A Companion to Clare of Assisi

by Mueller, Joan

• ISBN13: 9789004182165
• ISBN10: 9004182160
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-04-30
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub

Summary

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 thirteen 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. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Joan Mueller, Ph.D. (1992) in Theology, Duquesne University, is Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Spirituality at Creighton University. Her extensive publications on Clare of Assisi and the Franciscan movement include The Privilege of Poverty (Penn State University Press, 2006).

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Abbreviations	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Clare: Franciscan Woman
The Franciscan Choice	p. 11
The Monastery of S. Damiano	p. 35
The Politics of "Infant's Milk": Clare of Assisi and the Privilege of Poverty	p. 65
The Ordo that Gregory IX Founded: Clare among other Ugolinian Sisters	p. 91
Clare: Her Writings
Reading Clare's Letters in Context	p. 119
The Agnes Legend in Clare's Letters	p. 169
Appendix: The Legend of S. Agnes of Rome	p. 199
Clare's Forma Vitae: Unique Contributions	p. 209
Clare: Her Writings in Translation
Clare's First Letter to Agnes	p. 261
Clare's Second Letter to Agnes	p. 265
Clare's Third Letter to Agnes	p. 267
Clare's Fourth Letter to Agnes	p. 271
Clare's Forma Vitae	p. 275
Bibliography	p. 287
Index	p. 301
Illustrations	p. 309
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.