The Francis Trilogy of Thomas of Celano (review)

The same scholars who edited this volume published Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, a huge compendium of early sources concerning Saint Francis, three volumes of sources in translation plus a fourth volume containing the index. Each of the first three volumes of this important contribution to Franciscan studies was reviewed separately in the Catholic Historical Review, Volumes 86–88 (2000–2002).

Because the sources in this earlier compendium were arranged in the order in which we think them to have been written, works by Thomas of Celano were divided between the first and second volumes. What we have in The Francis Trilogy is simply the publication in a single volume of works by Thomas published in Volumes I and II of the compendium, along with the same introduction already found there. There is, in short, nothing new, except that one of the four works by Thomas included in the earlier compendium, the Legend for Use in the Choir, is not published here. On the other hand, the volume allows us to enjoy the rest of Thomas' work in a single volume for a relatively reasonable price.