Reinventing Clare of Assisi in Late Medieval
Sermons, Art, and Hagiography
Catherine
Mooney
Boston
College
Clare of
Assisi (c. 1193-1253) has traditionally been known as the female and lesser
counterpart of the towering medieval saint, Francis of Assisi. Recent historical investigations,
drawing on Clare’s writings, papal letters, and other historical documents,
have challenged her status as the “founder” of the Order of San Damiano, and
thrown new light on her struggle to defend her community of San Damiano’s
radical poverty and its place alongside Francis’s Lesser Brothers.
Drawing on
hagiographic vitae, a vita-panel-painting, and sermons, I will
show how this historical Clare was quickly transformed after her death into a
fictionalized, ecclesial Clare more amenable to the agendas of the papacy,
preachers, and others.
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