Gospel: Life or Observance?: Observations on a Language Shift in the Early Documents

281 Franciscan Studies 64 (2006) GOSPEL: LIFE OR OBSERVANCE? Observations on a Language Shift in the Early Documents While compiling the index to the three volume series, Francis of Assisi: Early Documents,1 the editors noticed significant changes in the language early Franciscan authors used. There are notable differences between the earlier sources of the thirteenth century and the later sources of the fourteenth century. Although words were often similar, the language and application thereof became very different. The fourteenth century texts that explicitly claim fidelity to Francis of Assisi are, in fact, the texts that are the most distant from his own language. This essay will examine one example of this shift away from the usage of Francis and other earlier sources. It will examine how the earlier dynamic language of “life” in reference to the Gospel moved to the more static notion of “observance.” The earlier texts that focus on “Gospel life” promote an active and relational context for engaging the Gospel; and the later texts emphasize a “Gospel observance,” which promotes a more passive and normative relationship to the Gospel. This essay will share an observation and open a question. It offers possibility for further research and invites further analysis that could be significant for reading and interpreting anew early Franciscan sources. For the purposes of introducing this complex development that involves 37 plus texts written over a span of nearly 150 years, the essay will follow the chronology offered by three volumes, keeping in mind that volume one of Francis of Assisi: Early Documents covers the years 1209 to 1240, generally the first generation; the second volume presents the texts between 1240 and 1267, generally the second genera1 Cf. Regis J. Armstrong, J.A. Wayne Hellmann, Willim J. Short, Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, 4 vols. (NY: New City Press: 1999-2002). All English translations, references and abbreviations are taken from these volumes. All Latin citations found in footnotes, unless otherwise noted, are taken from Fontes Franciscani (Assisi: Edizioni Porziuncola, 1995) as edited by Ernesto Menestò and Stefano Brufani. 282 J. A. WAYNE HELLMANN tion; and the third offers texts between 1283 and 1365, third and fourth generations. In other words, the essay will examine the language of the earlier texts in the first volume, the early 13th century, and compare it to the language of the mid 13th century in volume two, and, then again, to the language of texts in the third volume, the late 13th and extensive part of the 14th centuries. The development of the essay focuses primarily on the use of the word “observance.” First of all, it is to be noticed that this word, observantia , does not appear in the first volume. Francis of Assisi does not use it in his own writings. The lives of St. Francis written by Thomas of Celano and by Julian of Speyer do not employ the word. It is also absent from early liturgical texts. However, the word begins to appear in the texts found in volume two, that is, between the years of 1240 and 1267. It appears sixteen times in volume two, but in volume three, in the texts between 1283 and 1365, the use of this word doubles. “Observance ” appears thirty-eight times. A simple scan of the index will show this development. Thus, in the later developments, especially in the 14th century, the authors frequently employ the category of observance to characterize the relationship of the brothers to the Gospel. However, before analyzing the notion of “Gospel observance” in the later texts of the second and third volumes, it is important to note how the earlier texts in volume one, that is, in the writings of Francis of Assisi, Thomas of Celano and Julian of Speyer, characterize the relationship of Francis and his brothers to the Gospel. It will be noted that there is more emphasis on living the “life” of the Gospel. Volume One The three principal authors here considered are Francis of Assisi, Thomas of Celano in his Life of St. Francis (1229) and Julian of Speyer in The Divine Office and in his Life of St. Francis (1232). In analysis of Francis’s writings, the task is...