The Writings of Francis of Assisi: Rules, Testament and Admonitions

The Rule of the Leser Brothers: The Earlier Rule, Fragments , Later Rule, The Rule for Hermitages

The Rule of the Lesser Brothers: The Earlier Rule, Fragments, Later Rule, The Rule for Hermitages William J. Short Introduction to the Rules of the Lesser Brothers He called it their Book of Life, the hope of salvation, the marrow of the Gospel, the way of perfection, the key of Paradise, the pact of an eternal covenant. He wanted all to have it, all to know it, in all places to let it speak to the inner man as encouragement in weariness and as a reminder of a sworn oath. He taught them to keep it always before their eyes as a reminder of the life they should lead and, what is more, that they should die with it.1 Lines more dramatic than these can hardly be found to introduce a study of the Rule of the Lesser Brothers. Presented as words spoken by Francis in praise of the Rule, in Thomas of Celano’s The Remembrance oftheDesireofaSoul,theyunderscorethemanifoldwaystounderstand this text and its spiritual importance. It is both book and hope; marrow and way; key and pact. The Rule is Life, salvation, Gospel, perfection, Paradise, and covenant. One of the earliest, and certainly the most influential of the evangelical rules, it comes to us in various forms. Our purpose here is to describe the genesis of that Rule, from its early development to its ultimate, approved form. 1 2C 208, FA:ED 2, 380-81. The Writings of Francis of Assisi 18 In order to guide the reader through the stages of its development, we will begin with a detailed study of the Earlier Rule (ER), examine the Fragments (Frg) of the Rule preserved in various texts, and then consider more briefly the Later Rule (LR). A separate treatment of the Rule for Hermitages (RH), which is not a rule at all, considers it as a text that is complementary to the history of the development of the Rule itself. This guide for the study of the Rule will require thoughtful choices by the reader. A newly revised critical edition of the Latin text of the Rule in its various forms appeared during the preparation of this volume . It therefore seemed appropriate to use this opportunity to incorporate these new insights into a treatment of the text that is much more detailed in matters of textual criticism than originally foreseen. In order to give a generally similar treatment to each of these documents (ER, Frg, LR, RH) the following pages will offer for each text introductory materials that describe the manuscript tradition, its status and editions, with notes on its authorship and genre. Each version of the Rule will be examined separately, with attention to its sources, historical context, and questions arising from such an examination. This will include questions of its interpretation, attending to structural issues, themes, symbols and images, and its overall significance. Bibliographical materials will also be provided, with reference to the manuscripts and editions, translations and studies of the Rule. The Earlier Rule (ER) I. Establishing the Text By the end of the Chapter of Pentecost in 1221 the brothers and Brother Francis had completed the text known today as the Earlier Rule (ER), the Rule of 1221, or the Regula non bullata, that is, a Rule without a bulla, the official seal of papal approval. The original manuscript of that document as it existed in the Summer of 1221 has not come down to us. In the following pages we will describe the history of the transmission of that text through manuscripts based on it, describing The Writings of Francis of Assisi 19 in some detail the perplexing differences in the copies that originated from that text of Pentecost, 1221. a. Manuscripts of the Earlier Rule, early printed editions, modern editions The manuscripts of the ER are not particularly numerous, barely two dozen. Yet questions about their relative importance, their antiquity , and their reliability for establishing the critical edition of the text have received widely varying responses from modern scholars. Flood, Esser and Paolazzi on the Manuscript Tradition The earliest manuscript tradition available for the ER as a whole dates only to the middle of the fourteenth century, and these are the four manuscripts (especially the first, An) preferred by David Flood in preparing his critical edition of the text, originally published in 1967.2 The following listing of manuscripts for Flood’s edition uses his abbreviations and dating:3 An: Sant...