The Writings of Francis of Assisi: Letters and Prayers

Letter to the Rulers of the People

lETTEr TO ThE rulErS OF ThE PEOPlE mIChaEl W. blaSTIC I. ESTablIShINg ThE TExT The letter to the Rulers of the People has no known manuscript tradition, as there are no extant manuscripts of the text. It was first published by Francis Gonzaga, the General Minister of the Order from 1597 to 1587.1 According to Gonzaga, the first provincial minister of Spain, Giovanni Parenti, carried a copy of this letter with him to Saragoza . Luke Wadding later obtained a Spanish translation of the text.2 Almost all the editors of Francis’s Writings have held its authenticity, including Esser.3 More recently however, Giovanni Merlo commented that the information given by Gonzaga is not very tenable. Despite this equivocation, though, Merlo argues that there is very little in its 1 FranciscideGonzaga,DeorigineSeraphicaeReligioniseiusqueprogressibus,PartIII (Rome, 1587), 699-700. 2 Kajetan Esser, ed., Die Opuscula des hl. Franziskus von Assisi (Grottaferrata: Editiones Collegii S. Bonaventurae ad Claras Aquas, 1976), 270, explained that Wadding received this translation from Antonio Dazza, who carried it to Rome with its translation together with a copy of the Second Version of the Letter to the Custodians. 3 Carlo Paolazzi, “Le epistole maggiori di frate Francesco, edizione critica ed emendamenti ai testi minori,” Archivum Franciscanum Historicum 101 (2008), 20-23, discusses the Letter to the Rulers of the People, without commenting on the question of authenticity. He does, however, correct Esser’s edition of verse 6 to read: Unde firmiter consulovobis,dominismeis,utomnicuraetsollicitudineposthabitis,agatisverampenitentiam etsanctissimumcorpusetsanctissimumsanguinemDomininostriJesuChristiineiussancta commemoratione benigne recipiatis. The Writings of Francis of Assisi 114 style and content that could challenge the letter’s authenticity.4 Specifically , both the syntax and the vocabulary reflect Francis’s authentic writings. However, the fact that this letter is not found in any codex that transmits the writings raises questions, even though other letters known to have been written by Francis have been lost.5 Esser places the composition of the Letter to the Rulers of the People shortly after Francis’s return from the Middle East in 1220, noting the reference to providing “some sign,” which calls the people to give “praise and thanksgiving” to God, which reflects the Muslim practice of salat. Esser also notes in this instance a similarity with the Letter to the Custodians. Merlo suggests, on the other hand, that this position is really impossible to demonstrate given our present information , because the phrase “praise and thanksgiving” is a common characteristic of Francis’s own conception of prayer. There is also a difficulty with identifying the intended audience of the letter. The officials named in the letter – “all mayors, consuls, magistrates and governors throughout the world” (v.1) – can be identified only as the officials of the Italian Communes in central Italy. By contrast, Leonhard Lehmann dates this letter at a time after the approval of the Later Rule, based on a story reported in the Assisi Compilation 108. This account concerns Francis’s devotion to the Eucharist, and his wish to send brothers throughout the world with pyxes so that wherever “the brothers found the Body of Christ placed illicitly” they would place them in an honorable place. Francis wanted this written in the Rule so that the brothers do likewise with regard to the Body and Blood of the Lord and the written names and words of the Lord. The text goes on to say that, “Although [Francis] did not write this in the Rule, particularly because it did not seem good to the brother ministers, the holy father wanted to leave the brothers in his 4 Francesco d’Assisi: Scritti, ed. Aristide Cabassi (Padua: Editrice Francescane, 2002), 407. Esser’s arguments for authenticity involve the double attestation of Gonzaga and Wadding; expressions within the text that are found in other writings (e.g. cura et sollicitudo , found twice in vv. 3, 6; sentences beginning with “and”; biblical reminiscences such as Psalm 118:21 and Luke 8:18 found multiple times in the writings; and the attitude taken toward the rulers reflects that of Francis with regard to Emperor Otto recorded in 1C 43); see Esser, Opuscula, 270-74. 5 For example, the “dictated writings” attributed to Francis by Esser in his Opuscula , such as the Blessing sent to Clare and her sisters; the Blessing for brother Bernard; the letter written to Lady Jacoba; see Esser, Opuscula, 451-61. The Writings of Francis of Assisi 115 Testament and in his other writings...