Shaping Authority in the Female Franciscan Rules and formae vitae (c. 1212–63)

Between 1212 and 1263, seven rules and formae vitae were written specifically for women who wished to undertake some form of poor, penitential, or Franciscan life. The various movements of sorores pauperes sprang from different impetuses, only some of which had their foundations in a desire to share the spirituality of the Friars Minor. Despite resistance from the Friars, several experiments in rule making were undertaken that would variously shape the religiones of the sisters with their diverse visions for a Franciscan women’s religio. The specific case study undertaken here focuses on these rules and their formation of principles and relationships of authority, both external and intra-communal, for a women’s religio.