at Francis.
That said, I am heartily grateful to Thompson for attempting to weed through the clutter of eight centuries of documents and commentary and develop this rich, austere and complex portrait of Francis. As he writes, this is his interpretation.
It is far from the final word on the saint, of course. I doubt there will come a day when writers will not want to take on Francis.
That’s yet one more indication of the import of this short, gaunt, conflicted holy man.
Patrick T. Reardon
6.6.13
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Alan Kern
Dec 19, 2018Alan Kern rated it it was amazing
This book is as close as I could get to the real saint. I've always been fascinated by his figure, but have always been unsure as to what was real and what was fiction. Before this book, I read a popular but highly romanticized biography that took many creative liberties. Thompson, by analyzing the primary sources and applying a critical lens, was helpful in wading through the many legends about this saint and getting to the most accurate picture of him. (less)
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Gabriel Kraus
Jan 06, 2020Gabriel Kraus rated it liked it · review of another edition
Part I is informative and a good history of St Francis. The author provides us with the real Francis, not the modern understanding of Francis as a hippie ecumenical globalist. Part II is a dense review of the scholarly debates and not needed for one that is reading for a better understanding of St. Francis.
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Denton Baker
Sep 03, 2019Denton Baker rated it really liked it
Very good read. Author well described how conflicted Francis was as a human and in his spirituality. Thompson well distinguished between fact and fiction and emphasized how Francis was definitely not a leader or organizer. Strangely, Francis was never ordained.
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Patrick
Mar 08, 2018Patrick rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: history, religion, non-fiction
A real solid biography written at a scholarly but accessible level. Great introduction to Francis.
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Marshall Johnson
Mar 25, 2021Marshall Johnson rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: social-science
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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A.J. Jr.
Jun 07, 2021A.J. Jr. rated it it was amazing
Very good book. I really enjoyed reading this new biography of Saint Francis. Highly recommended.
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Susan Frances
Feb 15, 2012Susan Frances rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Who was Francis of Assisi and how did he come to be the founder of a unit of the Catholic Church known as the Franciscan Order, which continues to survive today? Author Augustine Thompson traces the acclaimed friar’s history in his book Francis of Assisi: A New Biography describing him as a revolutionary man in his day early 13th century Italy. Francis’ mission to achieve an Apostolic Life explicitly based on the Scriptures caused conflict within himself and among his followers and devoted flock as well as giving him great joy and meaning to his life. His magnetic delivery of sermons and ad hoc speeches in public and before the clergy made him into a folkloric celebrity similarly to Robin Hood who also existed during this time in South Yorkshire, England.
Thompson shows that Francis of Assisi developed one of the most purist codes of conduct for contemporary disciples of Jesus’ teachings emphasizing such moral ethics as turning to menial labor to earn one’s necessities such as food and shelter, and being charitable and compassionate to the sick and downtrodden. Francis’ efforts to be accepted by the papacy and his ambition, in a spiritual sense, to spread the word of the principles put forth in the Bible is both laudable and contradictory to the tenets of humility, the ideals of the penitent man which is the foundation of the Order that Francis established.
As his brood evolved and the audiences expanded, Francis of Assisi’s struggle to reconcile his ambition to spread the word and convert communities such as the Saracens to Christianity resulted in him becoming a revered prophet and causing him to compromise his lifestyle of poverty, chastity, and obedience to his flock. Along with public reverence came the condition he was superior to the audiences he was delivering sermons to, and with such authority came the temptation of corruption and abuse, also threatening to dilute his ideals of an Apostolic Life. The closer he came to his goal, the less he was achieving it.
Thompson’s insight and in depth research into Francis of Assisi’s life and liturgical works has pedagogical value as well as significance to people inside and outside of nationalities and belief systems of Catholic cultures. The issues which erupted within Francis’ group have relevance in modern times. The struggles and tension he faced are shared by those who strive for an ideal lifestyle and frustrated when satisfaction eludes them.
Francis’ journey continues to be walked by others as Thompson shows evidence of the Order’s needed to adapt to social changes in order to continue to survive. Francis acquired sainthood in 1228 by Pope Gregory IX leaving a legacy that inspired painters to portray him on canvass, sculptors to depict his likeness in stone, and clergyman inspired to created homilies based on his teachings. Thompson provides the evidence which shows how so many communities had been moved by Francis of Assisi, a common man who had influenced the mindset of nations during his lifetime and after his death.
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patrick Lorelli
Sep 25, 2013patrick Lorelli rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: religion
I have read other books about ST. FRANCIS, but this book made him more as a person and some one that was easier to relate to. There are parts of the story that are the same as in other books but this one goes into a little more detail. As to why he was depressed and what lead up to it. A lot of research went into this book and for me it was welcomed. Not the same story just retold. You find out that he had a time where he was parting and drinking coming home late. That it was not just being in prison for a year after a battle that he fought in but the sheer horror of that battle and being left on the field after wards with just a few friends left really had an effect on him. It was like he had P.T.S.D. When he finally did get home he did not anything to do with his former life and looked for a new life. That is when his service. Actually his study of the Gospels and of John mostly. Where he speaks Christ dying on the cross is the most important part and to live in reverence of the cross. When he began going to church he started noticing how many crucifixes needed repairing and the churches as well. He began fixing and cleaning. People started hearing about him and wanted to follow him. He told them they must give up all things, some did some did not. One thing that got me was how he got after priests about washing the linens for the altar, cleaning the chalices, wearing the proper vestments and keeping the Eucharist locked up. He also felt that priest should kneel as well as lay people. A lot of these were put into action by Pope Herodias III, this was well after St. Francis letter. Could not be proved if he read the letter or not but he is the one who granted his mission. The rest of the book was the same information. I really enjoyed this book it was a good book. I got it off of Net Galley. (less)
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Jan Frederik Solem
Dec 16, 2013Jan Frederik Solem rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Given the friendly rivalry and mutual respect of our orders, Dominicans and Franciscans, a Dominican writing a biography of St. Francis would be expected to do his very best. And so fr. Augustine Thompson OP, after several previous books on Italian Catholic piety of the period, has dared to turn his scholarship to the saint that we, too, in our litany of all saints, ask to pray for us: our father Francis. It is not for a Dominican to speculate, "what would St. Francis do" as Franciscans naturally would. From us would be expected the very best of scholarship, truth - and kindness. Fr. Thompson's book succeeds admirably. It is a very readable, meticulously researched work, in two parts of about the same length - the *Life* and then *Sources and debates*. So half of the book consists of endnotes to each chapter! (less)
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