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diff --git a/38559.txt b/38559.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..57c49ca --- /dev/null +++ b/38559.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11308 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of Assisi, by Lina Duff Gordon + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Story of Assisi + +Author: Lina Duff Gordon + +Illustrator: Nelly Erichsen + M. Helen James + +Release Date: January 12, 2012 [EBook #38559] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF ASSISI *** + + + + +Produced by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + + + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + + Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have + been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. + + Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. + + + + +The Story of Assisi + + + + + "Between Tupino, and the wave that falls + From blest Ubaldo's chosen hill, there hangs + Rich slope of mountain high, whence heat and cold + Are wafted through Perugia's eastern gate: + And Nocera with Gualdo, in its rear, + Mourn for their heavy yoke. Upon that side, + Where it doth break its steepness most, arose + A sun upon the world, as duly this + From Ganges doth: therefore let none who speak + Of that place, say Ascesi; for its name + Were lamely so deliver'd; but the East, + To call things rightly, be it henceforth styled." + DANTE, _Paradiso_, xi. (Cary's translation). + + + + + [Illustration: _P. Lunghi. Photo._ + _Statue of St. Francis._ + _by Andrea della Robbia in Sta. Maria degli Angeli._] + + + + +The Story of Assisi + +by Lina Duff Gordon + +Illustrated by Nelly Erichsen + and M. Helen James + +London: J. M. Dent & Co. + +Aldine House, 29 and 30 Bedford Street + +Covent Garden, W.C. 1901 + + + + +_First Edition, December 1900_ + +_Second Edition, October 1901_ + +_All rights reserved_ + + + + + _To + Margaret Vaughan_ + + _this small book is affectionately dedicated + in remembrance of days spent together + in the Umbrian country_ + + + + +NOTE + + +My sincerest thanks are due to my aunt Mrs Ross, to Mrs Vaughan, Dr E. +Percival Wright, M. Paul Sabatier, Mr Sidney Colvin, Sir William +Markby and Mr Pearsall Smith, for the help rendered me in various ways +during the writing of this book. I wish further to acknowledge the +kindness of Mr Roger Fry who allowed me to quote from his lectures on +Art delivered this year in London, before they were published in the +_New Monthly Review_; and also the generous permission of Mr Anderson +(Rome), and Signor Lunghi (Assisi), for allowing me to use their +photographs. For the loan of old Italian books I am indebted to Cav. +Bruschi, Librarian of the Marucelliana at Florence, to Professor +Bellucci, Professor of the University of Perugia, and to Signor Rossi, +proprietor of the Hotel Subasio at Assisi, whose intimate knowledge of +his native town has been of great service to me. + + L. D. G. + + POGGIO GHERARDO, + FLORENCE, _October 1900_. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER I + PAGE + _War and Strife_ 1 + + CHAPTER II + + _The Umbrian Prophet_ 39 + + CHAPTER III + + _The Carceri, Rivo-Torto and Life at the + Portiuncula_ 81 + + CHAPTER IV + + _The building of the Basilica and Convent of + San Francesco. The Story of Brother + Elias_ 117 + + CHAPTER V + + _Cimabue and his School at San Francesco_ 149 + + CHAPTER VI + + _The Paintings of Giotto and his School in the + Lower Church_ 168 + + CHAPTER VII + + _The Sienese Masters in the Lower Church. + The Convent_ 198 + + CHAPTER VIII + + _Giotto's Legend of St. Francis in the Upper + Church_ 228 + + CHAPTER IX + + _St. Clare at San Damiano. The Church of + Santa Chiara_ 258 + + CHAPTER X + + _Other Buildings in the Town_ 289 + + CHAPTER XI + + _The Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. The + Feast of the Pardon of St. Francis or + the "Perdono d'Assisi"_ 335 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + _Statue of St. Francis by Andrea della Robbia in + Sta. Maria degli Angeli_ + (_P. Lunghi--photo_) _Photogravure-Frontispiece_ + + PAGE + + _The Temple of Minerva_ 3 + + _The Eastern Slope of Assisi with the Castle, + from the Porta Cappucini_ 10 + + _The Guelph Lion of Assisi_ 22 + + _The Arms of Assisi_ 37 + + _Assisi in the time of St. Francis_ 38 + + _Via di S. Maria delle Rose_ 58 + + _The Arms of the Franciscans_ 80 + + _Hermitage of the Carceri_ 82 + + _The Carceri with a View of the Bridge_ 89 + + _Side Door of the Portiuncula built by St. Benedict_ 99 + + _The Portiuncula in the time of St. Francis, from + the "Collis Paradisi"_ 107 + + _Assisi from the Plain_ 113 + + _Church and Convent of San Francesco_ 127 + + _San Francesco from the Plain_ 147 + + _The Lower Church_ 150 + + _Looking through the doors of the Upper Church + towards the Porta S. Giacomo and the + Castle_ 157 + + _Plan of the Lower Church and Monastery of + San Francesco at Assisi_ (_facing_) 168 + + _Choir and Transepts of the Lower Church_ 172 + + _The Marriage of St. Francis with Poverty_ + (_D. Anderson--photo_) 179 + + _The Old Cemetery of San Francesco_ 194 + + _The Knighthood of St. Martin by Simone Martini_ + (_D. Anderson--photo_) 201 + + _Bird's Eye View of the Basilica and Convent + of San Francesco, from a drawing made in + 1820_ 213 + + _San Francesco from the Tescio_ 217 + + _Staircase leading from the Upper to the Lower + Piazza of San Francesco_ 220 + + _San Francesco from the Ponte S. Vittorino_ 222 + + _A Friar of the Minor Conventual Order of St. + Francis_ 225 + + _St. Francis Renounces the World_ + (_D. Anderson--photo_) 233 + + _Death of the Knight of Celano_ + (_D. Anderson--photo_) 247 + + _Arms of the Franciscans from the Intarsia of + the Stalls_ 257 + + _Door through which St. Clare left the Palazzo + Scifi_ 262 + + _San Damiano, showing the Window with the + Ledge whence St. Claire routed the Saracens_ 268 + + _Santa Chiara_ 282 + + _Santa Chiara from near the Porta Mojano_ 287 + + _Campanile of San Rufino_ 290 + + _Door of San Rufino_ 295 + + _The Dome and Apse of San Rufino from the + Canon's Garden_ 298 + + _Campanile of Sta. Maria Maggiore_ 309 + + _Church of Sta. Maria Maggiore_ 310 + + _Church of S. Pietro_ 313 + + _Confraternity of San Francescuccio in Via + Garibaldi_ 315 + + _Monte Frumentorio in the Via Principe di + Napoli_ 320 + + _House of the Comacine Builders in the Via + Principe di Napole_ 322 + + _Looking across the Assisan roofs towards the + East_ 325 + + _View of San Francesco from beneath the Castle + Walls_ 332 + + _The Garden of the Roses at Sta. Maria degli + Angeli_ 339 + + _The Fonte Marcella by Galeazzo Alessi_ 346 + + _An Assisan Garden in Via Garibaldi_ 347 + + _Umbrian Oxen_ 349 + + _Women from the Basilicata_ 351 + + _San Francesco_ 356 + + _Plan of Assisi_ 372 + + + + +The Story of Assisi + + + + +CHAPTER I + +_War and Strife_ + + "C'etait le temps des guerres sans pitie et des inimities + mortelles." H. TAINE. _Voyage en Italie._ _Perouse et Assise._ + + +All who ascend the hill of the Seraphic City must feel its +indescribable charm--intangible, mysterious, and quite distinct from +the beauty of the Umbrian valley. "Why," we ask ourselves, "this +stillness and sense of marvellous peace in every church and every +street?" And, as though conscious of our thoughts, a young Assisan, +with a gesture of infinite sadness towards the large, desolate palaces +and broad deserted streets, said, as we lingered on our way: "Ah! +Signore mie, our city is a city of the dead--of memories only." As he +spoke a long procession of a grey-clothed confraternity, bearing on +their breasts the franciscan badge, preceded by a priest who walked +beneath a baldachino, streamed out of a small church. Slowly they +passed down the road, and then the priest turned into a wayside +cottage where lay a dying woman, while the others waited outside under +the olive trees. But the sound of their chanting and the tinkling of +the small bell came to us as we leaned over the city walls. Of a truth +we felt the religious life of the town was not dead: perchance, down +those streets, now so still, men had passed along to battle during +the sad turmoil of the middle ages, had hated and loved as well as +prayed, with all the fervour of their southern nature. We must turn to +the early chroniclers to find in their fascinating pages that Assisi +has had her passionate past and her hours of deepest trial. + +Her origin goes back to the days when the Umbrians, one of the most +ancient people of Italy, inhabited the country north and south of the +Tiber, and lived a wild life in caves. But the past is very dim; some +Umbrian inscriptions, a few flint arrow heads, and some hatchets made +of jade found on the shore of lake Thrasymene are the only records we +possess of these early settlers. + +If written history of their ways and origin is lacking, the later +chroniclers of Assisi endeavour to supply with their gossip, what is +missing. Rambling and strange as their legends often seem to us, +nevertheless they contain a germ of truth, an image, faint but partly +true of a time so infinitely far away. Most of the local Umbrian +historians have awarded the honour of the foundation of their own +particular town to the earliest heroes whom they happen to know of, +and these are invariably Noah and his family. It is, therefore, +curious to note that the Assisan chroniclers have departed from this +custom and have woven for themselves a legend so different from the +usual friar's tale: "Various are the opinions," says one of them, +"concerning the first building of our city; but the most probable, and +the most universally accepted by serious writers, is the one which +gives Dardanus as her founder. In the year 713 after the Deluge, and +865 years before the foundation of Rome, the first civil war in Italy +broke out between the brothers Jasius and Dardanus, both sons of +Electra; but the father of Jasius was Jupiter, while Dardanus was the +son of Corythus, King of Cortona." The people of Umbria took sides, +as some would have it that Jasius ought to be king in the place of the +dead prince Corythus. Now it happened that Dardanus had pitched his +tent on the slope of Mount Subasio, when a dream came to him that +Jupiter and Minerva were preparing to assail the enemy, and that +Jasius would be vanquished. On waking he determined, should his dream +be true, to raise a temple to the goddess on the spot where he had +slept. He went forth to battle, and with the help of the goddess drove +the enemy back with great slaughter; Jasius was killed and they buried +him on the field of battle. "Full well did Dardanus keep his vow, for +in a few months there arose a wonderful building, now known as the +sacred temple, dedicated to the true Minerva of Heaven, under the name +of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. Thus it is that the country round Assisi +has been called _Palladios agros_, the fields of Pallas."[1] + + [Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF MINERVA] + +And thus the monk dreams on about the Seraphic Province of Umbria; and +we dream with him of the Umbrians who forsook the chase and their +shepherd huts on the heights about Subasio, to gather round the +marvellous temple built by the hero ere he went forth to found the +city of Troy. People came from afar to look at the six-fluted columns, +and while marvelling at a thing so fair, they resolved to build their +homes within sight and under the shadow of the sacred walls. Here was +the nucleus of a future town. The simple shelters of cane and +brushwood were soon replaced by huts of a neater pattern made of +wattle and clay, with earthen floors, rounded porches and pent roofs. +The dwellers by the temple throve and prospered, and all was peace for +a while, until the van-guard of that mysterious people, the Etruscans, +appeared on the Umbrian horizon. We are told how Dardanus, while +visiting the King of Lydia on his way to Troy, drew such a +highly-coloured picture of the loveliness of Tuscany, the fruitful +qualities of the soil, and the lightness of the air, that Tyrrhenus, +the king's son, was immediately sent with a large army to take +possession of so rich a province. Then came a struggle, and the +Umbrian tribes were driven back south of the Tiber, which henceforth +strictly defined the boundary between Umbria and Etruria. + +Immediately to the west of Assisi, and on the longest spur of hills +which juts out into the valley of the Tiber, stood the now Etruscan +city of Perugia, to which a band of Etruscans had lately immigrated. +The huge, grim walls which grew up round it after the advent of the +new settlers, the narrow pointed gateways, some guarded by heads of +stern and unknown deities, the general menacing and ferocious aspect +of its buildings, soon warned the smaller Umbrian cities of what they +might in coming ages expect from her inhabitants. It is probable that +skirmishes were frequent between the neighbouring towns of Assisi and +Perugia, and to judge from the subterranean passages which still exist +beneath the streets of the former place, we may gather that she was +open to constant attacks, and that her inhabitants found it more +prudent to disappear underground at the approach of enemies than to +meet them in open battle. These subterranean galleries, cut in the +soft tufa, extend for miles under the present city: branching out in +all directions they form a veritable labyrinth of secret passages. +Here swiftly and silently as the foe advanced, men and women with +their children would disappear into the bowels of the earth, some +being occasionally buried beneath masses of soil shaken down by the +tramp of many feet above them. Repeated dangers of this sort at last +decided the Assisans to meet their enemies in more war-like fashion, +and to surround themselves--as Perugia had done--with stones and +mortar. Soon the town bristled with towers and turreted gateways, and +the houses, no longer built of wattle and mud, began to foreshadow the +strongly fortified palaces of a later date. None too soon did Assisi +prepare for war. In the year 309 B.C. the shrill sound of the Roman +clarion echoed through the Cimminian forest. It roused Etruria to +arms, proclaiming the fact that the Romans had dared to penetrate +beyond this dangerous barrier which hitherto had been deemed +impassable. The Etruscans and Umbrians, forgetting all their former +strifes, now joined against the new power which threatened to crush +their liberties. The battles which followed beneath the walls of +Perugia, and by Bevagna in the plain of the Clitumnus, brought all +Umbria, in the space of a single year, under the yoke of Rome. + +And now, although we leave the fields of legend and enter those of +history, we find but little mention of Assisi: this is, however, +easily accounted for. Built upon the unfrequented slopes of Mount +Subasio, like a flower gradually opening to the sun's rays, she was +far more secure than her neighbour Perugia who, commanding and +commanded by the road from Rome to Ravenna, along which an army +passed, stood in haughty and uncompromising pre-eminence. The +comparatively obscure position of Assisi therefore gave her long +periods of peace, and these she employed in building innumerable +temples, a theatre, and a circus. It is impossible to excavate in any +part of Assisi without coming upon relics of that time. Statues and +busts of the Caesars, of gods and of consuls, are lying in dark corners +of the communal palace, and broken fragments of delicately-wrought +friezes and heads of goddesses, half buried in bushes of oleander, +adorn the Assisan gardens. Beneath the foundations of the more modern +houses, mosaic floors and frescoed walls have been found, showing that +Assisi had her years of early splendour. But full of life and action +as this Roman period was, it is as completely hidden from us as are +the temples now buried beneath the present town. It passed rapidly +away, and yet is of some importance in the history of the world as +having witnessed the birth of Sex. Aurelius Propertius, great among +the poets even at a time when Virgil, Horace, and a host of others +were filling Italy with their song. + +Many an Umbrian town prides itself on being the birthplace of +Propertius. The people of Spello have even placed a tablet in their +walls to claim him as her son; but the Assisans, ignoring the rivalry +of others, very quietly point to the many inscriptions of the +Propertius' family collected beneath the portico of the Temple of +Minerva. One may be noticed referring to C. Passennus Sergius Paullus +Propertius Blaesus, said to be a lineal descendant of the poet, who is +supposed to have married after the death of the fair Cynthia, and +returned to his native valley to pass his last days in domestic +tranquillity. Angelo Poliziano, on the margin of an early edition of +the poet's works now in the Laurentian Library of Florence, has made a +note to the effect that Propertius, as well as St. Francis, was born +at Assisi; and certainly modern writers assign the honour to Assisi. + +The somewhat vague utterances of Propertius as to his native town seem +to show that the position of Assisi, with regard to Perugia and the +plain, more nearly coincides with his description than that of any +other city in the valley or on the hills. To one inquisitive friend he +answers: "Tullus, thou art ever entreating me in the name of our +friendship to tell thee my country and my descent. If thou knowest +Perusia, which gave a field of death and a sepulchre to our father and +in Italy's hour of affliction, when domestic discord drove Rome's own +citizens one against the other--(Ah! hills of Etruria, to me beyond +measure have ye given sorrow, for ye suffered the limbs of my kinsman +to be cast aside unburied, and denied the handful of dust to cover his +bones)--there it was that, close above the margin of her plain spread +below, Umbria, rich in fertile domains, gave me birth."[2] The kinsman +spoken of here is a certain Gallus, who lost his life in B.C. 41, when +Lucius Antonius was besieged in Perugia by Augustus. The horrors of +the general massacre which followed the fall of the city left sad +memories in the mind of Propertius, then a mere child. In the general +confiscation of property after the battle of Philippi his family lost +their estates. But poor as they were, Propertius was sent to Rome to +study, where, recognised as the leader of a new school of poetry, he +remained until shortly before his death, at the age of thirty-five. +His paternal estates having been restored to him, he forsook the +splendour of the Augustan court, the patronage of Maecenas, the +friendship of Virgil, and returned to the Umbrian country where his +first inspirations had been awakened. The contrast between a house and +garden on the Palatine hill, in the midst of the stir of Roman life, +and a farm by the silent stream flowing through the stillest of +valleys, must have been great. But, judging from his description of +the country, he seems to have fallen readily into rural ways, and +loved to watch the herds of white oxen, dedicated to the service of +the goddesses, grazing close to the banks of the Clitumnus. We may +infer that he hunted the "timorous hare and birds" in the thick oak +forest of the Spoletan valley, but, as he playfully tells us, he left +"the hazardous boar alone," for physical courage was not one of his +characteristics. + +From the plain his eyes were often raised in the direction of Assisi, +and to his familiarity with her towers we owe this exquisite +description of his birthplace, which, perhaps out of modesty, as he +alludes to his own fame, he places in the mouth of a soothsayer: +"Ancient Umbria gave thee birth from a noted household. Do I mistake, +or do I touch rightly the region of your home, where misty Mevania +stands among the dews of the hill-girt plain, and the waters of the +Umbrian lake grow warm the summer through, and where on the summit of +mounting Asis rise the walls to which your genius has added glory."[3] + +Nothing happens, or at least nothing is mentioned in Assisan +chronicles until Christianity stealthily worked its way up from Rome +about the third century. Then bloodshed followed during a period of +darkness when Christians and pagans divided the town into factions by +their bitter fights for religion. At first the Christians suffered, +and many were martyred in the Umbrian rivers, but only to triumph +later when Roman Assisi soon vanished and Christian basilicas were +built on the site of pagan temples. Although, after the Roman period, +we find Assisi more nearly linked with the general history of Italy, +she appears uninfluenced by outside events, and her atmosphere of +remoteness remains unimpaired. Thus we may say that Huns, Franks, and +Lombards merely passed by and left no lasting mark upon the city. For +a moment she was suddenly aroused by the tempestuous arrival of one or +other of their leaders, but once the danger was past she returned to +her calm sleep upon the mountain side. + +In 545 Totila, on his march to Rome, arrived before the walls of +Assisi which were gallantly defended for the Emperor Justinian by +Siegfried the Goth, but unfortunately he being killed in a skirmish +with the Huns, the disheartened citizens reluctantly opened their +gates to the enemy. For the first time in her annals (the Roman +occupation had been peaceful enough) a foreigner--a tyrant set foot in +her streets as master. But the restless Totila soon began to scan the +country round for other cities to attack. Becoming aware of the large +and wealthy city of Perugia perched upon the western hill, he sallied +forth to capture a bigger prey, and Assisi enjoyed a further spell of +peace. + + [Illustration: THE EASTERN SLOPE OF ASSISI WITH THE CASTLE, FROM THE + PORTA CAPPUCCINI] + +In reading the long-winded chronicles it is often difficult to gather +to which power the various small towns at this time belonged. One +point is, however, clear, that during endless contentions between the +Popes and the Greek, and later the German Emperors, the Umbrian +cities were often left to manage their own affairs, and because of the +periods of rest which they thus enjoyed and used in their individual +ways, we are inclined to speak of them as republics. For a long time +Assisi remained annexed to the Duchy of Spoleto, then under the rule +of the Lombard Dukes whose advent had filled the different cities in +the valley with Arian Christians, unfriendly to the Papacy. Assisi, +together with other towns swerved from her allegiance to the Pope, and +it is perhaps on this account that Charlemagne in 773 with his +"terrible and fierce followers" came to besiege her. They laid the +country waste, and made many attacks upon Assisi which met with stout +resistance; but while prowling round the walls one night they found +the main drain, and stealing through it they were able to discover the +weakest part of the town. Next night they returned well armed, slew +the guards who were keeping watch by the midnight fires, and before +the citizens could rush to arms, the gates were opened to Charlemagne. +The army passed in, her citizens were put to the sword, and the town +razed to the ground. + +"Thus," says a chronicler, "Assisi bereft of her inhabitants, found +herself an unhappy widow. Then was the most clement emperor grieved, +and ordering that the city should be rebuilt, he placed therein a new +colony of Christians of the Roman faith, and the city was restored, +and in it the Divine Worship."[4] + +A small arched doorway ornamented with a delicate frieze of foliage +still remains as a record of the rebuilding of the city by +Charlemagne's Lombard workmen. The stone is blackened, the tracery +worn away. Few find this dark corner in the Piazza delle Rose, and the +people wonder at those who stop to look, for "it is ugly and very +old," they say. + +It was probably at this time, towards the end of the eighth century, +that the Rocca d'Assisi was built. This made her a more important +factor in Umbrian politics; and leaders of armies, who hitherto had +paid her but a hurried visit, now vied with each other to possess a +city with so fair a crown. The citizens had chosen for the site of the +castle the part where the hill rises in a sudden peak above the town, +looking to the north across a deep ravine towards the mountains of +Gualdo and Nocera. Above the main building and the four crenelated +towers soared the castle keep; from the ramparts started two lines of +walls which, going east and west, gathered the town as it were within +a nest. At intervals rose forts connected by a covered passage, and +tall towers guarded the walls where they joined the city gates. The +Rocca d'Assisi with this chain of walls bristling with iron spikes and +towers, complete in strength and perfect in architecture, looked down +upon the town like some guarding deity, and was the pride of every +citizen. It was no gloomy stronghold such as the French kings erected +in the woods of Tourraine, but built of the yellow Subasian stone it +seemed more like a mighty palace with windows large and square, whence +many a _condottiere_ and many a noble prisoner leant out to look upon +the splendid sweep of country from Perugia to Spoleto. + +Proud as the citizens were of their new-born importance they soon +regretted the calmer days of their obscurity. By the twelfth +century they were torn between the Pope, the Emperor, and their own +turbulent factions, for even in the smaller towns the cries of Guelph +and Ghibelline were beginning to be heard. Whenever German +potentates--"the abhorred Germans" as the chroniclers call them--had +their hands well clenched upon an Umbrian town, the citizens turned +imploring eyes towards Rome. The promise of municipal liberty was the +bait which every pontiff knew well how to use for his own profit. The +German, on the other hand, troubled not to use diplomacy as a means +to gain his ends, but brought an army to storm the town, and took up +his residence in the castle, whence he could hear the murmurings of +the citizens below planning to drive him out of their gates. The first +distinguished but unwelcome guest in the Rocca d'Assisi was Frederick +Barbarossa. He was, however, too much occupied in his career of +conquest to waste more than a few weeks in Umbria, and in 1195 we find +Conrad of Suabia, who in the annals of the time is known by the +nickname of "the whimsical one," in charge of the castle, with the +title of Count of Assisi. Conrad was also Duke of Spoleto, but he +preferred the fortress of Assisi as a residence and spent some two +years there to the annoyance of the citizens, who were constrained to +be more or less on their good behaviour. With him in those days was a +small but important person, who, at the age of two, had been elected +King of Germany and Italy. This was Frederick II, and the legend +recounts how he was born in the Piazza Minerva beneath a tent hastily +erected for the occasion, and in his third year was baptised in the +Cathedral of San Rufino, amidst a throng of cardinals, bishops, +Assisan priors and nobles. It would, indeed, be strange that he, who +later was to prove a thorn in the side of many a Pope, should have +been born and nurtured in the Seraphic City. + +The Assisans soon wearied of the German yoke, but unaided they could +not throw it off and it needed the timely intervention of Innocent +III, to rid them of Conrad's presence. The Pope, who had been quietly +waiting an opportunity to regain his lost Umbrian towns, felt himself +powerful enough now that the Emperor Henry VI, was dead, to send +haughty commands to Conrad. He was bidden to meet Innocent at Narni +where he solemnly made over his possessions to the Church. Thus left +to themselves, the Assisans, with cries of "Liberty and the Pope," +rushed on the castle to tear it down. Built to be their safeguard, it +proved their greatest danger, and they determined that no other tyrant +should find shelter within its walls. While the Assisans were +rejoicing in their freedom, and endeavouring to guard against the +constant attacks of the Perugians, the big world outside was being +torn and rent by a medley of events which was carrying men's thoughts +forward in the swift current of a fresh era. Everywhere a new spirit +was spreading--"the fraternising spirit" it has been called. In the +cities men were joining together in guilds, heralding the +commonwealths; while, in the country, bands of people, under the names +of Patarins, Albergenses, Poor Men of Lyons, etc., raised the standard +of revolt yet higher against their feudal and spiritual lords. A +contemporary writer speaks of thirty-two heresies as being rampant in +Italy at this time. Men were eager and full of energy, finding relief +through many channels that set all Italy in a ferment. But amidst the +confusion of wars and heresies the Papal power grew ever stronger, +until, with the accession of Innocent III, the claims of a temporal +ruler were blended with spiritual rights. The Marches of Ancona, +Umbria, and the seven hills of Rome belonged alike to him, while he +was powerful enough to excommunicate cities, kingdoms, and emperors at +his pleasure, and rule all with a rod of iron. The magnificent designs +planned by Hildebrand seemed to triumph under Innocent, and yet the +papal horizon was not without its clouds. + + "Ah Constantine! of how much ill was cause, + Not thy conversion, but those rich domains + That the first wealthy Pope received of thee,"[5] + +groans Dante, in writing of the condition of the Church, and his cry +reaches back to the time of which we write. Jacques de Vitry, who was +often at the court of Innocent, also speaks with bitterness of the +depravity of the priests. They were, he tells us, "deceiving as foxes, +proud as bulls, avaricious and insatiable as the minotaur." + +Innocent III, though scheming and ambitious, was a man of lofty +character, and no one watched with so much anguish the rising storms +which threatened to shake the mighty fabric of the Papacy. In a moment +of discouragement he is said to have exclaimed that fire and sword +were needed to heal the wounds made by the simoniacal priests, and for +a long time he in vain sought a remedy for those ills. But salvation +was at hand, and it came from the Umbrian mountains, as the fresh +breeze comes which suddenly breaks upon the budding trees in +springtime. + +Within the narrow circuit of the Assisan walls arose a figure of +magical power who drew men to him by the charm of his mysticism and +the spell of his ardent nature. It is the sweet-souled saint of +mediaeval Italy--St. Francis of Assisi--who now illuminates this quiet +corner of the world. + +Francis Bernardone was born in the year 1182, when, as we have seen, +the Church was harrowed by a hundred ills. He passed a gay youth, free +from every care, and tested all the pleasures that riches could +procure. Though the son of a merchant he consorted with the noblest of +the Assisan youths, who, partly on account of his father's wealth, +partly because of his gaiety and love of splendour, were glad to +accept him as an equal. All looked to the high-spirited, gifted +Francis as the leader at every feast, the organiser of every +entertainment, and when Perugia blew her war-trumpet he rode out to +battle side by side with the Assisan cavaliers. Such, in a few words, +was his position in Assisi when in his twenty-second year, after a +severe illness which brought him to the brink of the grave, he +resolved to follow to the letter the precept of the Gospel and lead +the life of the first apostles. So complete was his conversion that +he, the rich merchant's son, was to be seen walking through the +streets with bricks on his back for the repair of the ruined churches +of Assisi, while his former companions drew back and laughed as he +passed them. But their derision was of short duration, for the charm +they had felt in former days had by no means passed away. Holiness +could never make him sad, and in the human tenderness and joyousness +of his nature lay the secret of that power which was strong enough, +the Assisans soon discovered, to lead them where he would--though it +was now by a new road he travelled. + +The great movement, which began at Assisi and spread throughout Europe +in a very few years, can only be likened to that witnessed by the lake +of Galilee. Rich citizens gave all to the poor; the peasants left the +vintage and sold their oxen, to join the ever-swelling crowd of +bare-footed disciples who wandered through cities and into distant +lands bringing comfort and words of peace to all they met. Like a ray +of brilliant sunshine St. Francis dispersed the gloom of the middle +ages, teaching men that the qualities of mercy and love were to be +looked for from God instead of the inflexible justice that had +overshadowed a religion intended to be all light. He walked the earth +with joyous steps, inviting all to come with him and see how beautiful +was the world; he looked upwards, praising God in bursts of eloquent +song for the rain that fed the flowers, the birds that sang to him in +the woods, and the blueness of his Umbrian sky. How different from the +stern, orthodox saints who passed through the loveliest valleys with +downcast eyes for fear of some hidden temptation or of some +interruption to their prayers! With such a founder it is hardly +surprising that the order of St. Francis spread and multiplied, +becoming a great world force, as great and perhaps greater than that +of St. Dominic. We get an interesting picture of the change he wrought +throughout Italy and of the enthusiasm he kindled among his followers +in a letter of Jacques de Vitry; from this we quote at length, for, +being written by a contemporary of the saint, its value is very great. + +"While I was at the pontifical court I saw many things which grieved +me to the heart. Everyone is so preoccupied with secular and temporal +things, with matters concerning kings and kingdoms, litigations and +lawsuits, that it is almost impossible to talk on religious matters. + +"Yet I found one subject for consolation in those lands: in that many +persons of either sex, rich, and living in the great world, leave all +for the love of Christ and renounce the world. They are called the +Friars Minor, and are held in great respect by the Pope and the +Cardinals. They, on their part, care nought for things temporal, and +strive hard every day to tear perishing souls from the vanities of +this world and to entice them into their ranks. Thanks be to God, +their labour has already borne fruit, and they have gained many souls: +inasmuch as he who listens to them brings others, and thus one +audience creates another. + +"They live according to the rule of the primitive church, of which it +is written: 'The multitude of believers were as one heart and one +soul.' In the day they go into the cities and the villages to gain +over souls and to work; in the night they betake themselves to +hermitages and solitary places and give themselves up to +contemplation. + +"The women live together near to cities in divers convents; they +accept nought, but live by the labour of their hands. They are much +disturbed to find themselves held in greater esteem, both by the +clergy and the laity, than they themselves desire. + +"The men of this order meet once a year in some pre-arranged place, to +their great profit, and rejoice together in the Lord and eat in +company; and then, with the help of good and honest men, they adopt +and promulgate holy institutions, approved by the Pope. After this +they disperse, going about in Lombardy, Tuscany, and even in Apulia +and Sicily, for the rest of the year.... I think it is to put the +prelates to shame, who are like dogs unable to bark, that the Lord +wills to save many souls before the end of the world, by means of +these poor simple friars."[6] + +Certainly one of the most remarkable events in mediaeval history was +the result of the teaching of St. Francis upon his own and future +generations. In his native city the strength of his personal influence +and the love and veneration which he excited was extraordinary. But we +notice even a stranger fact; with his death this holy influence +apparently vanished, and it is possible that the memory of the saint +is dearer to the hearts of the Assisans in what we are inclined to +call the prosaic tedium of our trafficking nineteenth century, than it +was in the years immediately following his death. Later centuries have +shown us that his teaching and his presence there were not in vain. +Assisi, down to our own times, has continued to be the Mecca of +thousands of pilgrims. Her churches bear the record of infinite early +piety, for when art was in its early prime the most famous masters +from Tuscany were called upon to decorate the Franciscan Basilica and +leave their choicest treasures there as tributes to the immortal glory +of the saint. But the note of war rings louder than the song of praise +and love for many years to come in all the Assisan chronicles, and +grass and weeds grow up to choke, though not to kill, the blessed seed +that Francis sowed and did not live to tend. No sooner did the gates +of death close upon that sweet and genial spirit, than war, lust, +strife and pestilence burst upon the very people he had so tenderly +loved. The story of Assisi becomes, as it had never been before, a +list of murders--of struggles to the death for individual power, and +of wars which made the fair Umbrian country a desolate and cruel waste +for months and even years. + +Each town looked with hatred upon its powerful rival, and the communal +armies were for ever meeting in the plain by the Tiber to match their +strength and see if some small portion at least of a city's domains +could not be wrested from her. The bitterest and most pronounced +enemies in the valley were undoubtedly Assisi and Perugia. Their feuds +date back to the twelfth century; but even before the Christian era +these two cities of the hills had marked each other as a foe for the +one was Umbrian, the other Etruscan, and they merely continued the +rivalry of their founders. It is often difficult to discover the cause +of each separate war, but it may, as a general rule, be traced to +Perugia's inborn love of fighting, and to her restless spirit which +led her to storm each town in turn. From her eyrie she looked straight +down upon half the Umbrian country, and gazing daily on so fair a land +the desire for possession grew ever stronger. Many towns were forced +to submit to her sway, and by the thirteenth century she was the +acknowledged mistress of Umbria. It is, therefore, with surprise and +admiration that we watch the undaunted struggle of Assisi against a +tyrant whom she hated with a hatred quite Dantesque in its bitterness +and strength. Many menacing towers were built on either side of the +valley, and heralds were continually sent between the two towns with +insulting messages to goad the citizens forward into battle. When +Perugia was known to be preparing for an attack upon Assisi, the +castles and villages around hastened to break their allegiance to the +weaker city and ally themselves with the Perugian griffin. Assisi was +thus often obliged to defend herself unaided against the Umbrian +tyrant. When, in 1321 Perugia declared war against "this most wicked +city of Assisi" whose crime consisted in having fallen under the rule +of the Ghibelline party of her citizens,[7] both communes were in need +of money as their bellicose habits had proved expensive. Busily, +therefore, they set to work about procuring it, and in a highly +characteristic manner Perugia sold her right of fishing in Thrasymene +for five years, while the citizens of the Seraphic City entered by +force into the sacristy of San Francesco and carried off a quantity of +sacred spoils. Gold ornaments, censers, chalices, crucifixes of rare +workmanship and precious stuffs, were divided into lots and sold, +partly to Arezzo for 14,000 golden florins, and partly to Florence for +a larger sum. Now these things did not even belong to the Franciscans, +but had been carefully stored in the sacristy by the Pope and his +cardinals during their last visit to the town. Great, therefore, was +the wrath at the Papal Court when news came of the sacrilegious +robbery, and without a moment's delay a bull of excommunication was +fulminated from Avignon. For thirty-eight years Assisi lay under the +heavy sentence of an interdict, and, except for the feast of the +"Pardon of St. Francis," the church doors were closed and the church +bells were silent. But not a whit did the people care for the anger of +a distant Pope, and it is related that when the two friars brought the +bull of excommunication to Ser Muzio di Francesco, the leader of the +robbers, they were flogged within an inch of their lives, and further, +they were made to swallow the seals of lead which hung from the Papal +document. + +The Assisans, having obtained the necessary funds, set to work to +defend themselves against the enemy who were to be seen rolling their +heavy catapults along the dusty roads. A proud historian says, "they +saw without flinching 500 horsemen galloping round their walls," and +with a heroism worthy of so good a cause, determined to be buried in +the ruins of their city sooner than cede one step to their abhorred +enemies the Perugians. They closed the shops, barred the houses and +threw the chains across the streets to stop advancing cavalry; every +artisan turned soldier, every noble watched from the tower of his +palace. Not only were they guarding their own liberties, but they +feared for the safety of the body of St. Francis, which the Perugians, +ever prowling day and night about the walls, were anxious to carry +off. The siege, it is said, lasted a year, when the Assisans were +forced to give way and open their gates to the enemy, who sacked the +town, "killing more than one hundred of the most wicked citizens, to +wit, all those who fought against the city of Perugia." Then came a +perilous moment, for many, not content with a barbarous pillage, +wished to destroy Assisi altogether. Fortunately a wily Perugian, +Massiolo di Buonante, stood up in her defence, arguing that "Assisi +being now in their power, it were better to possess her fortified, and +well provided against any new attack of the Ghibelline party."[8] His +words had due effect, but still the town suffered horribly, and her +walls only lately built were in greater part razed to the ground. The +chains that guarded the streets together with the bars and keys of the +gates were taken back to Perugia, where, until a century ago, they +hung "as glorious trophies" from the claws of the bronze griffon +outside the Palazzo Pubblico. Before leaving, the Perugians gave their +orders to the now submissive city. The Guelphs were to live within the +ancient circle of walls in the upper and more fortified part of the +town, while the Ghibellines were left in the undefended suburbs. + + [Illustration: THE GUELPH LION OF ASSISI] + +They further commanded that each year, on the feast of St. Ercolano, +the Assisans should bring them a banner "worth at least 25 golden +florins, _in signum subjectionis_." This was the greatest ignominy of +all, and rankled even more deeply in the hearts of the citizens of +Assisi than the fact of their being governed by Perugian officials. +The delivery of the yearly tribute was performed in a manner highly +characteristic of the times and of the love of petty tyranny and +display peculiar to the mediaeval towns. An Assisan horseman mounted on +a splendidly caparisoned charger brought the hated emblem to lay +before the Priors of Perugia, who robed in crimson, with heavy golden +chains about their necks, waited at the foot of the campanile of San +Lorenzo. Close to them stood four mace bearers and trumpeters with +white griffins painted on the red satin streamers which hung from the +silver trumpets. Nothing was neglected that would impress her subjects +with the dignity of her hill-set city. All the Perugians were +assembled, and in their name the Priors promised to defend Assisi +against her enemies and to preserve her from the yoke of tyrants. +Having uttered this solemn mockery, they gave the Podesta of Assisi a +sealed book wherein were written the laws to be observed in return for +the inestimable favours granted; the book was not to be opened until +he and his retinue had returned to their own city. The spirit of the +Assisans was by no means crushed by their misfortunes, and shortly +after the events we have just narrated they issued an edict with a +pomp worthy of Perugia herself which fairly puzzled the Priors of that +city. All Perugians holding land in Assisi were herein ordered to pay +the taxes usually demanded of "strangers" possessing property in the +territory; further, the Assisans proclaimed their firm determination +no longer to observe any orders given to them by the Commune of +Perugia. This audacity was, however, soon checked. Perugia issued an +order to the effect that these statutes, and these alone, which were +decreed by herself were to be valid in Assisi, all others were +worthless. Assisi therefore remained subject to Perugia till 1367, +when Cardinal Albornoz who was engaged in recovering the allegiance of +the Papal States, entered her gates. He was received with wild +enthusiasm by the citizens, for they hailed him as their deliverer +from the hated yoke of the Perugians. The Assisans had every reason to +rejoice in this change of masters, as the Cardinal allowed them to +govern their town like a free republic; he rebuilt the walls +destroyed during the last siege, and the castle which had also +suffered much from the Perugian soldiery. The people were delighted, +and their artists were soon busily employed in painting the gilded +arms of the church on gateways and on palaces. + +During his brief sojourn in Assisi the war-like Cardinal had found +such peace as he had probably not often known before, and such was his +love for the church of San Francesco that he added to it several +chapels and chose a place for his tomb within its walls. He died at +Viterbo; and only five months after the Assisans had welcomed him with +such rejoicing, they went with torches and candles, to bear his dead +body back to San Francesco, the Priors, says a chronicler, spending +145 florins upon the crimson gowns they bought for this occasion. + +Days of peace and liberty were short, and the Assisans were soon +groaning beneath the enormous taxes laid upon them by the zealous +ministers of the Pope. In 1376 their indignation rose to such a pitch +that they broke into open rebellion, and joined in the war-cry against +the Church, which was to be heard in other towns of Tuscany and +Umbria. The citizens besieged the Legates in their palaces and ordered +them with haughty words to depart; so seeing it was safer to obey, +they returned to Rome without a word. "Because of their love for the +holy Pontiff, whose servants they were, the Assisans used no violence +towards them," but having got their way with polite bows accompanied +them safely beyond the city gates. But at this time, when all was war +and conspiracy, there seemed no chance of a free life again for the +people. No sooner had one tyrant been disposed of than another rose to +take his place. When news of these events reached the Perugians they +thought it a good opportunity to try and again get possession of the +town, accordingly envoys were sent "just to put things in order" as +they expressed it; but the Assisans shut the gates of the city in +their faces and informed them that in future they intended to manage +their own affairs. We cannot say that their endeavours were crowned +with success, the nobles fought among themselves, while the mob was +ever ready for any kind of novelty. It is related how in the year 1398 +the Assisans changed their mind three times in one day as to who +should be their lord. "_Evviva_ the Church" was the first cry; the +second, "_Evviva_ the people of Perugia"; and lastly, "_Evviva_ Messer +Imbroglia," a roving adventurer who alternately fought for the Duke of +Milan and the Pope, and finally entered Assisi at the head of a large +cavalcade as Captain and Gonfalonier of the city. + +In the early centuries Assisi had bravely fought for her independence +and held her own fairly well; but in the fourteenth century a sudden +whirlwind swept across the country threatening to destroy the last +remnant of her freedom. At this time the _condottieri_ were busy +carving out principalities for themselves, and one after another they +marched through the land forcing the towns to bear their yoke. Assisi, +not without a sharp struggle, fell a prey to Biordo Michelotti and +Braccio Fortebraccio, successive despots of Perugia; and the citizens +found themselves for the next twenty years in turn the vassals of +Guidantonio of Montefeltro, of Sforza, and of the Pope. In 1442 +Perugia was governed, in the name of the Pope, by Niccolo Piccinino, +successor to Fortebraccio as the leader of the Bracceschi troops, and +consequently a successor to the rivalry with Francesco Sforza, Duke of +Milan. Assisi, therefore, who had spontaneously given herself to +Sforza, preferring the tyranny of strangers to the yoke of Perugia, +was not likely to be favourably looked on by Piccinino, and sooner or +later he determined to besiege her. But just at this time Perugia had +made peace with all the world, and, delighted with this novel state of +things, she rang the great bell of the Commune, lit beacon fires on +the hills, and sent a special messenger to Assisi to proclaim the +fact. The Assisans, with more courage than discretion, cursed the +messenger and those who sent him, saying they had half a mind to kill +him. "Return with this message," they cried, "say unto those who sent +thee, that they try to wipe us from the face of the earth and then +send words of peace. But we will have war and only war." This +insulting message was duly delivered to the astonished priors, and +that night the beacon fires were extinguished. When news reached +Assisi of the vast preparations in Perugia for war, these hasty words +were regretted. Luckily Francesco Sforza sent the Assisans a good +supply of troops, and every day they hoped for the arrival of his +brother Alessandro. + +The month that followed was disastrous to Assisi, and the account of +the war given us by the Perugian chronicler Graziani who took part in +the siege, brings before us vividly the many stages she had to pass +through before arriving at the calm, seraphic days of later years. + +By the end of October 1442, Niccolo Piccinino, alluded to always as +_el Capitano_, arrived in the plain below Assisi with some 20,000 men, +and took up his quarters in the Franciscan monastery of San Damiano. +His first intention was to take the town by assault, but on surveying +the fortifications and walls and the impregnable castle, he deemed it +wiser to wait quietly until hunger should have damped the valour of +the citizens. Help, however, came to him from another quarter. It is +believed that a Franciscan friar, perhaps one of those with whom he +lodged at San Damiano, betrayed to him a way into the town by means +of an unused drain. + +"On Wednesday, being the 28th day of November, the Captain's people +entered Assisi by an underground drain, which, beginning below the +smaller fortress towards the Carceri, enters Assisi near the +market-place below the castle. There Pazaglia, Riccio da Castello, and +Nicolo Brunoro, with more than 300 men-at-arms, had seen to clearing +the said sewer and cutting through some iron bars at the exit placed +by the Assisans so that none might enter; and Pazaglia and his +companions worked so well that they entered with all their people one +by one. And when they had entered they emerged inside the walls, and +advanced without any noise, holding close to the side of the said +walls so as not to be seen, although the darkness of the night was +great and drizzling rain was falling. But it happened that one of +those within passed by with a lighted torch in his hand, and, hearing +and seeing people, said several times: 'Who goes there.' At last +answer was made to him: 'Friends, friends.' The bearer of the torch +went but a little farther before he began to cry out: 'To arms, to +arms. Awake, awake, for the enemy is within.' So a great tumult arose +throughout the town. Then Pazaglia and his companions, finding they +were discovered, mounted the walls and shouted to those outside: +'Ladders, ladders. Enter, enter.'"[9] + +With cries of "Braccio, Braccio," the captain led his men rapidly +through the town, burning the gate, killing the citizens, and +pillaging every palace as they passed along. When Alessandro Sforza +who had stolen into Assisi the night before, "to comfort and encourage +the citizens," found that the enemy was within he hurried with a few +Assisan notables to take refuge in the castle. From the tower-girt +hill he looked down upon the scene of carnage--and what a sight it was +as pictured by Graziani! + +"The anguish, the noise, and the screams of women and children! God +alone knows how fearful a thing it was to see them all dishevelled; +some tearing their faces, some beating their breasts, one weeping for +a father, one for a son, another for a brother, as, crying with loud +voices, they prayed to God for death.... But, in truth, these same +Assisans did themselves much injury, greatly adding to their own +trouble. They might have saved many more of their chattels had they +trusted the Perugians, but rather did they trust the strangers, and +this to their undoing, for the said strangers deceived them. Thus was +proved the truth of that proverb which says: 'The offender never +pardons.' Often aforetime had they offended the Commune of Perugia as +we have seen. Even at this moment, when its forces were encamped +outside Assisi, they constantly stood on their walls and hurled +insulting and menacing words at the Perugians, defying and threatening +them, whom for this reason peradventure they did not trust.... Also on +the same day, while the city was being sacked, a multitude of women +with their children and goods, took sanctuary in Santa Chiara; and +when the captain passed and saw so many women and children sheltered +there, he said to the women, especially to the nuns of Santa Chiara, +that it was no longer a safe refuge for them, and if they would choose +where they wished to go he would send them thither in safety. Then, +naming to them all the neighbouring towns, he lastly offered to place +them in safety in the city of Perugia. But when they heard the name of +Perugia, first the nuns and then the other women replied, 'May Perugia +be destroyed by fire.' And when the captain heard this answer, he +immediately cried, 'Pillage, pillage!' Thus was everything plundered +and ruined--the convent with the nuns, the women and the children, and +much booty was there...."[10] + +Assisi, now the shell of her former self, seemed indeed a city of the +dead. Through her deserted streets, running with the blood of the +slain, echoed the sound of falling rafters and crumbling palaces, +while bon-fires flamed on the piazza fed with the public archives by +the destroying Perugians. Across the Tiber were to be seen the unhappy +citizens being driven like droves of cattle by their captors up the +hill to the city they hated. There the women, with their children +clinging round their necks, were sold in the market-place as slaves, +and exposed to the cruellest treatment by their masters. Even tiny +children of four and five years old were sold; a maiden, we are told, +fetched fifteen ducats, and many were bought, sometimes for the love +of God, and sometimes as maidservants. Every day fresh booty was +brought in, and the Perugians fought over the gold chalices, missals, +and other treasures robbed from churches and convents; but these +brought lower prices, for even Perugian consciences seem to have been +troubled with scruples, and superstitious fear kept them from buying +stolen church property. While the slave market was proceeding amidst +the clanging of bells proclaiming the victory, the Priors of Perugia +sat in their council hall of the great Palazzo Pubblico discussing how +they could bring about the total annihilation of Assisi. The following +curious letter was finally written, sealed, and sent to Niccolo +Piccinino by five ambassadors who were to tempt him to do the deed +with a bribe of 15,000 ducats: + +"Your illustrious Signory being well aware how that city has ever +been the scandal of this one, and that now the time has come to take +this beam from out of our eyes, we pray and supplicate your +illustrious Signory, in the name of this city and of the State, that +it may please you to act in such wise that this your city shall never +again have reason to fear her; and so, as appears good to all the +community, it will be well to raze her to the ground, saving only the +churches. And this will be the most singular among other favours that +your illustrious Signory has ever done to us."[11] + +"Trust in my words and trust in my deeds," replied Piccinino to the +bearers of this truly mediaeval letter; but, adds the chronicler, he +refused his consent to their cowardly scheme for the destruction of +the town. It is believed that he was acting upon orders received from +Eugenius IV, who appears as the benevolent genius of Assisi, until, as +the local historians tell us with rage, the Pope offered to sell them +to the Commune of Perugia, when his clemency seems due solely to the +fact that the papal coffers were sadly empty. Luckily the Perugians, +somewhat in debt owing to the late war, were unable to pay the price, +and Assisi thus escaped being given "like a lamb to the butcher," +while her enemy missed the chance "of removing that beam from out of +her eye." + +From this time onward Assisi remained in the possession of the Church, +and many of the Popes, touched by the miserable condition of the town, +supplied money to rebuild its ruined walls and palaces, and thus +induce the citizens to return and inhabit the desolate city. But +hardly had the Assisans succeeded in getting back some kind of order +and prosperity than new wars appeared to ruffle the onward flow of +things. This time the danger came from within, and in Assisi, as in +so many of the cities of Italy, it was the feud between the nobles +themselves that drenched the streets with blood and crushed the +struggles of a people whose cries for liberty were now only faintly +heard. All sank beneath the heavy hand of the despot. The Perugian +citizens were being tyrannised over by the powerful family of the +Baglioni, whose name brings up a picture of crime and bloodshed that +has hardly been equalled in any town in Italy.[12] In Assisi the +balance of power lay between the two families of Fiumi and Nepis, who, +in the irregular fashion of the time, alternately ruled the city in +opposition to the legal sovereignty of the Papacy. The city was +sharply divided into the Upper town, where the Nepis had their palaces +near the castle and San Rufino, and the Lower town, inhabited entirely +by the Fiumi and their adherents, which clustered round the church of +Santa Chiara and down to San Francesco. These two families sought +perpetually to outshine each other, and such was the reputation they +gained among the people in the country round that even the Perugian +chroniclers speak of them as "most cultured and splendid citizens," +praising their horsemanship and the magnificence of their dress. So +great was the rivalry between the members of the two families Fiumi +and Nepis that, when they met in the piazza of Assisi where the nobles +often walked in the evening, they would provoke each other with +scornful looks and words, and often this was a signal for a skirmish. +The _bravi_ would gather round them, and in an instant the whole town +be roused to arms. After a sharp fight one party was driven to retire +to its strongholds in the open country, while the victorious nobles +seized the reins of government, and the weary citizens sank beneath +the rule of the despots. Assisi presented a most melancholy spectacle +at the end of one of these encounters. Most of the dwellings of the +exiled nobles lay in ruins, the churches were shut in consequence of +the perpetual bloodshed, and the palaces, barred and chained, with the +gratings drawn up before the entrance, seemed to be inhabited by no +living being. Franciscan friars stole along the streets on their +errands of mercy among the distressed citizens, who, besides the +horrors of the city feuds, suffered from the pestilence and famine +which decimated nearly all the towns of Italy at this period. But this +death-like silence within the town was never of long duration. The +exiled party, ever on the alert to regain possession of their homes, +would creep into the town at some unguarded moment and once more stir +a people to fight who were beginning to chafe beneath the irksome rule +of the rival despots. + +A climax of evils came when, in addition to a hundred other ills, the +Baglioni of Perugia took upon themselves to interfere. + +In 1494 we find the Fiumi and the Nepis living peaceably in their +palaces, dividing the power in Assisi, until at last the hot-headed +Fiumi grew weary of the even balance of things, and determined at one +stroke to rid themselves of every foe. In open combat they had +attempted this and failed, so a treacherous plot was hatched. Jacopo +Fiumi, head of the house, and his brother Alessandro, persuaded their +friends, the Priors of the city, to prepare a great banquet in the +Communal Palace and invite all the members of the rival family to be +present. Unarmed, and not dreaming of danger, the Nepis entered the +big hall. No sooner had they thrown off their cloaks than the Fiumi +rushed upon them with drawn swords and knives. Angered by such wanton +treachery, the citizens drove the murderers from the city; and the +Priors, protected by the darkness of the night, fled into the open +country to seek a refuge in some neighbouring town. + +Now this event, like many others, might have subsided and been +followed by a period of peace, only it happened that the Baglioni were +allies of the Nepis and ready to avenge them in Assisi. They had, +moreover, old scores to settle with Jacopo Fiumi, who, Matarazzo tells +us, in pained surprise, "was a most cruel enemy of the house of +Baglioni and of every Perugian, and studied day and night how he might +injure those of Perugia, so that he was the cause of much trouble to +the magnificent house of Baglioni."[13] This was therefore a good +opportunity for the Baglioni to lay siege to Assisi, and perpetual +skirmishes took place in the plain, which sapped the life-blood of the +citizens and laid waste the Umbrian country for many miles around. The +peasants, whose grain had been trampled down by the Baglioni, were +driven half-naked into the woods, and watched the high roads from the +heights above Assisi like birds of prey, swooping down to rob or kill +travellers passing by. Badgers, wolves, and foxes roamed unmolested in +the plain, and fed upon the unburied bodies of the murdered travellers +and of those who fell in battle; while, in the dead of night, the +friars of the Portiuncula stole out to bury what bones the wild beasts +had left. Things had come to such a pass that the Assisans, as we are +told, knew not what to say or do, so many of their number were dead or +taken captive and the enemy was ever at their gates. Giovan Paolo, +mounted on his black charger, "which did not run but flew," led the +Perugians to storm the town and draw the citizens out to battle. He +was one of the fiercest of the Baglioni brood and a famous soldier, +and yet it was in vain he sought to inspire the Assisans with fear. +"Indeed," says Matarazzo, "each one proved himself valiant on either +side; for the Assisans had become warlike and inured to arms, and they +were all iniquitous and desperate."[14] The foes were of equal +strength and courage, and the war, which had already lasted three +years, seemed likely to have no end. But one day the Assisans, +watching from their ramparts, saw a large squadron of soldiers +hurrying from Perugia to the aid of the Baglioni, and they began to +ring the city bells as a signal that the moment had come for the final +stand. Those who were skirmishing in the plain against Giovan Paolo +began to lose heart when they heard the clanging of the bells, and the +Perugians, perceiving their advantage, took new courage, so that "each +one became as a lion." More than sixty Assisans were slain that day, +while the prisoners suffered cruelly under the vengeance of those who +took this opportunity of remembering offences of past years. "And thus +did his lordship, the magnificent Giovan Paolo, return victorious and +joyful from this great and dangerous battle."[15] + +Once the gates of Assisi were forced open, the Baglioni and their +_bravi_ scoured the streets from end to end, killing all they +encountered, and dragging from the churches the poor women who sought +shelter and protection. The blood-thirsty brood did not even respect +the Church of San Francesco; and the friars, in a letter to their +patron Guidobaldo, Duke of Urbino, complain most bitterly of the +crimes committed within the sacred edifice, even on the very steps of +the altar. "The poor city of Assisi," the letter says, "has known only +sorrow through the perpetual raids of the Baglioni, whose many crimes +would be condemned even by the infidel Turks. They rebel against the +holy Pontiff, and such is their ferocity that they have set fire to +the gates of the city--even unto that of the Basilica of San +Francesco. They do not shudder to murder men, cook their flesh, and +give it to the relations of the slain to eat in their prison +dungeons."[16] Matarazzo also dwells on the sad conditions of Assisi +during her final struggle for independence. "So great was the +pestilence and the famine within the walls that human tongue could not +describe it, for great woe there was, and such scarcity and penury in +Assisi as had never been known. I myself have talked to men who were +in Assisi at that time, and who, on remembering those days of famine, +pestilence, and war were bathed in tears; and, if the subject had come +up a thousand times in a day, a thousand times would they have wept +bitterly, so dark was the memory thereof. Not only did they weep, but +those also who listened to them, for they would recount how they +wandered by the walls of the town, and down to the hamlets, and in +every place searching for herbs to eat; and how, forced by hunger, +they ate all manner of cooked herbs, and many people sustained +themselves with three or four cooked nuts dipped in wine, and with +this they made good cheer."[17] + +In reading the terrible chronicle of these years, one asks, "How did +any life survive in the face of such ghastly suffering?" The strange +fact remains that life not only survived, but that the Assisans even +flourished during the period, and, like half-drowned birds, who, +rising to the surface, bask for a while in the sunshine and then +spread their wings for a fresh flight, they too arose and prospered. +But the time was drawing near when these continual efforts were no +longer needed. The rival factions had reached the summit of their +savage strength, and the city despots were soon to be swept from the +land by the whirlwind they themselves had raised. + +In the year 1500, during one awful night of carnage at Perugia, the +Baglioni were nearly all murdered through the treachery of some of +their own family. The manner in which the clansmen sought out their +victims and stabbed them in their sleep, driving their teeth into +their hearts in savage fury, sent a thrill of horror throughout Italy. +The downfall of this powerful house affected the destiny of Assisi, +for Perugia was brought under the immediate dominion of the church, +and with the advent of Paul III, she lost her independence, which she +never again recovered. A mighty fortress was erected on the site of +the Baglioni palaces, and the significant words "_Ad coercendam +Perusinorum audacam_" were inscribed upon its walls. The Farnese Pope +meant to warn, not only the citizens of that proud city which he had +brought so successfully within his net, but also the Assisans and the +other Umbrians who, with anxious eyes, were watching the storms that +wrecked Perugia. + +With this new order of things the last flicker of mediaeval liberty was +being extinguished, and when Paul III, ordered the cannons from the +castle of Assisi to be transferred to his new fortress at Perugia, the +Assisans felt that a crisis had been reached and that henceforth they +must be guided by the menacing finger of an indomitable pontiff. One +last effort she did indeed make to save her dignity: she begged to be +governed independently of her old rival Perugia. To this the Pope +agreed, and a Papal Legate came with great pomp and was met outside +the gates by the Priors, nobles, and citizens of Assisi. With that +great Farnese fortress looming in the distance they were forced to +make some show of gladness as they followed him in solemn procession +through the town and up the steep hill to the Rocca Maggiore. Here the +Legate walked round the ramparts and through the spacious halls of the +castle, taking possession of all in the name of the Church of Rome. +Then the Castellano knelt down before him, and as he handed the keys +over to his keeping, the history of war and strife in Assisi abruptly +closed. + + [Illustration: THE ARMS OF ASSISI] + + [Illustration: ASSISI IN THE TIME OF ST. FRANCIS] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] The legend may have arisen from the fact that Minerva had a temple +near Miletos under the title of Assesia and the legend-weavers have +caught at the similarity of sound to that of their own Umbrian town. + +[2] _Carmina_, i. 22, translated by R. C. Trevelyan. + +[3] _Carmina_, IV. i. 121; translated by R. C. Trevelyan. In another +place Propertius gives bolder utterance to his pride: "Whosoever +beholds the town climbing the valley side, let him measure the fame of +their walls by my genius" (_Carmina_, iv. 5). + +[4] See Cristofani, _Storia d'Assisi_, p. 42 for text of the MS. + +[5] Dante, _Inferno_, xix. p. 115. Translated by John Milton. + +[6] See _Les Nouveaux Memoires de l'Academie de Bruxelles_ (t. xxiii. +pp. 29, 33); also _Un nouveau Chapitre de la Vie de S. Francois +d'Assise_, par Paul Sabatier. + +[7] Perugia was, on the whole, faithful to the Guelph cause. She was +patronised by the Popes on account of her strong position overlooking +the Tiber, and when inclined she freely acknowledged them as her +masters but at the same time she was careful to guard her +independence. + +[8] _Cronaca Graziani_, p. 522. + +[9] _Cronaca Graziani_, pp. 512 and 513. + +[10] _Cronaca Graziani_, p. 513. + +[11] _Cronaca Graziani_, p. 514, note 1. + +[12] For a full account of the Baglioni see the sixteenth-century +chronicle of Matarazzo (_Archivio Storico Italiano_, vol. xvi. part +ii.), who has immortalised their crimes in classic language; and also +_The Story of Perugia_ (Mediaeval Towns Series, J. M. Dent & Co.). + +[13] _Cronaca Matarazzo_, p. 75. + +[14] _Cronaca Matarazzo_, p. 75. + +[15] _Ibid._ + +[16] Fratini, _Storia della Basilica di San Francesco_, p. 287. + +[17] _Cronaca di Matarazzo_, p. 75. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +_The Umbrian Prophet_ + + "Fra santi il pui santo, e tra i peccatori quasi uno di + loro."--Celano. _Vita_ I. cap. xxix. + + +Often while reading the Italian chroniclers we forget that a life of +chivalry, song, tournament, and pagan pleasure-making was passed in a +mediaeval town even while war, pestilence, and famine cast a settled +gloom on every home. Lazar-houses stood at the gates of the city while +sumptuous feasts were spread in the banqueting halls of palaces. Men +rebelled against the ugliness and squalor produced by a hundred ills +that swept over Italy during the twelfth century,[18] and so it came +about that in the darkest hours of a city's history, scenes of maddest +revelry were enacted. At this period were founded the Brigate Amorose, +or Companies of young nobles, whose one aim in life was amusement. +There were few towns in Italy, however small, in which these gay +youths did not organise magnificent sports and tournaments[19] to +which the ladies came in gowns of rich brocades or "fair velvet," +their tresses garlanded with precious jewels and flowers. Or knights, +ladies, and other folk would meet in the piazzas and pass the summer +evenings with + + "Provencal songs and dances that surpass; + And quaint French mummings: and through hollow brass + A sound of German music in the air."[20] + +Late at night after a splendid banquet, the nobles wandered through +the streets singing as they followed the lead of one chosen by +themselves, whom they called the Lord of Love. Sometimes their ranks +were swelled by passing troubadours from Provence who sang of the +feats of Charlemagne and of King Arthur and his knights. For it was +the time when Bernard de Ventadour was singing some of his sweetest +love lyrics, and people were alternately laughing at the +whimsicalities of Pierre Vidal and weeping at the tender pathos of his +poems.[21] Those who listened to these songsters were, for the moment, +deceived into thinking life was full of love and mirth, and sorrow +only touched them when their lady frowned. The music of Provence found +a way across the Alps to the feudal courts of Este and Ferrara, to +Verona, and later, southwards to Sicily, where Frederick the Great was +king. It came even to the towns which lay hidden in the folds of the +Umbrian mountains, and some of its sweetest strains were echoed back +again from Assisi. Her troubadour was Francis Bernardone, the rich +merchant's son, leader of the young nobles who, in their carousals, +named him Lord of Love, and placed the kingly sceptre in his hand as +he walked at their head through the streets at night, rousing the +sleepy Assisan burghers with wild bursts of song. + +Francis had learned the Provencal language from his mother, Madonna +Pica, whom Pietro Bernardone[22] is said to have met while journeying +from castle to castle in Provence, tempting the ladies to buy his +merchandise as he told them news of Italy. The early writers do not +mention her nationality, they only allude to her as _Madonna_, which +might imply that she was of noble birth; the later legend, which says +that she was of the family of the counts of Bourlemont, is without +foundation. We know she was a good and tender mother to Francis, who +was left mostly in her charge, as Pietro Bernardone was so often +absent in France. She taught him to love the world of romance and +chivalry peopled by the heroes of the troubadours, and there he found +an escape from the gloom that enveloped Assisi during those early days +of warfare which were enough to sadden that joyous nature rarely found +among saints. Celano gives a graphic picture of the temptations to +which the youths of the middle ages were exposed, even in infancy in +their own homes. This danger Francis escaped, but the companions with +whom he spent the first twenty years of his life in gay living had not +been so well guarded, and Francis was not slow to feel the influence +of his time. We must remember that the accounts we have of him were +written under the papal eye, and it is patent that both as sinner and +as saint he took a leading part. + +"He was always first among his equals in all vanities," says Celano, +"the first instigator of evil, and behind none in foolishness, so that +he drew upon himself the attention of the public by vain-glorious +extravagance, in which he stood foremost. He was not chary of jokes, +ridicule, light sayings, evil-speaking, singing, and in the wearing of +soft and fine clothes; being very rich he spent freely, being less +desirous of accumulating wealth than of dissipating his substance; +clever at trafficking, but too vain to prevent others from spending +what was his: withal a man of pleasant manners, facile and courteous +even to his own disadvantage; for this reason, therefore, many, +through his fault, became evil-doers and promoters of scandal. Thus, +surrounded by many worthless companions, triumphantly and scornfully +he went upon his way."[23] + +His early years passed away in feasting and singing with an occasional +journey to a neighbouring town to sell the Bernardone wares, until +1202 when war broke out between Perugia and Assisi, and the big bell +of the cathedral called the citizens to arms in the Piazza della +Minerva. Men gathered round their captain, while from the windows of +every house women gesticulated wildly, almost drowning the clank of +armour and the tramp of horses by their shrill screams. Francis, on a +magnificent charger, rode out of the city gates abreast with the +nobles of Assisi, filling the bourgeois heart of Pietro with delight, +that a son of his should be thus honoured. It was a beautiful sight to +see the communal armies winding down to the plain, one coming from the +western hill, the other from the southern, to match their strength by +the Tiber. They were "troops of knights, noble in face and form, +dazzling in crest and shield; horse and man one labyrinth of quaint +colour and gleaming light--the purple, and silver, and scarlet fringes +flowing over the strong limbs and clashing mail like sea waves over +rocks at sunset."[24] + +The Assisans were vanquished: no details of the fight have come down +to us, but we know that the nobles lay in a Perugian prison for a year +and that it was Francis who cheered them, often astonishing them with +his wild spirits. They told him he was mad to dance so gaily in a +prison, but nothing saddened him in those days. + +When peace was at last made, with hard terms for Assisi, the prisoners +returned home and threw themselves with renewed vigour into their +former pursuit of pleasure, and soon afterwards Francis fell ill of a +fever which brought him near the grave. Face to face with death he +stood a while, and the result of the danger he had passed through +worked an extraordinary change in his nature. His recovery was in +reality a return to a new life, both of body and soul. Celano tells us +that Francis "being somewhat stronger and able to walk about the house +leaning on a stick, in order to complete his restoration to health one +day went forth and with unusual eagerness gazed at the vast extent of +country which lay before him; yet neither the charm of the vineyards +or of aught that is pleasant to look on, were of any consolation to +him."[25] + +It was probably from the Porta Nuova, close to where the church of +Santa Chiara now stands, that he looked out on the Umbrian country he +loved so well. Here Mount Subasio rises grey and bleak above the olive +groves which slope gradually down to the valley where a white road +leads past Spello to Foligno in the plain and on to Spoleto high up in +the mountain gorge which brings the valley to a close. All these towns +were dear and familiar to Francis. He had watched them in spring time +when the young corn was ripening near their walls and the children +came out to look for the sweet scented narcissi. While wandering on +the hill sides at dawn he had seen the brown roofs warmed by the first +rays of the sun and each window twinkle like so many eyes across the +plain in answer to the light. But as he looked now upon the same scene +a great sadness came over him, and we are told he wondered at the +sudden inward change. That hour in the smiling Umbrian landscape was +the most solitary he ever experienced; ill and weak he awoke to the +emptiness of the life he had hitherto led, and in the bitterness of +his soul he did not know where to turn for comfort.[26] + +It is a remarkable fact that Celano does not from this moment picture +Francis as an aureoled saint, but allows us to realise the many +difficulties he had to overcome before he stands once more among the +vineyards with a song of praise upon his lips, and a look of victory +in his eyes. + +Although Francis began to "despise those things he had formerly held +dear," he was not altogether freed from the bonds of vanity, nor had +he "thrown off the yoke of servitude"; for when restored to health he +was full of ambitious projects to make a great career for himself in +the world. The realisation of his dreams seemed indeed near, as it +happened at this time that a noble knight of Assisi was preparing to +join the army of Gauthier de Brienne, then fighting the battles of +Pope Innocent III, in Apulia. Francis, "greedy of glory," determined +to accompany the knight to the wars, and began to prepare for the +journey with more than usual magnificence. He was all impatience to +start, and his mind was full of the expedition when he had a dream +which filled him with hope. In lieu of the bales of silk in his +father's warehouse, stood saddles, shields, and lances, all marked +with the red cross, and as he marvelled at the sight a voice told him +those arms were intended for himself and his soldiers. Rising next +morning full of ambitious plans after such an omen of good fortune, he +mounted his charger and rode through the town bidding farewell to his +friends. He smiled on all and seemed so light of heart that they +pressed round asking what made him so merry. "I shall yet be a great +prince," he answered, and he passed out of the Porta Nuova, where but +a short while before he had stood looking down so sadly on the valley +he was now to traverse as an armoured knight. At Spoleto he had a +return of intermittent fever, and while chafing at the delay a voice +called to him: "Francis, who can do the most good, the master or the +servant?" + +"The master," answered Francis, not in the least astonished by the +mysterious question. + +"Why then dost thou leave the master for the servant, and the prince +for the follower? Return to thy country, there shalt thou be told what +to do; for thou hast mistaken the meaning and wrongly interpreted the +vision sent thee by God." + +Next morning, leaving the knight to continue the journey alone, he +mounted his horse and returned to Assisi, where he was doubtless +received with disappointment by his parents, and with gibes by the +citizens who had listened to his boasts of future greatness. Once +again he went back to work in his father's shop, but now when the +young nobles called to him to join in their revels he went listlessly, +often escaping from their midst to wander alone in the fields or pass +long hours praying in a grotto near the city. One day his friends, in +despair at his frequent absences, gave a grand banquet, making him +"King of the feast." He delighted them all with fitful bursts of merry +wit, but at last when the revellers rushed out into the night to roam +about the town till dawn, Francis fell back from the gay throng, and +stood gazing up at the calm Umbrian sky decked in all its splendour of +myriad stars. When the others returned in search of their leader, +they, wondering at the change that had come over the wildest spirit of +Assisi, assailed him with questions. "Are you thinking of marrying, +Francis," cried one jester, and amidst the laughter of all came his +quiet answer: "Yes, a wife more noble and more beautiful than ye have +ever seen; she will outshine all others in beauty and in wisdom." +Already the image of the Lady Poverty had visited him, and enamoured +like a very troubadour he composed songs in her honour as he walked in +the woods near Assisi. + +The kind heart of Francis had always been touched at the sight of the +poor lepers, who, exiled from the companionship of their fellow +creatures, lived in a lazar-house on the plain, about a mile from the +town. But his compassion for their misery was mingled with a strong +feeling of repugnance, so that he had always shunned these wretched +outcasts. "When I was in the bondage of sin," he tells us in his will, +"it was bitter to me, and loathsome to see, and loke uppon persouny +enfect with leopre; but that blessed Lord broughte me amonge them, and +I did mercy with them, and departing from them, what before semyd +bittre and lothesomme was turned and changed to me in great sweetnesse +and comfort both of body and of soule, and afterwards in this state I +stode and abode a lytle while, and then I lefte and forsooke the +worldly lyf."[27] + +Pietro Bernardone now saw his son, clothed in rags, his face pinched +and white from long vigils spent in prayer, going forth on errands of +mercy, jeered at by the citizens, pelted with stones and filth by the +children. There were many storms in the Bernardone household which the +gentle Pica was unable to quell; and when finally Francis began to +throw his father's money among the poor in the same regal manner in +which he had once spent it among his boon companions, Bernardone could +bear it no longer, and drove his son from the house. When they met he +cursed him, and the family bonds thus severed were never again +renewed. + +Francis was still like a pilgrim uncertain of his goal, or like a man +standing before a heavy burden which he feels unable to lift. What was +he to do with his life--how could he help the poor and suffering--were +questions he asked himself over and over again as he vainly sought for +an anchor in the troubled seas. The answer came to him one day as he +was attending mass at the chapel of the Portiuncula on the feast of +St. Matthew the apostle, in the year 1209. + +"And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal +the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely +ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor +brass in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, +neither shoes, nor yet staves" ... read the priest from the gospel of +the day. Those simple words were a revelation to Francis, who, when +mass was over, ran out into the woods, and, with only the birds in +the oak trees to witness his strange interpretation of the gospel, +threw away his shoes, wallet, staff and well-filled purse. "This is +what I desired; behold, here is what I searched for and am burning to +perform," he cried, in the delirium of his new-found joy. + +If the Assisans had been astonished at his former eccentricities, as +they termed his deeds of charity, they were yet more amazed to see him +now, clothed in a coarse habit, with a knotted cord round his waist, +and with bare feet, begging his bread from door to door. After a +little while they grew accustomed to the hurrying figure of the young +mendicant as he passed rapidly down the street greeting all he met +with the salutation of "Our Lord give thee His peace." The words +brought something new and strange into men's hearts, and those who had +scoffed at him most drew near to learn the secret of their charm. The +first to be touched by the simplicity and joyous saintliness of +Francis was Bernardo di Quintevalle, a wealthy noble of Assisi, who +had known him as King among the young Assisan revellers, and watched +with astonishment his complete renouncement of the world. He +determined to join Francis in ministering to the lepers, and began his +new mode of life by selling all his possessions for the benefit of the +poor. His conversion created a considerable stir in the town; and +people had not ceased to gossip on the subject when another well-known +citizen, Pietro de Catanio, a canon of the cathedral, also offered his +services at the lazar-house. A few days later a labourer named Egidio +"beholding how those noble knights of Assisi despised the world, so +that the whole country stood amazed," came in search of Francis to beg +him to take him as one of his companions. Francis met him at the +entrance of the wood by the lazar hospital, and gazing on the devout +aspect of Egidio, answered and said: "Brother most dear, God has shown +Himself exceeding gracious unto thee. If the Emperor were to come to +Assisi and desire to make a certain citizen his knight or private +chamberlain, ought not such a one to be exceeding glad? How much more +oughtest thou not to rejoice that God hath chosen thee out to be His +knight and well-beloved servant, to observe the perfection of the Holy +Gospel"?[28] and, taking him by the hand, he brought him to the hut +which was their home. Here a merchant's son, a learned churchman, and +a rich nobleman, welcomed an Assisan labourer in their midst with the +simple brotherly love which was to be the keynote of the franciscan +order. After the reception of Egidio we are told that Francis went +with him to the Marches of Ancona, "singing glorious praises of the +Lord of heaven and earth" as they travelled along the dusty roads. +Albeit Francis did not preach publicly to the people, yet as he went +by the way he admonished and corrected the men-folk and the +women-folk, saying lovingly to them these simple words: "Love and fear +God, and do fit penance for your sins." And Egidio would say: "Do what +this my spiritual Father saith unto you, for he speaketh right well." + +It was not long before the fame of Francis drew quite a little +community of brethren to the tiny hut in the plain, and the question +naturally occurs--Did Francis plan out the creation of an order when +he gathered men around him? It was so natural a thing for disciples to +follow him that his biographers simply note it as a fact, and, not +being given to speculation in those days, pass on to other events. We +may be allowed to conjecture that the same ambition which some years +before had stirred his longing to be a great prince was not dead, +only his dreams were to be realised in another sphere of action. The +qualities which made him the brilliant leader among the gay nobles of +Assisi were now turned into another channel--he became a prince among +saints, a controller of men's destinies. + +Varied indeed was the band of Francis' disciples, and it is +interesting to see how each one was allowed to follow the bent of his +nature. In this complete sympathy with character lay one of the +secrets of his power. Egidio, who in the world had been a labourer, +was encouraged by his master to continue his life in the open country. +He gathered in the olives for the peasants, helped them with their +vintage, and when the corn was being cut would glean the ears; but if +anyone offered him a handful of grain, he remarked: "My brother, I +have no granary wherein to store it." Usually he gave away what he had +gleaned to the poor, so that he brought little food back to the +convent. Always ready to turn his hand to every job, one day we find +Egidio beating a walnut tree for a proprietor who could find none to +do the work because the tree was so tall. But he set himself gaily to +the task, and having made the sign of the Cross, "with great fear +climbed up the walnut tree and beat it. The share that fell to him was +so large that he could not carry it in his tunic, so taking off his +habit he tied the sleeves and the hood together and made a sack of +it."[29] With this load on his back he returned towards the convent, +but on the way distributed all the nuts to the poor. Egidio remains +the ideal type of the franciscan friar. "He is a Knight of my Round +Table," said Francis one day as he recounted some new adventure which +had befallen the intrepid brother, who was always journeying to some +southern town, and is said even to have visited the Holy Land.[30] + +A very different man, drawn by the magic influence of Francis into the +Order at the beginning of its fame in 1211, was Elias Buonbarone, the +son of a Bolognese mattress-maker who had for some time been settled +in Assisi. He is always represented by the biographers as haughty, +overbearing, and fond of controlling the actions of others; in fact a +strong contrast to the meek brother Leo whom Francis lovingly named +the little lamb of God. But if lacking in saintly qualities, Elias +possessed a remarkable mind and determination of character which +enabled him afterwards to play a considerable part in the history of +his times. He embodies the later franciscan spirit which grew up after +the saint's death, and of which we shall treat in another chapter. + +When Francis found himself surrounded by some dozen followers, all +anxious to obey his wishes to the very letter and waiting only to be +sent hither and thither as he commanded, it became necessary to write +down some rule of life. In simple words he enjoined all to live +according to the precepts of the Gospel, "and they that came to +reseyve this forme or manner of lyvynge departyd and distributed that +they had and myght haue too powre people. And we were content with +oone coote pesyd bothe within forthe and without forthe with oone +corde and a femorall, and we wolde not haue ony more. Our dyvyne +servyse the clerkis saide as other clerkis, and the lay bretherne said +ther Pater noster. And we fulle gladly dwelt and taried in pour +deserte and desolat churchys, and we were contente to be taken as +ideotis and foolys of every man, and I did exercyse my self in bodily +laboure. And I wille laboure, and yt ys my wille surely and +steadfastely that alle the bretherne occupie and exercyse themself in +laboure, and in such occupation and laboure as belongeth to honeste. +And those that have no occupation to exercyse themself with alle, +shall lerne not for covetis to resceyve the price or hier for their +laboure, but for to give good example and eschewe and put away +idlenesse. When we wer not satisfied nor recompensied for our laboure, +we went and had recourse to the lord of oure Lorde, askynge almes from +dore to dore. Our Lorde by reualation tawghte me to say this maner of +salutation, 'Our Lorde give to thee His peace.'"[31] + +The first rule which Francis and his companions took in the summer of +1210 to be confirmed by Innocent III, has not come down to us. In Rome +they fortunately met the bishop of Assisi, who promised to obtain for +them, through one of the Cardinals, an interview with the Pope. A +legend tells us how Innocent, wrapt in deep meditation, was pacing +with solemn step the terrace of the Lateran, when this strange company +of ragged, bare-footed, dusty men was ushered into his presence. He +looked at them in surprise, his lip curling in disdain as Francis +stepped forward to make his request. From an Umbrian pilgrim he heard +for the first time that power was not the greatest good in life while +in poverty lay both peace and joy, and the great pope stood amazed at +the new doctrine. "Who can live without temporal possessions," +sarcastically asked the Cardinals who had been trained in the spirit +of Innocent, and the "Penitents of Assisi" bowed their heads, and +drawing their hoods forward, went sorrowfully out of the pope's +presence amid the jeers of his court. That night Innocent had a dream +in which he saw the church of St John Lateran about to fall, and its +tottering walls were supported on the shoulders of a man whom he +recognised as the spokesman of the band of Umbrians he had so hastily +dismissed. Full of strange visions the pope sent for Francis, who +repeated his desire to have his rule confirmed. "My son," said +Innocent, "your rule of life seems to us most hard and bitter, but +although we do not doubt your fervour we must consider whether the +road is not too hard a one for those who are to follow thee." Francis, +with ready wit, answered these objections by a tale he invented for +the purpose. "A beautiful but poor girl lived in a desert, and a great +king, seeing her beauty, wished to take her to wife, thinking by her +to have fine children. The marriage having taken place, many sons were +born, and when they were grown up their mother thus spoke to them: 'My +sons be not ashamed, for you are sons of the king; go therefore to his +court and he will cause all that is needful to be given to you.' And +when they came, the king, observing their beauty and seeing in them +his own likeness and image, said: 'Whose sons are you?' And they +answered; 'sons of a poor woman who lived in the desert.' So with +great joy the king embraced them, saying: 'Be not afraid, for you are +my sons, and when strangers eat at my table how much more right have +you to eat who are my legitimate sons?' The king then ordered the said +woman to send all sons born of her to be nourished at his court." "Oh, +Messer," cried Francis, "I am that poor woman, beloved of God, and +made beautiful through His mercy, by whom he was pleased to generate +legitimate sons. And the King said to me that he will feed all the +sons born of me, for as He feeds strangers so He may well feed His +own." + +Thus did Francis describe his Lady Poverty, and boldly hint that the +crimson-robed princes of the Church and the prelates of the Papal +Court had strayed from the teaching of the Gospel. + +Who can say whether Innocent, watching with keen eyes the earnest face +of the Umbrian teacher, began to realise the power such a man might +have in restoring to the church some of its lost purity, and was +planning how to yoke him to his service. This at least we know, that +before Francis and his companions left Rome they received the tonsure +which marked them as the Church's own, and with blessings and promises +of protection Innocent sent this new and strange militia throughout +the length and breadth of Italy to fight his spiritual battles. The +simplicity and the love of Francis had conquered the Pope, and to the +end continued to triumph over every difficulty. + +Such was the desire of Francis and his companions to return to Assisi +with the good news, that they forgot to eat on the way and arrived +exhausted in the valley of Spoleto, though still singing aloud for the +joy in their hearts. Somewhere near Orte they found an Etruscan +tomb--a delightful retreat for prayer. It so pleased Francis that a +strong temptation came over him to abandon all idea of preaching and +lead a hermit's life. For there was that in his nature which drew him +into the deep solitude of the woods, and might have kept him away from +men and the work that was before him. The battle in his soul waged +fiercely as he stood upon the mountain side looking up the valley +towards Assisi, but his heart went out to the people who dwelt there, +and the strong impulse he had to help those who suffered and needed +him won the day. The die was cast; he left his Etruscan retreat to +take up once more the burden, and thus it was that, in the words of +Matthew Arnold: "He brought religion to the people. He founded the +most popular body of ministers of religion that has ever existed in +the church. He transformed monachism by uprooting the stationary monk, +delivering him from the bondage of property, and sending him, as a +mendicant friar, to be a stranger and sojourner; not in the +wilderness, but in the most crowded haunts of men, to console them, +and to do them good." + +When Francis began his mission among the people of Italy it was the +custom for only the bishops to preach; but as they lived in baronial +splendour, enjoying the present, and amassing money which they +extorted from their poor parishioners to leave to their families, they +had little time to attend to spiritual duties. The people being +therefore left much to their own devices, sank ever deeper into +ignorance, sin, and superstition. They saw religion only from afar +until Francis appeared "like a star shining in the darkness of the +night" to bring to them the messages of peace and love. He came as one +of themselves, poor, reviled and persecuted, and the wonder of it made +the people throng in crowds to hear one who seemed indeed inspired. +Those simple words from the depths of a great and noble heart filled +all who listened with wonder. They were like the sharp cries of some +wild bird calling to its mate--the people heard and understood them. +When the citizens of an Umbrian town looked from their walls across +the valley and saw the grey cloaked figure hurrying along the dusty +road, they rang the bells to spread the good news, and bearing +branches of olive went out singing to meet him. All turned out of +their houses to run to the market-place where Francis, standing on +steps, or upon a low wall, for he was short of stature, would speak +to them as one friend does to another; sometimes charming them by his +eloquence, often moving the whole multitude to bitter tears by his +preaching on the passion of Christ. With his eyes looking up to the +heavens, and his hands outstretched as though imploring them to +repent, he seemed to belong to another world and "not to this +century." They not only repented, but many left the world to follow +him and spread the gospel of peace and love. The first woman who +begged him to receive her vows of renunciation was Chiara Sciffi, of a +noble Assisan house. Several members of the family, besides others +from near and far, followed her into the cloister until she became the +abbess of a numerous sisterhood, the foundress of the Poor Clares or +Second Order of St. Francis. + +The first inspired messages of Francis were brought to the Assisans, +and then he left them for awhile to journey further afield into other +parts of Italy, where he always met with the same marvellous success. +In the following account of his visit to Bologna we get a vivid idea +of his manner of appeal to the people; and of their enthusiasm and +astonishment that this poor and seemingly illiterate man, the very +antithesis of the pedantic clergy, should have the power to hold and +sway an audience by the magic of his words. "I, Thomas, citizen of +Spalato, and archdeacon of the cathedral church of the same city, +studying at Bologna in the year 1220, on the day of the assumption of +the Mother of God, saw St. Francis preach in the square before the +little palace, where nearly the whole town was assembled. He spoke +first of angels, of men, and of devils. He explained the spiritual +natures with such exactness and eloquence that his hearers were +astonished that such words could come from the mouth of a man so +simple as he was. Nor did he follow the usual course of preachers. +His discourse resembled rather one of those harangues that are made by +popular orators. At the conclusion, he spoke only of the extinction of +hatred, and the urgency of concluding treaties of peace, and compacts +of union. His garments were soiled and torn, his person thin, his face +pale, but God gave his words unheard-of power. He converted even men +of rank, whose unrestrained fury and cruelty had bathed the country in +blood; many who were enemies were reconciled. Love and veneration for +the saint were universal; men and women thronged around him, and happy +were those who could so much as touch the hem of his habit."[32] + +Young knights and students stepped out of the crowd after one of these +burning discourses, resolved to don the grey habit and renounce the +world. The ranks of the followers of St. Francis were swelled at every +town through which he passed; and he left some of his own sweetness +and gentleness among those who had listened to his preaching, so that +party feuds lay dormant for awhile, enemies were reconciled, and all +tried to lead more Christian lives. _Pax et bonum_ was the Franciscan +war-cry which fell indeed strangely on the air in a mediaeval town. +Whenever Francis heard of tension and ill-will between the nobles and +the people he hurried with his message of peace to quell the storm. + +But at Perugia he failed. Brother Leo tells us that, "Once upon a +time, when the Blessed Francis was preaching to a great multitude of +people gathered together in the Piazza of Perugia, some cavaliers of +the city began to joust and play on their horses in the piazza, thus +interrupting his sermon; and, although rebuked by those present, they +would not desist. Then the blessed Francis, in the fervour of his +soul, turned towards them and said, 'Listen and understand what the +Lord announces to you by me, his little servant, and refrain from +jeering at him, and saying, He is an Assisan.' This he said because of +the ancient hatred which still exists between the Perugians and the +Assisans...."[33] Rebuking the citizens for their pride, he predicted +that if they did not shortly repent civil war would break out in the +city. But the Perugians, who fought ever better than they prayed, +continued in their evil ways until at length the words of St. Francis +were verified. A tumult arose between the people of Perugia, and the +soldiers were thrust out of the city gates into the country, which +they devastated, destroying trees, vineyards, and corn-fields, so that +the misery in the land was great. + + [Illustration: VIA DI S. MARIA DELLE ROSE] + +In the course of a single day Francis often preached at five different +towns or villages; sometimes he went up to a feudal castle, attracted +by the sound of music and laughter. "Let us go up unto this feast," +he would say to his companion, "for, with the help of God, we may win +some good harvest of souls." Knights and ladies left the banqueting +hall when they heard of his arrival, and Francis standing on a low +parapet of the courtyard preached so "devoutly and sublimely to them +that all stood with their eyes and their minds turned on him as though +an angel of God were speaking." And then the gay company returned to +their feast and the two friars went on their way singing aloud from +the joy in their hearts, and passed the night praying in some deserted +church or rested under the olive trees on the hill-side. At dawn they +rose and "went according to their rule, begging bread for the love of +God, St. Francis going by one street and Brother Masseo by another. +But St. Francis, being contemptible to look upon and small of stature, +was accounted but a vile beggar by those who knew him not, and only +received some mouthfuls of food and small scraps of stale bread; but +to Brother Masseo, because he was tall and finely made, were given +tit-bits in large pieces and in plenty and whole slices of bread. When +they had done begging they met together outside the town to eat in a +place where was a fair spring, and near by a fine broad stone whereon +each placed the alms they had gathered, and St. Francis seeing the +pieces of bread given to Brother Masseo to be more numerous, better, +and far larger than his own rejoiced greatly...."[34] + +Masseo on one occasion wishing to try the humility of Francis mocked +him saying, "Why doth all the world come after thee, and why is it +that all men long to see thee, and hear thee, and obey thee? Thou art +not a comely man, thou art not possessed of much wisdom, thou art not +of noble birth; whence comes it then that the whole world doth run +after thee?" + +It is easy to see the naive wonder of the practical Masseo in these +words, a wonder doubtless shared by others who looked on from the same +standpoint, at the extraordinary influence Francis obtained through +his preaching. Their astonishment must have reached its height when +Francis came to a little town near Bevagna (perhaps Cannara) where he +preached with such fervour that the whole population wished to take +the franciscan habit. Husbands, wives, nobles, labourers, young and +old, rich and poor, rose up with one accord, ready to leave their +homes and follow him to the end of the earth. Such an awakening by the +simple words of a road-side preacher had never before been seen, and +was the precursor of other popular demonstrations a few years +later.[35] Francis, with extraordinary diplomacy, held the +enthusiastic crowd in check without extinguishing their piety. He +calmly viewed the situation and solved the difficulty where another, +with less knowledge of human nature, might have been carried away by +the opening of the flood-gates. It is not without amusement that one +thinks of Francis coming to convert sinners, and then finding he had +called into being an order of Religious who absolutely refused to +separate from him. He calmed the weeping crowd, and with caution said +to them: "'Be not in a hurry, neither leave your homes, and I will +order that which ye are to do for the salvation of your souls:' and he +then decided to create the Third Order for the universal salvation of +all, and thus, leaving them much consoled and well disposed to +penitence, he departed...." + +At a time when war, party feuds, and the unlawful seizure of property +brought misery into the land, the Tertiaries, united by solemn vows to +keep the commandments of God, to be reconciled to their enemies, and +to restore what was not rightfully theirs, became a power which had to +be reckoned with. The rule forbidding them to fight, save in defence +of the Church or of their country, dealt a severe blow at the feudal +system, and therefore met with much opposition among the great barons. +Persecution only increased their power, for so early as 1227 Gregory +IX, protected the Brothers of Penitence by a special Bull. The enemies +of the Church soon discovered that they had a powerful antagonist in +an Order which comprised the faithful of every age, rank, and +profession, and whose religious practices, whilst creating a great +bond of union among them, were not severe enough to take them away +from social life in the very heart of the great cities. They formed a +second vanguard to the papacy, and Frederick II, was heard to complain +that this Third Order impeded the execution of his plans against the +Holy See; while his chancellor Pier delle Vigne in one of his letters +exclaims that the whole of Christendom seems to have entered its +ranks.[36] + +Thus both from within and from without the world was being moulded as +Francis willed; all Italy responded to his call, and everywhere rose +songs of praise to God from a people no longer oppressed by the +squalor of their evil living. His energy and desire to gain souls drew +him still further afield into the wilds of Slavonia, into Spain, +Syria, Morocco, and later into Egypt, for the purpose of converting +the Soldan. So great was his eagerness to arrive at his destination +and begin to preach that, often leaving his companions far behind, he +literally ran along the roads. He was "inebriated by the excessive +fervour of his spirit," and on fire with divine love, and yet he +failed on these missions in foreign lands. The reason probably lay in +his total ignorance of any language except Italian and Provencal, so +that his words must have lost all their eloquence and power when +delivered through the medium of an interpreter, and we know that +Francis never made use of miracles to enforce his teaching.[37] + +He returned to Assisi bitterly disappointed, and so despondent that +for a while he was tempted to give up all idea of preaching. In this +uncertainty he turned for council to Brother Sylvester and to St. +Clare, who both urged him to continue his mission to the people; God, +they said, had not elected him to work out his salvation in the +solitude of a cell but for the salvation of all. He left the hermitage +(perhaps the Carcere) and filled with new courage by their words, +started on a fresh pilgrimage by "cities and castles," but this time +among the Umbrians who knew and loved him. As he came near Bevagna in +the plain a new crowd of listeners awaited him--troops of fluttering +birds--bullfinches, rooks, doves, "a great company of creatures +without number." Leaving his companions in a state of wonder on the +road, he ran into the field saying, "I would preach to my little +brothers the birds," and as he drew near, those that were on the +ground did not attempt to fly away, while those perched on the trees +flew down to listen to his sermon. + +"My little brethren birds," he said, after saluting them as was his +custom, "ye ought greatly to praise and love the Lord who created +you, for He provideth all that is necessary, giving unto you feathers +for raiment and wings to fly with. The Most High God has placed you +among His creatures, and given you the pure air for your abode; ye do +not sow neither do ye reap, but He keeps and feeds you."[38] +Stretching out their necks, opening their beaks, and spreading their +wings, the birds listened while they fixed their eyes upon the saint +and never moved even when he walked in their midst touching them with +his habit, until he made the sign of the Cross and allowed them to +depart. He often related this episode which had made such a happy day +in his life and had been of good augury at a time when he was sad. + +The love of Francis for his "little brethren the birds," and indeed +for all creatures however small, was one of the most beautiful traits +in a character which stands out in such strong relief in the history +of the middle ages. It was not only a poetical sentiment but the very +essence of his being; a power felt by every living thing, from the +brigand who left his haunts in the forests to follow him, to the +half-frozen bees which crawled in winter to be fed with wine and honey +from his hands. An understanding so complete with Nature was unknown +until Francis stretched out his arms in yearning towards her shrines +and drew the people, plunged in the gloom of Catharist doctrines, +towards what was a religion in itself--the worship of the beautiful. + +"Le treizieme siecle etait pret pour comprendre la voix du poete de +l'Ombrie; le sermon aux oiseaux clot le regne de l'art byzantin et de +la pensee dont il etait l'image. C'est la fin du dogmatisme et de +l'autorite; c'est l'avenement de l'individualisme et de +l'inspiration,"[39] says M. Paul Sabatier. No one mocked at the +sermon to the birds; no one wondered that leverets, loosed from the +snare of the huntsman, should run to Francis for protection, or +pheasants forsake the woods to seek a shelter in his cell; for so +great an awakening had taken place in Italy that all understood the +deep vein of poetry in their saint. + +His biographers have transmitted these various anecdotes with a +tenderness and simplicity which cannot fail to impress us with the +belief that Francis, like many in our own time, possessed a marked +attraction for all animals, a magnetism felt with equal strength by +man and beast. Love was the Orphean lute he played upon, sending such +sweet melody into the world that its strains have not yet died away. + +Besides the feeling he had for the beautiful, the small, or the weak, +there was another influence at work that made him walk with reverence +over the stones, gather up the worms from the path to save them from +being crushed, and buy the lambs that were being carried to market +with their poor feet tied together. He saw in all things a symbol of +some great truth which carried his thoughts straight to God. One day +near Ancona he noticed a lamb following slowly and disconsolately a +large herd of goats which made him think of Christ among the +Pharisees. In pity he bought it from the goat-herd, and in triumph +carried it to a neighbouring town where he preached a parable to an +admiring crowd, even edifying the bishop by his piety. + +Speaking of his favourite birds he would say, "Sister lark hath a hood +like the Religious ... and her raiment--to wit her feathers--resemble +the earth.... And when she soars she praises God most sweetly." Such +was his desire to protect them that he once said if he could only have +speech with the Emperor he would entreat him to pass a special edict +for the preservation of his sisters the larks, and command the "Mayors +of the cities and the Lord of the castles to throw grain on the roads +by the walled towns" on the feast of the Nativity, so that all the +birds should rejoice with man on that day. He found great joy in the +open fields, the vineyards, the rocky ravines, and the forests which +gave shelter to his feathered brethren; running water and the +greenness of the orchards, earth, fire, air, and the winds so invited +him to divine love that often he passed the whole day praising the +marvels of creation. No wonder he turned his steps more willingly up +the mountain paths to the hermitage of the Carceri than towards the +crowded cities. Nature was his companion, his breviary the mirror +wherein he saw reflected the face of the Creator. In the song of the +nightingales, in the sound of their wings, in the petals of a tiny +flower, in the ever changing glory of his own Umbrian valley he was +always reminded of God, and for this he has been rightly called a +"Pan-Christian." + +There is not a corner in Umbria, one might almost say in Italy, which +does not bear some record of the passage of the saint. The sick were +brought to him and cured, those in trouble laid their sorrows before +him and went away comforted. When anything went wrong, a hasty message +was sent to Francis, and all with child-like simplicity trusted in him +to set things right. We even hear that the people of Gubbio, being +persecuted by a fierce wolf, had recourse to him, for they failed to +protect themselves though the men sallied forth "as if going to +battle." The saint had little difficulty in persuading Brother Wolf to +lead a respectable life; and he, seeing the advantage of a peaceful +existence, bowed his head and placed his paw, as a solemn seal to the +compact, in the hand of Francis amid the joyful cries of the people +who marvelled greatly at the "novelty of the miracle." After this he +could be seen walking gently through the streets of Gubbio to receive +his daily ration at every door, cared for by the citizens "and not a +dog would wag even his tongue against him." When Brother Wolf died +there was bitter mourning in the city, for all felt as if a friend had +passed away, and there was none left to remind them of the kindly +saint who had helped them in their need. "Am I expected to believe +these fairy tales?" some may ask with a sneer. The exact events +related--no--but the spirit of these legends is more necessary to a +true conception of the saint and the times in which he lived than all +the histories that can ever be written about him. The Umbrians +pictured him as they saw and understood him, and tradition going from +mouth to mouth found finally its perfect expression in the "Little +Flowers of St. Francis." Wonders and miracles are in every page, it is +true, but then the peasants will tell you all things are possible in +Umbria; the taming of wild beasts, the silencing of garrulous swallows +who chattered so loudly while he preached, do not seem stranger to +them than the conversion of brigands and murderers, for did not the +very angels obey his wishes and play and sing to him one night when he +lay ill in a lonely hermitage, longing for the sound of sweet strains +to break the awful stillness round him? + +Francis would have been sorely troubled had he foreseen the numberless +miracles his biographers were going to attribute to him, for no saint +was ever humbler. Even in his lifetime, oppressed by the homage paid +him, he would say to his adorers with a touch of quaint humour: "do +not be in such haste to proclaim me a saint, for I may still be the +father of children." He was always fearful lest people should +overrate his good actions, and his horror of hypocrisy drove him to +confess aloud to the people gathered round to listen to a sermon, in +what manner he had given way to the desires of "Brother Body." Upon +one occasion having used lard in lieu of the less wholesome oil when +he was ill, he began his sermon by saying: "Ye come to me with great +devoutness believing me to be a saint, but I do confess unto God and +unto you that this Lent I have eaten cakes made with lard." Another +time, after a severe chill, his companions sewed some fox-skin inside +his habit to keep him somewhat warmer during the bitter cold, but he +was not happy until a piece had been sewn also on the outside so that +all might see the luxury he allowed himself. + +It may at first seem strange that one so simple should have exercised +such extraordinary influence on men and women of all ranks, an +influence which has lasted with undiminished force for seven hundred +years. But we must remember that a people, however ready to listen to +the words of a reformer (especially an Italian crowd), will hardly be +moved by calmness or sense; only when one like Francis stirs their +imagination by a peculiar way of announcing God's word, and by acts +sometimes bordering on insanity, can he completely succeed in winning +them. The Assisans, at first shocked by some of the spectacles they +witnessed in their sleepy town, jeered and murmured, until at last the +saint literally took them by storm; and the more he risked their good +opinion the louder they applauded him and wept for their sins. +Astonishment was at its height when on the way to some service at the +cathedral, the citizens saw Francis approaching them "naked save for +his breeches," while Brother Leo carried his habit. He has gone mad +through too much penance, some thought. The truth was that Francis had +imposed this same penance on Brother Ruffino who was then preaching to +the people in the cathedral, and his conscience smote him so that he +began to chide himself, saying: "Why art thou so presumptuous, son of +Bernardone, vile little man, as to command Fra Ruffino, who is one of +the noblest of the Assisans, to go and preach to the people as though +he were mad."... So when Ruffino's sermon was ended Francis went up +into the pulpit and preached with such eloquence on his Lady Poverty +and on the nakedness and shame of the Passion suffered by Our Lord +Jesus Christ "that the whole church was filled with the sound of +weeping and wailing such as had never before been heard in Assisi." +Thus did the force of originality win the people, and all those who +had jeered but a few minutes before were much "edified and comforted +by this act of St. Francis and Brother Ruffino; and St. Francis having +reclad Brother Ruffino and himself, returned to the Portiuncula +praising and glorifying God, who had given them grace to abase +themselves to the edification of Christ's little sheep." + +By word and example Francis taught his disciples to be especially +humble towards the clergy. "If ye be sons of peace," he often said, +"ye shall win both clergy and people, and this is more acceptable to +God than to win the people only and to scandalise the clergy. Cover +their backslidings and supply their many defects, and when ye have +done this be ye the more humble." He had to struggle against much +opposition among the bishops, who looked upon him and his friars as +intruders encroaching upon their rights. People had often advised him +to obtain a Bull from Rome, to enable him to preach without asking +permission, but it was through the power of persistent meekness that +he wished to win his way to every heart, and the only weapons he used +were those of love. St. Bonaventura tells us that the Bishop of Imola +absolutely refused to let Francis call the citizens together and +preach to them. "It suffices, friar, that I preach to the people +myself," was the cross reply, and Francis, drawing his cowl over his +head, humbly went his way. But after the short space of an hour he +retraced his steps, and the bishop inquired with some anger why he had +returned. He made answer in all humility of heart and speech: "My +lord, if a father sends his son out at one door there is nothing left +for him but to return by another." Then the bishop, vanquished by his +humility, embraced him with a joyful countenance, saying: "Thou and +all thy brethren shall have a general licence to preach throughout my +diocese, as the reward of thy holy humility."[40] + +This was the saint, gentle and sweet among men, who won the friendship +of Ugolino, Bishop of Ostia (afterwards Pope Gregory IX). The bishop +often spent quiet hours at the Portiuncula, trying perhaps to find, in +the companionship of the saint and his poor friars, a peace he in vain +sought amid the luxury of the Papal Court. Celano,[41] who may have +been present during one of these meetings, tells us how he delighted +in throwing off his rich robes and clothing himself in the Franciscan +habit. In these moments of humility he would reverently bend the knee +to Francis and kiss his hands. Besides his great admiration and love +for the personality of the saint, he was not slow to perceive the +services Francis had rendered in endeavouring to restore something of +the pristine purity to Christianity, and further, the Order was fast +becoming of political importance. The work of organising a community, +no longer a handful of Assisan knights and yeomen following in the +footsteps of their leader, was by no means an easy task; and Ugolino +saw his way to bring it more closely into the service of the Church. +Francis, whether willingly or not we cannot say, begged the Pope to +name Ugolino Patron and Father of his Order. This was readily +accorded, for it was felt in the papal circle that Francis was not so +easy to drive as became a submissive child of the Church. They could +not complain of actual disobedience, but he liked doing things his own +way. By some at Rome it was suggested to him that he should adopt the +Benedictine rule, by others that he might join his Order to that of St +Dominic, but the saint smiled sweetly, and though so dove-like none +succeeded in entangling him in their diplomatic nets. Indeed he +puzzled Ugolino many times, and both Innocent III and Honorius III +were never quite sure whether they had to do with a simpleton or a +saint. The Roman prelates, completely out of sympathy with his +doctrine of poverty, were only too ready to thwart him, and Ugolino +knowing this advised him "not to go beyond the mountains" but remain +in Italy to protect the interests of his order. He further persuaded +him to come to Rome and preach before the Pope and cardinals, thinking +that the personality of the saint might perchance win their favour. +Anxious to do honour to his patron, Francis composed a sermon and +committed it to memory with great care. When the slight, grey figure, +the dust of the Umbrian roads still clinging to his sandals, stood up +in the spacious hall of the Lateran before Honorius and the venerable +cardinals, Ugolino watched with anxious eyes the course of events. In +mortal fear "he supplicated God with all his being that the simplicity +of the holy man should not become an object of ridicule," and +resigning himself to Providence he waited. There was a moment of +suspense, of awful silence, for Francis had completely forgotten the +sermon he had so carefully learned by heart. But his humility +befriended him; stepping forward a few paces with a gesture of regret +he quietly confessed what had happened, and then, as if indeed +inspired, he broke forth into one of his most eloquent sermons. "He +preached with such fervour of spirit," says Celano, "that being unable +to contain himself for joy whilst proclaiming the Word of God, he +moved even his feet in the manner of one dancing, not for play, but +driven thereto by the strength of the divine love that burnt within +him: therefore he incited none to laughter but drew tears of sorrow +from all."[42] + +When Francis had been preaching for some time a certain weariness +seems to have possessed him, and he would then, "leaving behind him +the tumult of the multitude," retire to some secret place to dwell in +constant prayer and heavenly contemplation. There were many of these +refuges, but none so isolated from the world as the lofty mountain of +La Vernia, which had been given to him by Count Orlando Cattani of +Chiusi, whose ruined castle can still be seen on a spur of the +Apennines just below. The "Sacred Mount" rises clear above the valley +of the Casentino to the height of 4000 feet, between the sources of +the Tiber and the Arno, and looks straight down upon one of the +perfect views in Tuscany which Dante speaks of: + + "The rills that glitter down the grassy slopes + Of Casentino, making fresh and soft + The banks whereby they glide to Arno's stream." + +Range upon range of splendid hills falling away gradually to the south +gather in their folds the pale-tinted mists of early summer, and seem +to guard the valley from other lands, so intense is the feeling of +remoteness. From the white towns gleaming like pearls on their green +slopes above the young Arno cradled by poplars, is seen the sharp +outline of La Vernia against the sky, always black, gloomy, and +defiant above the cornfields and vineyards. Its summit, covered with +fir-trees, straight and close together, appears like a great whale +that has rested there since the days of the flood. Below the forest +lie huge boulders of rock and yawning chasms, upheaved, says the +legend, during the earthquake at the time of the Crucifixion. To this +solitary place came Francis in the year 1224 to celebrate by forty +days of fasting and prayer the feast of St. Michael the Archangel, +accompanied by Fra Leo "the little sheep of God," Fra Angelo "the +gentle knight," Fra Illuminato, and Fra Masseo. On former visits he +had been content to stay in a cell beneath a "fair beech tree" built +for him by Count Orlando close to where the brethren lived; but this +time he chose a spot on the loneliest side of the mountain where no +sound could be heard. To reach it the brethren had to throw a bridge +across a "horrible and fearful cleft in a huge rock," and after they +had fashioned him a rough shelter they left him in utter solitude; +only once in the day and once at night Fra Leo was permitted to bring +a little bread and water which he left by the bridge, stealing +silently away unless called by Francis. Near this lonely retreat a +falcon had built a nest and used to wake him regularly a little before +matins with his cry, beating his wings at his cell until the saint +rose to recite his orations. Francis, charmed with so exact a clock, +obeyed the summons, and such was the sympathy between the friends +that the falcon always knew when he was weary or ill, and would then +"gently, and like a discreet and compassionate person, utter his cry +later ... and besides this, in the day would sometimes stay quite +tamely with him." The birds, which had shown joy on his arrival, +filled the woods with their sweetest song while the angels visited +him, sometimes playing such beautiful music on the viol that "his soul +almost melted away." But Francis, honoured as he was by celestial +spirits, and by man and beast, had still to receive the greatest sign +of grace ever accorded to a saint, and the story has been gravely +related by ancient and modern writers for seven centuries. + +The moment had certainly arrived for accomplishing the high designs of +Providence, for Francis through prayer, fasting, and constant +contemplation on the Passion of Christ, had become like some spiritual +being untrammelled by the bonds of the flesh. It was on the feast of +the Exaltation of the Cross while praying on the mountain side, that +the marvellous vision was vouchsafed to him. The dawn had hardly +broken when "he beheld a Seraph who had six wings, which shone with +such splendour that they seemed on fire, and with swift flight he came +above the face of the Blessed Francis who was gazing upwards to the +sky, and from the midst of the wings of the Seraph appeared suddenly +the likeness of a man crucified with hands and feet stretched out in +the manner of a cross, and they were marked with wounds like those of +Our Lord Jesus Christ, and two wings of the said Seraph were above the +head, two were spread as though flying, and two veiled the whole +body."[43] Flames of fire lit up the mountains and the valley during +the vision, and some muleteers seeing "the bright light shining +through the windows of the inn where they slept, saddled and loaded +their beasts thinking the day had broke." When Francis rose from his +knees and looked up to the sky where the seraph had been and where now +the sun was rising over the Casentino and her steepled towns, he bore +on his body the marks of the Crucified. His hands and feet appeared as +though pierced through with nails, the heads being on the inside of +the hands and on the upper part of the feet, while blood flowed from +the wound in his side. Thus transformed by his surpassing love for +Christ, Francis returned to his four companions and recounted to them +his vision, trying all the while out of his deep humility to hide from +them the signs of the Stigmata. Before returning to Assisi he bade +them a final farewell, for he knew this was the last time he would +come with them to La Vernia. The scene is beautifully pictured in a +letter of Fra Masseo, which, as far as we know, is here translated for +the first time. + + +JESUS, MARY MY HOPE. + +"Brother Masseo, sinner, and unworthy servant of Jesus Christ, +companion of Brother Francis of Assisi, man most dear unto God, peace +and greetings to all brethren and sons of the great patriarch Francis, +standard-bearer of Christ. + +"The great patriarch having determined to bid a last farewell to this +sacred mount on the 30th of September 1224, day of the feast of St +Jerome, the Count Orlando of Chiusi sent to him an ass in order that +he might ride thereon, forasmuch as he could not put his feet to the +ground by reason of their being sore wounded and pierced with nails. +In the morning early having heard mass, according to his wont, in +Sta. Maria degli Angeli,[44] he called all the brethren into the +chapel, and bade them in holy obedience to live together in charity, +to be diligent in prayer, always to tend the said place carefully, and +to officiate therein day and night. Moreover he commended the whole of +the sacred mount to all his brethren present, as well as to those to +come, exhorting them to have a care that the said place should not be +profaned, but always reverenced and respected, and he gave his +benediction to all inhabitants thereof, and to all who bore thereunto +reverence and respect. On the other hand, he said: 'Let them be +confounded who are wanting in respect to the said place, and from God +let them expect a well-merited chastisement.' To me he said: 'Know, +Brother Masseo, that my intention is that on this mount shall live +friars having the fear of God before their eyes, and chosen among the +best of my order, let therefore the superiors strive to send here the +worthiest friars; ah! ah! ah! Brother Masseo, I will say no more.' + +"He then commanded and ordered me, Brother Masseo, and Brother Angelo, +Brother Silvestro and Brother Illuminato, to have a special care of +the place where that great miracle of the holy Stigmata occurred.[45] +Having said that, he exclaimed 'Farewell, farewell, farewell, Brother +Masseo.' Then turning to Brother Angelo, he said: 'Farewell, +farewell,' and the same to Brother Silvestro and Brother Illuminato: +'Remain in peace, most dear sons, farewell, I depart from you in the +body, but I leave my heart with you; I depart with Brother Lamb of +God, and am going to Sta. Maria degli Angeli[46] never to return here +more; I am going, farewell, farewell, farewell to all! Farewell, +sacred mount. Farewell, mount Alvernia. Farewell, mount of the angels. +Farewell, beloved Brother Falcon, I thank thee for the charity thou +didst show me, farewell! Farewell, Sasso Spicco,[47] never more shall +I come to visit thee, farewell, farewell, farewell, oh rock which +didst receive me within thine entrails, the devil being cheated by +thee, never more shall we behold one another![48] Farewell, Sta. +Maria degli Angeli, mother of the eternal Word. I commend to thee +these my sons.' + +"Whilst our beloved father was speaking these words, our eyes poured +forth torrents of tears, so that he also wept as he turned to go, +taking with him our hearts, and we remained orphans because of the +departure of such a father. + +"I, Brother Masseo, have written this with tears. May God bless us." + +For two years after his return from La Vernia, Francis, bearing the +marks of the Seraph, continued to preach and visit the lazar houses, +although he was so ill and worn by fasts and vigils that his +companions marvelled how the spirit could still survive in so frail a +body. Moreover he had become nearly blind, remaining sometimes sixty +days and more unable to see the light of day or even the light of +fire. It was to him a martyrdom that while walking in the woods led by +one of the brethren, the scenes he loved so well should be hidden by +this awful darkness. He could only dream of the past when he had +journeyed from one walled town to another through the valley of +Spoleto; sometimes rejoicing in the brilliant sunshine, often watching +the storms sweeping so gloriously over the land in summer when the +rocky beds of torrents were filled with rushing water and clouds cast +purple shadows across the plain. Now those wanderings were over, and +the spirit imprisoned within him found more than ever an outlet in +music, and "the strain of divine murmurs which fell upon his ears, +broke out in Gallic songs." + +He went on his way singing to meet death, and the greater his +sufferings the sweeter were the melodies he composed. It was during an +access of his infirmities and blindness that St. Clare induced him to +take some days of rest in a small wattle hut she had built in the +olive grove close to her convent of San Damiano. After nights of +bitter tribulation, of bodily suffering, passed in earnest prayer, he +arose one morning with his heart full of new praises to the Creator. +Meditating for a while he exclaimed, "Altissimo, omnipotente bono +Signore," and then composed a chaunt thereon, and taught it to his +companions so that they might proclaim and sing it. His soul was so +comforted and full of joy that he desired to send for Brother +Pacifico, who in the world had borne the title of King of Verse and +had been a most renowned troubadour, and to give to him as companions +some of the brethren to go about the world preaching and singing +praises to the Lord ... he willed also that when the preaching was +ended all together should as minstrels of God sing lauds unto Him. And +at the close of the singing he ordered that the preacher should say to +the people: "We are the minstrels of the Lord God wherefore we desire +to be rewarded by you, to wit, that you persevere in true +repentance."[49] + +It was the Canticle of the Sun which Francis composed in his days of +blindness, leaving it as an undying message to the world, an appeal +that they should not cease to love the things he had brought to their +knowledge during those earlier days of his ministry among them. He +poured the teaching of a life-time into a song of passionate praise to +the Creator of a world he had loved and found so beautiful; and the +sustained melody of the long, rolling lines charm our fancy like the +sound of waves during calm nights breaking upon the beach. The poem, +though rough and unhewn, still remains one of the marvels of early +literature, and to Francis belongs the honour of setting his seal on +the religious poetry of his country. His was the first glow of colour +proclaiming the dawn--the first notes of song which, coming from +Assisi, passed along the ranks of Italian poets to be taken up by +Dante in "full-throated ease." We give the Canticle of the Sun in the +exquisite version of Matthew Arnold. + +"O most high, almighty, good Lord God, to Thee belong praise, glory, +honour, and all blessing! + +"Praised be my Lord God with all His creatures; and specially our +brother the sun, who brings us the day, and who brings us the light; +fair is he, and shining with a very great splendour: O Lord, he +signifies to us Thee! + +"Praised be my Lord for our sister the moon, and for the stars, the +which he has set clear and lovely in heaven. + +"Praised be our Lord for our brother the wind, and for air and cloud, +calms and all weather, by the which thou upholdest in life all +creatures. + +"Praised be my Lord for our sister water, who is very serviceable unto +us, and humble, and precious, and clean. + +"Praised be my Lord for our brother fire, through whom thou givest us +light in the darkness; and he is bright, and pleasant, and very +mighty, and strong. + +"Praised be my Lord for our mother the earth, the which doth sustain +us and keep us, and bringeth forth divers fruits and flowers of many +colours, and grass. + +"Praised be my Lord for all those who pardon one another for his +love's sake, and who endure weakness and tribulation; blessed are they +who peaceably shall endure, for Thou, O most Highest, shalt give them +a crown![50] + +"Praised be my Lord for our sister, the death of the body, from whom +no man escapeth. Woe to him who dieth in mortal sin! Blessed are they +who are found walking by Thy most holy will, for the second death +shall have no power to do them harm. + +"Praise ye and bless ye the Lord, and give thanks unto Him, and serve +Him with great humility." + + [Illustration: THE ARMS OF THE FRANCISCANS.] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[18] For a true picture of the condition of Italian towns, torn by +strife, decimated by famine, and suffering from leprosy brought by the +crusaders, see Brewer's admirable preface in vol. iv. of the +_Monumenta Franciscana_. + +[19] The first tournament took place at Bologna in 1147. + +[20] Folgore di San Gimignano, translated by D. G. Rossetti. + +[21] These were the first troubadours to visit the Italian courts, +driven from Provence by the crusades against the Albigenses. + +[22] A certain Bernardo Moriconi, leaving his brother to carry on the +business at Lucca, then famous for its manufacture of silk stuffs, +came and settled at Assisi where he got the nickname Bernardone--the +big Bernard. Whether in allusion to his person or to his prosperity, +we cannot say, but the family name was lost sight of and his son was +known as Pietro Bernardone. + +[23] Celano. _Vita_ I. cap. 1. + +[24] Ruskin. _The two paths_: Lecture III. + +[25] Celano. _Vita_ I. cap. 2. + +[26] "Le vide lamentable de sa vie lui etait tout a coup apparu; il +etait effraye de cette solitude d'une grande ame, dans laquelle il n'y +a point d'autel." Paul Sabatier. _Vie de S. Francois d'Assise_, p. 17. + +[27] From a 15th century translation of the will of St. Francis. See +_Monumenta Franciscana_. Chronicles edited by J. S. Brewer vol. iv. p. +562. + +[28] Life of Beato Egidio in the _Little Flowers of St. Francis_. + +[29] Life of Beato Egidio in the _Little Flowers of St. Francis_. + +[30] One of the most beautiful stories in the _Fioretti_ (chapter +xxxiv.) recounts how St. Louis, King of France, visited Beato Egidio +at Perugia. The king and the poor friar kneeling together in the +courtyard of the convent, embracing each other like familiar friends, +is a picture such as only Umbrian literature could have left us. There +was absolute silence between the two, yet we are told St. Louis +returned to his kingdom and Egidio to his cell with "marvellous +content and consolation" in their souls. + +[31] See _Supra_, p. 47. + +[32] Quoted by Sigonius in his work on the Bishops of Bologna. _Opera +omnia_, v. iii., translated by Canon Knox Little. _Life of St. Francis +of Assisi_, p. 179. + +[33] _Speculum Perfectionis_, cap. cv., edited by Paul Sabatier. + +[34] _Fioretti_, cap. xiii. + +[35] To franciscan influence must surely be traced the rise of the +Flagellants at Perugia in 1265. + +[36] See _Histoire de Sainte Elizabeth_, Comte de Montalembert, pp. +71, 72. + +[37] It is related that when in 1216 some Franciscans went on a +mission to Germany the only word they knew was "Ja," which they used +upon every occasion. In one town they were asked if they were heretics +preaching a rival faith to catholicism, and as they continued to say +"Ja, Ja," the citizens threw them into prison, and after beating them +cruelly drove them ignominiously from the country. The account they +gave of their experience to the other friars at Assisi created such a +panic that they were often heard in their prayers to implore God to +deliver them from the barbarity of the Teutons. + +[38] Celano. _Vita_ I. cap. xxi. + +[39] Paul Sabatier. _Vie de S. Francis d'Assise_, p. 205. + +[40] _Vita di S. Francesco_, p. 76. Edizione Amoni (1888. Roma). + +[41] Celano, a learned nobleman from Celano in the Abruzzi, joined the +Order in 1215, and gives by far the most charming and vivid account of +St Francis, for besides knowing him well he had the gift of writing in +no ordinary degree. + +[42] _Vita_ I. cap. xxvii. + +[43] _Vita di S. Francesco_, da S. Bonaventura, p. 148, Edizione +Amoni. + +[44] This was a small chapel built for St. Francis by Count Orlando, +and must not be confounded with the church of the same name near +Assisi. + +[45] The earnest wishes of the saint are to this day carried out by +faithful friars who, even through the terrible winter months, live at +La Vernia, suffering privation and cold with cheerfulness. At midnight +a bell calls them to sing matins in the chapel of the Stigmata +connected with the convent by an open colonnade, down which the +procession files, following a crucifix and lanterns. When the service +has ceased, the monks flit like ghosts behind the altar while the +lights are extinguished and in the gloom comes the sound of clashing +chains. For an hour they chastise themselves: then the torches are +relit, the chanting is resumed, and calmly they pass down the corridor +towards their cells. Moonlight may stream into the colonnade across +the dark forms, or gusts of wind drive the snow in heaps before them, +but the chanting is to be heard, and the monotonous cries of _ora pro +nobis_ break the awful solitude of night throughout the year upon the +mountain of La Vernia. + +[46] Here reference is made to the Portiuncula, near Assisi. + +[47] The Sasso Spicco, which still can be seen at La Vernia, is a +block of rock rising high above the mountain ridge, and seems to hang +suspended in the air. It forms a roof over dark and cavernous places +where St. Francis loved to pray, often spending his nights there with +stones for his bed. + +[48] The _Fioretti_ relates that once while St. Francis was praying on +the edge of a precipice, not far from the spot where he had received +the Stigmata, suddenly the devil appeared in terrible form amidst the +loud roar of a furious tempest. St. Francis, unable to flee or to +endure the ferocious aspect of the devil, turned his face and whole +body to the rock to which he clung; and the rock, as though it had +been soft wax, received the impress of the saint and sheltered him. +Thus by the aid of God he escaped. + +[49] _Speculum Perfectionis_, cap. c., edited by Paul Sabatier. + +[50] St. Francis composed this verse later on the occasion of a +quarrel which arose between the Bishop of Assisi and the Podesta. The +last couplet was added at the Portiuncula while he was on his +death-bed. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +_The Carceri, Rivo-Torto and Life at the Portiuncula_ + + "O beata solitudo, + O sola beatudine." + + +These three places near Assisi, so intimately associated with St. +Francis, were in a way emblematic of the various stages in the rise +and growth of his young community, and we shall see that the saint +went from one to the other, not by chance, but with a settled purpose +in his mind. The Carceri he kept as a something apart from, and +outside his daily life; it was a hermitage in the strict sense of the +word, where, far from the sound of any human voice, he could come and +live a short time in isolated communion with God. As his followers +increased, and the Order he had founded with but a few brethren +developed even in its first years into a great army, we can easily +understand the longing for solitude which at times became too strong +to be resisted, for his nature was well fitted for the hermit's life, +and it called him with such persistence to the woods among the flowers +and the birds he loved, that had he been less tender for the +sufferings of others, more blind to the ills of the Church, it is +possible that the whole course of events might have been altered. +Giotto would not have been called to Assisi, or if he had been, the +legends told to him by the friars might not have inspired him to paint +such master-pieces as he has left us in the Franciscan Basilica; and +we should now be the poorer because St. Francis had chosen seven +hundred years ago to live in an Etruscan tomb at Orte, or in a grotto +on Mount Subasio. So much depended, not only upon what St. Francis +achieved, but on the way in which he chose to work. Who therefore can +tell how much we owe to the little mountain retreat of the Carceri, +where, spending such hours of wondrous peace surrounded by all that he +most cherished in nature, the saint could refresh himself and gain new +strength for long periods of arduous labour among men. + + [Illustration: HERMITAGE OF THE CARCERI] + +The Carceri came into the possession of St. Francis through the +generosity of the Benedictines who, until his advent, had held +unlimited sway in Umbria. Many churches, and we may say, almost all +the hermitages of the surrounding country belonged to them. But their +principal stronghold, built in the eleventh century, stood on the +higher slopes of Mount Subasio, while the Carceri, lying a little to +the west, was used by them probably as a place of retreat when wearied +of monastic life. Both monastery and hermitage seem to have been +quiet enough, and we only occasionally hear of the Benedictine monks +starting off on a visit to some hermit of renowned sanctity, or going +upon some errand of mercy among the peasants in the valley, whom they +often surprised by marvellous though somewhat aimless miracles wrought +for their edification. Then early in the fourteenth century these +hermit monks of Mount Subasio suddenly found themselves in the midst +of the fighting of a mediaeval populace, for the Assisans, not slow to +discover the great military importance of the Benedictine Abbey, +wished to possess it. When the struggle between Guelph and Ghibelline +was at its height, the monks were driven to take refuge in the town, +while their home was taken possession of by the exiled party who used +it as a fortress whence they could sally forth and harass the eastern +approach to Assisi. Perpetual skirmishes took place beneath its walls +until the roving adventurer Broglia di Trino, who had made himself +master of the town in 1399, in a solemn council held at the Rocca +Maggiore issued an edict that the Monastery of St. Benedict was to be +razed to the ground, determining thus to deprive the turbulent nobles +and their party of so sure a refuge in times of civil war. + +The solid walls and fine byzantine columns of what once was the most +celebrated abbey in Umbria now remain much as in the mediaeval days of +their wreckage, and, until a few years ago when some repairs were +made, the church was open for the mountain birds to nest in, and wild +animals used it as their lair. + +But both church and monastery stood proudly upon the mountain height +above the plain when St. Francis, then the young mendicant looked upon +by many as a madman, would knock at the gates, and the abbot followed +by his monks, came out to listen to the humble requests he so often +had to make. These prosperous religious most generously patronised St. +Francis in the time of his obscurity, giving him the chapel of the +Portiuncula, and later (the date is uncertain but some say in 1215) +they allowed him to take possession of the still humbler chapel and +huts of the Carceri. Even to call such shelters huts is giving them +too grand a name, for they were but caverns excavated in the rock, +scattered here and there in a deep mountain gorge. They can still be +seen, unchanged since the days of St. Francis save for the tresses of +ivy growing thick, like a curtain, across the entrance, for now there +are none to pass in and out to pray there. + +Even the attempt to describe the loneliness and discomfort of this +hermitage seems to strike terror into the hearts of later franciscan +writers, who no longer caring to live in caves, only saw Dantesque +visions when they thought of these arid, sunburnt rocks, rushing +torrents and wild wastes of mountains which even shepherds never +reached. But luckily in those days there was one Umbrian who loved +such isolated spots; and the charm of that silence, born of the very +soul of Francis and guarded jealously by nature herself during long +centuries in memory of him, now tempts us up the mountain side upon a +pilgrimage to the one place where his spirit still lives in all its +primitive vigour and purity. + +The road leading to the Carceri[51] from the Porta Cappucini passes +first through rich corn fields and olive groves, but as it skirts +round Mount Subasio towards the ravine it becomes a mere mountain +track. Only here and there, where peasants have patiently scraped away +the stones, grows a little struggling corn, while small hill flowers +nestle between the rocks unshaded even by olive trees; the colour of a +stray Judas tree, or a lilac bush in bloom, only makes the landscape +seem more barren and forlorn. Looking upon the road to Spello, winding +down the hill through luxuriant fields of indian corn and olive +groves, with the oak trees spreading their still fresher green over +the vineyards of the plain, we feel that this pathway to the Carceri +is something novel and unlike anything at Assisi which we have +hitherto explored. Just as we are marvelling at its loveliness, a +sudden turn brings Assisi once more in view, and the sight we get of +it from here carries us straight back to the days of St. Francis; for +the great basilica and convent are hidden by the brow of the hill, and +what we now see is exactly what he looked upon so often as he hastened +from Assisi to his hermitage, or left it when he was ready to take up +the burden of men's lives once more. The old walls, looking now much +as they did after a stormy battle with Perugia, stretch round the same +rose-tinted town, which, strangely enough, time has altered but +slightly--it is only a little more toned in colour, the Subasian stone +streaked here and there with deeper shades of yellow and pink, while +the castle is more ruined, rearing itself less proudly from its green +hill-top than in earlier days of splendour. But charming as the view +of the town is, we quickly leave it to watch the changes of light and +colour in the valley and on the wide-bedded Tescio as it twists and +turns in countless sharp zig-zags till we lose it where it joins the +Tiber--there where the mist rises. We might travel far and not find so +fascinating a river as the Tescio; only a trickle of water it is true, +but sparkling in the sunshine like a long flash of lightning which +has fallen to earth and can find no escape from a tangle of fields and +vineyards.[52] Then our road turns away again from the glowing valley +shimmering in the haze of a late May afternoon, and mounting ever +higher we plunge into the very heart of the Assisan mountain, +uncultivated, wild, colourless and yet how strangely beautiful. + +Another half mile brings us round the mountain side to a narrow gorge, +and the only thing in sight except the ilex trees is an arched doorway +with a glimpse, caught through the half open gate, of a tiny +courtyard. A step further on and we find ourselves standing amidst a +cluster of cells and chapels seeming as if they hung from the bare +rocks with nothing to prevent them falling straight into the depths of +the ravine; and the silence around is stranger far than the mountain +solitude. Surely none live here, we think, when suddenly a +brown-clothed friar looks round the corner of a door, and without +waste of time or asking of questions beckons us to follow, telling +rapidly as he goes the story of each tree, rock, cell and shrine. + +Crossing two or three chapels and passing through a trap-door and down +a ladder, we reach a narrow cave-like cell where St. Francis used to +sleep during those rare moments when he was not engaged in prayer. As +at La Vernia this "bed" was scooped out of the rock, and a piece of +wood served him as a pillow. Adjoining is an oratory where the +crucifix the saint always carried with him is preserved. The doors are +so narrow and so low that the smallest person must stoop and edge in +sideways. From these underground caves it is a joy to emerge once +more into the sunlight, and one of the delightful surprises of the +place is to step straight out of the oppressive darkness of the cells +into the ilex wood, with the banks above and around us glowing with +sweet-scented cyclamen, yellow orchids, and long-stemmed violets. It +is not surprising that St. Francis often left his cell to wander +further into these woods when the birds, as though they had waited for +his coming, would gather from all sides and intercept him just as he +reached the bridge close to the hermitage. While they perched upon an +ilex tree (which is still to be seen), he stood beneath and talked to +them as only St. Francis knew how. His first sermon to the birds took +place at Bevagna, but at the Carceri he was continually holding +conversations with his little feathered brethren. This perhaps was +also where he held his nocturnal duet with the nightingale, which was +singing with especial sweetness just outside his cell. St. Francis +called Brother Leo to come also and sing and see which would tire +first, but the "little Lamb of God" replied that he had no voice, +refusing even to try. So the saint went forth alone to the strange +contest, and he and the bird sang the praises of God all through the +darkest hours of the night until, quite worn out, the saint was forced +to acknowledge the victory of Brother Nightingale. + +Very different is the story of his encounter with the tempting devil +whom he precipitated by his prayers into the ravine below; the hole +through which the unwelcome visitor departed is still shown outside +the saint's cell. Devils do not play a very prominent part in the +story of the first franciscans, but this mountain solitude seems to +have so excited the imaginations of later chroniclers that yet another +story of a devil belongs to the Carceri, and is quaintly recounted in +the _Fioretti_. This time he appeared to Brother Rufino in the form +of Christ to tempt him from his life of holiness. "O Brother Rufino," +said the devil, "have I not told thee that thou shouldst not believe +the son of Pietro Bernardone?... And straightway Brother Rufino made +answer: 'Open thy mouth that I may cast into it filth.' Whereat the +devil, being exceeding wroth, forthwith departed with so furious a +tempest and shaking of the rocks of Mount Subasio, which was hard by, +that the noise of the falling rocks lasted a great while; and so +furiously did they strike one against the other in rolling down that +they flashed sparks of terrific fire in all the valley, and at the +terrible noise they made St. Francis and his companions came out of +the house in amazement to see what strange thing was this; and still +is to be seen that exceeding great ruin of rocks." + +Close to the spot rendered famous by the devil's visits a bridge +crosses the gorge of a great torrent, which, threatening once to +destroy the hermitage, was miraculously dried up by St. Francis, and +now only fills its rocky bed when any public calamity is near. From it +a good view is obtained of the hermitage, but perhaps a still better +is to be had from under the avenue of trees a little beyond, on the +opposite side of the deep ravine whence the groups of hovels are seen +to hang like a honeycomb against the mountain side, so tightly set +together that one can hardly distinguish where the buildings begin and +the rock ends. + +The ilex trees grow in a semicircle round this cluster of cells and +caverns, and high above it all rises a peak of Mount Subasio, grey as +St. Francis' habit, with a line of jagged rocks on the summit which +looks more like the remains of some Umbrian temple of almost +prehistoric days than the work of nature. + +The sides of this mountain ravine approach so near together that only +a narrow vista of the plain is obtained, blue in the summer haze, with +no village or even house in sight. It would be difficult to find a +place with the feeling of utter solitude so unbroken, and as we +realised that these friars lived here nearly all their life, many not +even going to Assisi more than once in five years, we said to one of +them: "How lonely you must be," and he, as though recalling a time of +struggle in the world, answered: "Doubtless there are better things in +the town, but here, at the Carceri, there is peace." + + [Illustration: THE CARCERI WITH A VIEW OF THE BRIDGE] + +It is the hermit's answer; but now the need of such lives has long +since passed away, and even St. Francis, living at the time when the +strain of perpetual warfare, famine, pestilence and crime, created a +fierce craving for solitude in the lives of many, realised that a +hermitage must only be a place to rest in for a while--not to live +in. His anxiety to keep his Order from becoming a contemplative one is +shown in the following rule he carefully thought out for his +disciples. "Those religious who desire to sojourn in a hermitage are +to be at the most three or four. Two are to be like mothers having a +son. Two are to follow the life of a Martha, the other the life of a +Mary." Then they were to go forth again strenuously to their work +abroad and give place to others in search of rest and peace. + +But after the death of St. Francis the Carceri gradually lost its +primitive use, and the principal person who entirely changed its +character was St. Bernardine of Siena who in 1320 made many +alterations and additions, building a larger chapel, adding cells and +a kitchen, but so small, remarks a discontented franciscan chronicler, +that it barely held the cooking utensils. Although we can no longer +call it a hermitage, the Carceri became the type of an ideal +franciscan convent such as Francis dreamed of for his followers when +he went to live at the Portiuncula, and such it has remained to this +day. For certainly the place, as left by St. Bernardine, would have +been approved of by the first franciscans as a dwelling-place, but +those of later years can only tell us of its discomforts. Here is a +graphic description of its primeval simplicity which very nearly +corresponds to its present state: "It were better called a grotto with +six lairs; one sees but the naked rock untouched by the chisel, all +rough and full of holes as left by nature; those who see it for the +first time are seized with extraordinary fear on climbing the ladder +leading to the dormitory, at each end of which are other poor +buildings, added by the religious according as need arose for the use +of the friars, who do not care to live as hermits did in the olden +times. The refectory is small, and can contain but few friars; a +brother guardian made an excavation, of sufficient height and breadth +in the rock, and added thereto a table around which can sit other six +religious, so that those who take their places at this new table are +huddled up in the arched niche which forms a baldaquin above their +heads. There is also a little common room which horrifies all +beholders, wherein is lit a fire, for besides being far inside the +rocky mass it is gloomy beyond description by reason of the dense +smoke always enclosed therein, this is a lively cause to the religious +of reflection on the hideousness and obscurity of the darkness of +hell; in lieu of receiving comfort from the fire the poor friars +generally come out with tears in their eyes." To somewhat atone for +these discomforts they possessed a fountain, raised, as we are told, +by the prayers of St. Francis, which never ran dry, "a miracle God has +wished to perpetuate for the glory of His faithful servants and the +continual comfort of the monks." + +The crucifixion in the chapel built by St. Bernardine adjoining the +choir, is said to have been painted by his orders. The artistic merits +of the fresco are questionable, but connected with it is a legend +possibly invented by some humorous member of the franciscan +brotherhood in order to point a moral to his companions. "Here," says +a chronicler, "is adored that most marvellous crucifixion, so famous +in religion; it is well known to have spoken several times to the +devout Sister Diomira Bini of the Third Order of St. Francis and a +citizen of Assisi; and in our own times, in the last century (the +seventeenth) it was seen by Brother Silvestro dello Spedalicchio to +detach itself from the cross, and with most gentle slaps on the face, +warn a worshipper to be reverent and vigilant while praying in this +His Sacred Oratory." + +In a small wooden cupboard in the chapel, according to an inventory +made two hundred years ago, are preserved some relics, a few of which +we have unfortunately not been able to identify. Part of the wooden +pillow used by St. Francis, and a piece of the Golden Gate through +which our Lord passed into Jerusalem, are still here, but the hair of +the Virgin, and, strangest of all, some of the earth out of which God +created Adam, are no longer to be found! + + * * * * * + +Ten or twelve friars continued to live at the Carceri for a few years +after the death of St. Bernardine; some begged their daily bread from +the villagers in the valley, others dug in the tiny garden at the foot +of the ravine where a few vegetables grew, and two always remained at +the convent to spin the wool for the habits of the religious. But soon +wearying of the life they went to live at other convents, and the +place passed away from the franciscans into the possession of various +sects, among others to the excommunicated Fraticelli. In 1415 it was +given back to the Observants, and Paolo Trinci, who had done much to +reform the Order, persuaded some friars to live once more at the +deserted hermitage. Again the Carceri became such an ideal franciscan +convent that many came from afar to visit it, and there is a strange +story of how a "woman monk" found a home and died here in the middle +of the fifteenth century. + +"Beata Anonima," a chronicler recounts, "being already a Cistercian +nun in the convent of S. Cerbone of Lucca at the time of the siege of +that city by the Florentines, when the said nuns, for valid reasons, +were transferred to the convent of Sta. Christina inside the city. Now +this most fervent servant of God took this opportune time and fled by +stealth, disguised as a man, and went, or rather flew, to Assisi; +there, fired with an ardent desire to fight under the seraphic +standard, she breathlessly climbed the steep slopes of Mount Subasio, +and having found the horrible cavern of Santa Maria delle Carceri +fervently entreated those good Fathers to admit her amongst them and +to bestow on her their sacred habit, for which her longing was +extreme. At length, having overcome all resistance, believing her to +be a man as appeared from her dress, and not a woman which in reality +she was, they admitted her to the convent and gave her the habit of +religion." She edified all by the holiness of her life and the rigid +penances she performed, but her health soon suffered and only upon her +death-bed, surrounded by the friars chanting the psalms for the dying, +the Blessed Anonima confessed to the fraud she had practised in order +to dwell in the hermitage rendered so dear because of the memory of +the Poverello d'Assisi. + + +RIVO-TORTO[53] + +A straight and stony road, the old Roman one, now overgrown in many +parts with grass and trails of ivy and bordered by mulberry and oak +trees, leads out of the Porta Mojano to two little chapels in the +plain. Set back from the main road in the midst of the fields few +people find them, and the peasants know nothing of their story and can +only tell of a miraculous well in which a youthful saint met his +death. When his body was brought to the surface a lily had grown from +his mouth and upon its petals was written in letters of gold the one +word, _Veritas_, for he had died in the cause of truth. Since then, as +the peasants recount with pride, many come from afar to drink of the +waters of this well for it cures every ill. It is over-grown with +ferns and close by stands an ancient sarcophagus where the children +sit to eat their midday meal. A piece of old worn sculpture still +ornaments the chapel of the young martyr, and the feeling of the place +is very charming, but the pilgrim who comes to Assisi to visit St. +Francis, has a different picture to recall with another kind of beauty +belonging to it than that of holy wells and flowering banks and +meadows. + +It is difficult, when looking on San Rufino d'Arce, with its cluster +of vine-shaded peasant houses, and then on Santa Maria Maddalena, +narrow windowed, the small apse marking it as a primitive Umbrian +chapel of the fields, to realise that in the Middle Ages this was a +leper village separated from Assisi by a little more than a mile of +open country. And yet here, without doubt, we have Rivo-Torto where, +even before his famous interview with Innocent III, St. Francis had +stayed with those three first Assisan companions, Bernard di +Quintavalle, Peter Cataneo and Egidio. Then in the autumn of 1210, +when he returned from Rome after the rule of poverty had been +sanctioned by the Church, but before he was ready to begin his mission +as preacher, he came to live among the lepers, forming with his +disciples a little family which we may call the beginning of a first +franciscan settlement. + +The leper village was divided according to the social rank of the +outcasts, the richer living together near the chapel of Sta. Maria +Maddalena and forming quite a community with the right of freely +administering their own goods. As M. Sabatier observes, it was +therefore not "only a hospital, but almost a little town near the city +with the same social distinctions of classes." + +Those tended by St. Francis were the poorest of the lepers, whose +wretched hovels lay near the chapel of San Rufino d'Arce; and Celano +must be referring to this settlement when he tells us how Francis in +his early days, even if he chanced to look down from Assisi upon the +houses of the lepers in the plain, would hold his nostrils with his +hand, because his horror of them was so great. + +But as the grace of God touched his heart, making him take pity upon +all things weak and suffering, he turned the force of his strong +nature to overcoming this repugnance, and there is a beautiful story +telling of the first victory gained shortly after his conversion. +While riding one day near Assisi he met a leper, and filled with +disgust and even fear at the sight, his first impulse was to turn his +horse round, but, remembering his new resolutions to follow the +teaching of Christ, he went forward to meet the poor man, and even +kissed the hand extended to him for alms. "Then," says St. +Bonaventure, "having mounted his horse, he looked around him over the +wide and open plain, but the leper was nowhere to be seen. And Francis +being filled with wonder and gladness, devoutly gave thanks to God, +purposing within himself to proceed to still greater things than +this." Certainly the event heralded a life of holiness, and was the +means of rousing his latent energies and the feelings for +self-sacrifice which drove him from the wild and solitary places he +loved into the very midst of the world, there to work strenuously, in +every part of Italy, at first among lepers and then among the wealthy, +the ignorant and the sorrowful. + +For the life at Rivo-Torto led by "these valiant despisers of the +great and good things of this world" we cannot do better than turn to +the Three Companions (Brothers Masseo, Ruffino and Leo) who knew by +personal experience the hardships and roughness of the place. +Feelingly they describe: "a hovel, or rather a cavern abandoned by +man; the which place was so confined that they could hardly sit down +to repose themselves. Many a time they had no bread, and ate nought +but turnips which they begged for here and there in travail and in +anguish. On the beams of the poor hut the man of God wrote the names +of the brethren, so that whoso would repose or pray might know his +place and not disturb, by reason of the cramped and limited space in +the small hovel, the quietude of the night." Even the appearance of +Otto IV, close to their hut seems in no way to have disturbed the +peaceful course of their lives, but only gave St. Francis the +opportunity of bestowing a timely warning upon the Emperor. Celano, +ever delighting in the picturesque details of ceremonies and pageants, +tells us how "there came at that time with much noise and pomp the +great Emperor on his way to take the terrestrial crown of the Empire; +now the most holy father with his companions being in the said house +near the road where the cavalcade was passing, would neither go out to +see it, nor permit his brethren to go, save one, whom he commanded +fearlessly to announce to Otto that his glory would be short-lived." + +Thus, if the tale be true, a German Emperor was the first to listen to +Francis' message to a mediaeval world sunk in the love of earthly +things, and who knows whether the saint's words did not come back to +Otto again in after years. + +The Penitents of Assisi only remained until the spring at Rivo-Torto, +for even during those few months' sojourn among the lepers their +numbers had so increased that it became necessary to think of some +surer abode. One day St. Francis called the brethren to tell them how +he had thought of obtaining from one of his various kind friends in +Assisi, a small chapel where they could peacefully say their Hours, +having some poor little houses for shelter close by built of wattle +and mud. + +His speech was pleasing to the brethren, and so, following the master +they loved and trusted, all went to dwell at the Portiuncula, where, +as we shall see, a new life was to begin for them. + + +THE PORTIUNCULA + + "Holy of Holies is this Place of Places, + Meetly held worthy of surpassing honour! + Happy thereof the surname, 'Of the Angels,' + Happier yet the name, 'The Blessed Mary.' + + Now, a true omen, the third name conferreth + 'The Little Portion' on the Little Brethren, + Here, where by night a presence oft of Angels + Singing sweet hymns illumineth the watches." + (_The Mirror of Perfection_, translated by Sebastian Evans.) + +Those who want to realise the charm of the Portiuncula and of the +memories that cling about it, must try to forget the great church +which shuts out from it the sunlight, and with the early chroniclers +as their guides, call up the image of St. Francis with his first +disciples who in an age of unrest came here to seek for peace. + +Make your pilgrimage in the springtime or in the early summer, when +pink hawthorn and dogroses are flowering in every hedge and the vines +fill the valley with a delicate green light. Looking at cities and +villages so purely Umbrian, some spread among cornfields close to a +swift clear river, others set upon heights which nearly touch the sky +on stormy days, we forget that beyond these hills and mountains +encircling the big valley of Umbria stretch other lands as fair. We +forget, because it is a little world which during long centuries has +been set apart from all else, and where man has but completed the work +of nature herself. During the long hours of a summer's day, when the +sense of remoteness in the still plain is most intense, it brings to +us, as nothing else can ever do, some feeling of that early time when +four hermits came from Palestine and found a quiet retreat in the oak +forests of Assisi. + +It was in the year 352, as St. Cyril, Patriarch of Jerusalem, relates, +when a cross had been seen stretched from Calvary to the Mount of +Olives and to shine more brightly than the sun, that four holy men, +impelled by a feeling that some great crisis was at hand, determined +to visit the shrines of Rome. Having performed their devotions and +offered many precious relics to Pope Liberius, they expressed a great +desire to find some hermitage where, each in a silent cell, they could +meditate upon the marvellous things they had seen in the Eternal City. +The Pope gave them most excellent advice when he told them to go to +the Spoletan valley. With his sanction to choose any part of it they +liked, they passed over the mountains dividing Umbria from the +Campagna, and by many towns until, when about a mile from Assisi, they +determined to build their dwellings in the plain, thinking, as indeed +they might, to find no other spot so suited for a quiet retreat. Close +to four huts of rough hewn stone and brushwood they erected a tiny +chapel with a pent roof and narrow window which, perhaps in memory of +their native valley, they dedicated to St. Mary of Jehosaphat. But +after a few years, forsaking the life of hermits, they again took up +their staves and returned home to Palestine by way of the Romagna, +leaving beneath the altar of the chapel they had built a relic of the +Virgin's sepulchre. + + [Illustration: SIDE DOOR OF THE PORTIUNCULA BUILT BY ST. BENEDICT] + +At different times other devout hermits, charmed by the lonely chapel, +took possession of it for a time, but it was often deserted for many +years. Its preservation is due to St. Benedict who, passing through +Umbria during the early part of the sixth century, was inspired to +restore the ruined chapel and dwell near it for awhile. He not only +repaired the walls, but built the two large round arched doors we see +to this day, and which many declare to be quite out of proportion to +the rest of the building, but their unusual size is accounted for by +a charming legend. Once when St. Benedict was praying in the chapel he +saw a marvellous vision as he knelt wrapt in ecstasy. A crowd of +people were praying around him to St. Francis, singing hymns of praise +and calling for mercy on their souls, while outside still greater +multitudes waited for their turn to come and pray before the shrine. +St. Benedict, understanding from this that a great saint would one day +be honoured here, made the two doors in the chapel, and made them +large enough for many to pass in and out at a time. Thus was the feast +of the "Pardon of St. Francis" prepared for some seven hundred years +too soon. + +St. Benedict obtained from the Assisans the gift of a small plot of +ground near the sanctuary, which suggested to him the name of St. Mary +of the Little Portion--Sta. Maria della Portiuncula. When a few years +later St. Benedict founded his famous order at Monte Cassino, he did +not forget the Umbrian chapel he had saved from ruin, and sent some of +his monks to live there and to minister among the people. Like the +first hermits they lived in poor huts, saying their Hours in the +little chapel, until in the eleventh century they built a large +monastery and church upon the higher slopes of Mount Subasio to the +east of Assisi, and the Portiuncula was again deserted. But although +no one lived near, and mass was never celebrated there, it still +remained in the keeping of the benedictines who occasionally must have +seen to its repair, and thus preserved it for the coming of St. +Francis. + + * * * * * + +It has been suggested to me that the spot selected by the four holy +pilgrims in the fourth century may have been even then the site of a +sacred shrine, for the custom of erecting tabernacles over the graves +of distinguished persons reaches back to very early times. Originally +designed as a mortuary cell such a structure might, being duly +oriented, come to be used as a chapel for service. + +The subject of "Sepulchral Cellae" will be found treated of by the late +Sir Samuel Fergusson[54] in a memoir in which he figures some of the +burial vaults and early oratories of Ireland, some of which are in +shape identical with Sta. Maria della Portiuncula, with the same pent +roof, round arched door, and perfectly plain walls. A building thus +erected over a grave was called _Porticulus_, and any who pillaged "a +house made in form of a basilica over a dead person" had to pay a +fine. + +From an archaeological point of view there is much to be desired in the +published descriptions of the Portiuncula. A great part of its +exterior walls is now covered with frescoes which hide all detail, but +perhaps a minute examination of the interior walls might reveal +portions of the foundations built upon by St. Benedict, and we +sincerely hope that these few words may attract attention to so +interesting a subject. + +But even if the shrine said to have been built by the hermits from +Palestine for Our Lady's Girdle turns out to have been an ancient +tomb, the later legends are by no means destroyed. It is not unlikely +that St. Benedict, attracted as much by lonely places as St. Francis, +took possession of the Umbrian tomb, and perhaps little thinking what +it was, rebuilt and used it as a chapel. Whatever may be the true +story, it is very certain that the Portiuncula, from earliest times, +has possessed a strange attraction for all who passed by, each one +thinking a tiny chapel situated so charmingly in the woods, within +sight, though not within sound, of the Umbrian towns, to be a perfect +spot for prayer. + +The country people treasure the legend that Madonna Pica often came to +pray at the Portiuncula, and through the intercession of the Blessed +Virgin obtained a son after seven years of waiting, and this son of +prayer and patience was St. Francis of Assisi. + +Half ruined and neglected as the chapel was, Francis learned, even as +quite a child, to love it, and kneeling therein by his mother's side +would pray with all the fervour of his childish faith. Later in life +when he had turned from the mad follies of his youth to follow in the +footsteps of Christ, he remembered the shrine he had loved in +childhood, and would pass many nights there in prayer and bitter +meditation upon the Passion. At last touched by the sight of its +crumbling walls, he set himself the task of repairing them, working so +busily with stones and mortar that the chapel soon regained its former +simple beauty. The Benedictines of Mount Subasio, touched by his +ungrudging labour and piety, arranged with an Assisan priest to +celebrate mass at the Portiuncula from time to time, and this fact +drew the young saint there still oftener. + +Then followed his time of ministry among the lepers of San Rufino +d'Arce, when day by day so many disciples came to enlist in this new +army of working beggars that the little hut in the leper-village could +no longer hold them, and Francis had to think of some means of housing +the brethren, and obtaining, what he had often desired, a chapel +wherein they could say the Hours. (The saint, we may be sure, always +said his office in the woods.) But evidently he had no particular +place in his mind, not even his beloved Portiuncula, for he went first +to his friend Guido, Bishop of Assisi, and then to the canons of San +Rufino to ask if they could help him. They only answered that they had +no church to dispose of, and could offer no advice upon the subject. +Then sorrowfully, like a man begging from door to door, St. Francis +climbed Mount Subasio to lay his request in piteous terms before the +benedictine abbot, where he met with more success. Brother Leo tells +us that the abbot was "moved to pity, and after taking counsel with +his monks, being inspired by divine grace and will, granted unto the +Blessed Francis and his brethren the church of St. Mary of the Little +Portion, as being the smallest and poorest church they possessed. And +the abbot said to the Blessed Francis, 'Behold Brother, we grant what +thou desirest. But should the Lord multiply thy brotherhood we will +that this place shall be the mother-house of thy Order.'"[55] + +With a willing heart Francis promised what the abbot asked, and +further insisted upon paying rent for the Portiuncula, because he +wished his followers always to bear in mind the point of his rule, +which he so often dwelt upon, namely, that they owned no property +whatever, but were only in this world as pilgrims. So every year two +of his brethren brought to the gate of the benedictine monastery a +basket full of roach caught in the Chiaggio which flows at no great +distance from the Portiuncula, and the abbot, smiling at the +simplicity of Francis, who had imagined yet another device for +humility, gave back a vessel full of oil in exchange for the gift of +fish.[56] + +With great rejoicing St. Francis set to work building cells of a most +simple pattern, with walls of wattle and dab, and thatched with straw, +each brother inscribing his name upon a portion of the mud floor set +apart for him to rest in. "And no sooner had they come to live here," +writes Brother Leo, "than the Lord multiplied their number day by day, +and the sweet scent of their good name spread marvellously abroad +throughout all the Spoletan valley, and in many parts of the world." + +It was thus that St. Mary of the Little Portion, henceforth to be the +nucleus of the franciscan order, and a place familiar to pilgrims from +far and near for many succeeding centuries, came into the keeping of +St. Francis in the year 1211, about nine months after Innocent III had +sanctioned his work among the people of Italy. + +St. Francis and the brethren had been but a year in their new abode +when a figure passed in among them for a moment and then was gone, +leaving, as a vision to haunt them to their dying day, the memory of +her beauty and soul's purity. + +Never in the history of any saint has there been so touching and +wondrous a scene as when the young Clare left her father's palace in +Assisi to take the vows of perpetual and voluntary poverty at the +altar of the Portiuncula. Followed by two trembling women, she passed +swiftly through the town in the dead of night, across the fields by +the slumbering village of Valecchio, and through dark woods made more +sombre by the starry Umbrian sky which at intervals gleamed between +the wide-spreading branches of the oak trees. The hurrying figure of +the young girl, swathed in a long mantle, seemed like some spirit +driven by winds towards an unknown future. One thing alone was clear +to her, she was nearing the abode of Francis Bernardone whose +preaching at San Giorgio only a month before had so thrilled her, +inspiring her in this strange way to seek the life he had described in +such fiery words. And just as she came in sight of the Portiuncula the +chanting of the brethren, which had reached her in the wood, suddenly +ceased, and they came out with lighted torches in expectation of her +coming. Swiftly and without a word she passed in to attend the +midnight mass which Francis was to serve. + +The ceremony was simple, wherein lies the charm of all things +franciscan. The service over and the last blessing given, St. Francis +led Clare towards the altar and with his own hands cut off her long +fair hair and unclasped the jewels from her neck. But a few minutes +more and a daughter of the proud house of Scifi stood clothed in the +brown habit of the order, the black veil of religion falling about her +shoulders, lovelier far in this nun-like severity than she had been +when decked out in all her former luxury of silken gowns and precious +gems. + +It was arranged that Clare was to go afterwards to the benedictine +nuns of San Paolo near Bastia, about an hour's walk further on in the +plain. So when the final vows had been taken, St. Francis took her by +the hand and they passed out of the chapel together just as dawn was +breaking, while the brethren returned to their cells gazing half sadly +as they passed, at the coils of golden hair and the little heap of +jewels which still lay upon the altar cloth. + + * * * * * + +Those early days at the Portiuncula were among the most important of +Francis' life; dreams which had come to him while he spent long hours +in the caves and woods near Assisi were to be fully realised, and the +work he felt inspired to perform was to be carried out in the busy +villages and cities of Italy and even further afield. All this was now +very clear to Francis, and more than ever anxious to keep the +simplicity of his order untouched, he taught his followers, in words +which fell so gently yet so earnestly from his lips, that they were to +toil without ceasing, and restlessly and without pause to wander from +castle to castle, from city to city, in search of those who needed +help. It may therefore at first seem strange that the "Penitents of +Assisi" owning nothing but the peace within their hearts, desiring no +better place for prayer than a cavern in some mountain gorge, should +establish themselves near a chapel which, if not nominally their own, +was practically regarded as the property of the Friars Minor. But in +this again we feel the wisdom and tenderness of the saint for his +little community. With all the fervour and fire of enthusiasm which +impelled him like a living force to seek his end, he well knew that +without some place in which to meet together and rest awhile, his +followers, who however much imbued with his ardent spirit were but +mortal men, would very likely fall away from the high ideal he had set +before them. + +Thus the Portiuncula became to the brethren as a nest, where like +tired birds that long had been upon the wing, they could return after +much wandering to peaceful thoughts, to prayer and quiet labour. + + [Illustration: THE PORTIUNCULA IN THE TIME OF ST. FRANCIS (FROM THE + "COLLIS PARADISI").] + +It is not very difficult, with the print from the "Collis +Paradisi"[57] before us, and the remembrance of the large oaks +which still mark the ancient Roman roads leading from Assisi to the +plain, to call up the picture of the strange franciscan hamlet +clustering round a pent-roofed chapel, and with only trees for a +convent wall. What a life of peace in the mud huts! what a life of +turmoil and angry strife raging in the city just in sight! + +The spirit of those days, when monachism meant all that was purely +ideal and beautiful, seems to live again. Then, day and night, each +brother strove to fit himself for the work he had in view, drawing +into his soul the peace and love he learned from nature herself as the +forest leaves rustled above his cell or the nightingales accompanied +the midnight office with their song. And when his turn came to take up +the pilgrim's staff and follow the lead of Francis, he went with +cheerfulness to bring to the people some of that child-like joy and +lightness of heart which marked the Little Brethren through whatever +land they wandered as the disciples of St. Francis. + +Let us for a moment leave the Umbrian valley for the country near +Oxford, where on a bitter Christmas Day, two friars were journeying +upon their first mission to England. + +"Going into a neighbouring wood they picked their way along a rugged +path over the frozen mud and hard snow, whilst blood stained the track +of their naked feet without their perceiving it. The younger friar +said to the elder: 'Father, shall I sing and lighten our journey?' and +on receiving permission he thundered forth a Salve Regina +misericordiae.... Now, when the hymn was concluded ... he who had been +the consoler said, with a kind of self congratulation to his +companion: 'Brother, was not that antiphonal well sung?'" + +In this simple story, told us in the chronicle of Lanercost, how true +rings the franciscan note struck by Francis in those early days at the +Portiuncula. He was for ever telling the brethren not to show +sorrowful faces to one another, saying, as recorded by Brother Leo: +"Let this sadness remain between God and thyself, and pray to Him that +of His mercy He may forgive thee, and restore to thy soul His healthy +joyance whereof He deprived thee as a punishment for thy sins." + +It is all so long ago, and yet in reading those ancient chronicles the +big church of the Angeli is for a time forgotten, and only the vision +of the Portiuncula and the mud huts, with the brethren ever to and fro +upon the road, remains with us as a strange picture in our modern +hurried life. + +But although the brethren lived so quietly in this retreat of still +repose, St. Francis, ever watching over the welfare of his flock, was +careful that prayer and meditation should never be an excuse for +idleness, which of all vices he most abhorred. Therefore he encouraged +each friar who in the world had followed some trade, to continue it +here; so we hear of Beato Egidio, on his return from one of his long +journeys, seated at the door of his hut busily employed in making rush +baskets, while Brother Juniper, in those rare moments when he was out +of mischief, would pass his time in mending sandals with an awl he +kept up his sleeve for the purpose. Besides these individual +occupations there was much to attend to even in such humble dwellings +as those round the Portiuncula. Sometimes there were sick friars to +nurse, or vegetables had to be planted in the orchard and provisions +to be obtained, while the office of doorkeeper, as "Angels" came +perpetually to ask pertinent questions of the brethren, became quite a +laborious task. When it fell to Brother Masseo to answer the door he +had little peace. Upon one occasion he went in haste to see who was +making such a noise and found a "fair youth clothed as though for a +journey," so he spoke somewhat roughly, and the youth enquired how +knocking should be done. "Give three knocks," quoth Brother Masseo, +little dreaming he was instructing an angel in the art of knocking, +"with a brief space between each knock, then wait until the brother +has time to say a paternoster and to come unto thee; and if at the end +of that time he does not come knock once again." + +Things went smoothly enough when left to the management of such friars +as Leo, Masseo or Rufino, but when one day the office of cook fell to +Juniper, that dear jester of the brotherhood, we get a humorous +picture of what his companions sometimes had to endure, and of the +kindness with which they pardoned all shortcomings. The brethren had +gone out, and Juniper being left alone devised an excellent plan +whereby the convent might be supplied with food for a fortnight, and +thus the cook have more time for prayer. "With all diligence," it is +related in the _Fioretti_, "he went into the village and begged for +several large cooking-pots, obtained fresh meat and bacon, fowls, eggs +and herbs, also he begged a quantity of firewood, and placed all these +upon the fire, to wit, the fowls with their feathers on, the eggs in +their shells, and the rest in like fashion." When the brethren came +home, one that was well acquainted with the simplicity of Brother +Juniper went into the kitchen, and seeing so many and such large pots +on a great fire, sat down amazed without saying a word, and watched +with what anxious care Brother Juniper did this cooking. Because of +the fierceness of the fire he could not well get near to skim the +pots, so he took a plank and tied it with a rope tight to his body and +sprang from one pot to the other, so that it was a joy to see him. +Contemplating all with great delight, this brother went forth from the +kitchen and finding the other brothers, said: "In sooth I tell you, +Brother Juniper is making a marriage feast." + +Then in hurried Juniper, all red with his exertions and the heat of +the fire, explaining the excellent plan he had devised; and as he set +his mess upon the table he praised it, saying: "Now these fowls are +nourishing to the brain, this stew will refresh the body, it is so +good"; but the stew remained untasted, for, says the _Fioretti_, +"there is no pig in the land of Rome so famished that he would eat of +it." + +At the end of any foolish adventure Brother Juniper would always ask +pardon with such humility that he edified his companions and all the +people he came in contact with, instead of annoying them with his +childish pranks. His goodness was manifest, and St. Francis was often +heard to say to those who wished to reprove him after one of his +wildest frolics, "would that I had a whole forest of these junipers." + +Between the men who lived at the Portiuncula with the saint, and those +who in later times ruled large convents in the cities, the contrast +is so great that we would wish to draw still further from these +inexhaustible chronicles which reveal so charmingly the life of these +Umbrian friars. But to tell of all the events connected with the +Portiuncula would mean recounting the history of the whole franciscan +brotherhood, and we must now pass over many years to that saddest year +of all, when St. Francis was brought to die in the place he had so +carefully tended. + + [Illustration: ASSISI FROM THE PLAIN] + +Knowing that he had but a few more weeks of life, he begged the +brethren to find some means to carry him away from the Bishop's Palace +at Assisi where he had been staying some time. "Verily," he told them +pathetically, "because of my very infirmity I cannot go afoot"; so +they carried him in their arms down the hill to the plain, and when +they came to the hospital of San Salvatore dei Crociferi they laid him +gently down upon the ground with his face towards Assisi, because he +desired to bless the town for the last time before he died. + +The blind saint, lifting his hand in blessing, pronounced these words +dear to the hearts of the Assisans to this day: "Blessed be thou of +the Lord, O city, faithful to God, because through thee many souls +shall be saved. The servants of the Most High shall dwell in great +numbers within thy walls, and many of thy sons shall be chosen for the +realms of heaven." + +Then they carried him to the hut nearest the Portiuncula which was the +infirmary, and here his last days were passed.[58] Although he +suffered acutely, they were days of marvellous peace and joy. It is +beautiful to read how, with his usual tenderness, he thought of the +brethren he was leaving to carry on the work without him, encouraging +them all as they stood weeping round his bed. Like Isaac of old, the +Umbrian patriarch blessed his first born, Bernard of Quintavalle, +saying: "Come my little son that my soul may bless thee before I die," +while he enjoined upon all to love and honour Bernard, who had been +the first to listen to his words now so many years ago. With all his +sons near him St. Francis dictated his will, wherein he describes the +way of life they were to lead, and which, coming from him at this +solemn moment, must always remain as a precious message from the +saint, in many ways of more importance than the Rule approved in his +life-time by Pope Honorius. When this was done he commended once again +to their special care the chapel of the Portiuncula. "I will," he said +to them, "that for all times it be the mirror and good example of all +religion, and as it were a lamp ever burning and resplendent before +the throne of God and before the Blessed Virgin." + +The farewells to those of his immediate circle had been made and a +letter written to St. Clare, and now he wished to bid "the most noble +Roman matron, Madonna Giacoma dei Settesoli," one of his most devoted +followers, to come and take leave of him at Assisi. The letter had +only just been written when knocking at the door and the sound of +horses trampling was heard outside, and the brethren going out to +discover the cause of such unwonted noise found that Madonna Giacoma, +accompanied by her sons, two Roman senators, had been inspired to come +and visit the dying saint. + +The brethren, somewhat averse to allow a woman, even one so renowned +for holiness as Madonna Giacoma, to enter their sacred precincts, +called to St. Francis in their doubt: "Father, what shall be done? +Shall we let her enter and come unto thee?" And the Blessed Francis +said: "The regulation is to be set aside in respect to this lady whose +great faith and devotion hath brought her hither from such far-off +parts." So Madonna Giacoma came into the presence of the Blessed +Francis weeping bitterly, and she brought with her the shroud-cloth, +incense, and a great quantity of wax for the candles which were to +burn before his body after death. She had even thought of some cakes +made of almonds and sugar, known in Rome by the name of _mostaccioli_, +which she had often made for him when he visited her. But the saint +was fast failing, and could eat but little of the cakes. + +As the end came nearer his thoughts were drawn away from earth, and +true to the last to his Lady Poverty, he caused himself to be laid +naked on the ground as a token of his complete renouncement of the +world. His face radiant with happiness, he kept asking his companions +to recite the Canticle of the Sun, often joining in it himself or +breaking forth into his favourite psalm _Voce mea ad Dominum Clamavi_. + +With words of praise and gladness the Blessed Francis of Assisi, the +spouse of Poverty, died in a mud hut close to the shrine he loved, on +the 3rd of October of 1226 in the forty-fifth year of his age. + +His soul was seen to ascend to heaven under the semblance of a star, +but brilliant as the sun, upon clouds as white as snow. It was sunset, +the hour when in Umbria after the stillness of a warm autumn day an +unusual tremor passes through the land and all things in the valley +and upon the hill-sides are stirred by it, when a flight of larks +circled above the roof of the hut where the saint lay at rest. And +these birds of light and gladness "seemed by their sweet singing to be +in company with Francis praising the Lord God." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[51] It has sometimes happened that visitors, who have not read their +Murray with sufficient care, thinking "Le Carceri" are prisons where +convicts are kept, leave Assisi without visiting this charming spot. +"Carceri" certainly now means "prisons," but the original meaning of +the word in old Italian is a place surrounded by a fence and often +remote from human habitation. + +[52] It is perhaps an insult to the Tescio to leave the traveller in +Umbria under the impression that this mountain torrent is always dry. +Certainly that is its usual condition, but we have seen it during the +storms that break upon the land in August and September overflow its +banks and inundate the country on either side; but with this wealth of +water its beauty goes. + +[53] The large modern church of Rivo-Torto, on the road from Sta. +Maria degli Angeli to Spello, built to enclose the huts that St. +Francis and his companions are supposed to have lived in while tending +the lepers, has been proved without doubt by M. Paul Sabatier to have +no connection whatever with the Saint. In these few pages we have +followed the information given in a pamphlet which is to be found in +the Italian translation of his _Vie de S. Francois d'Assise_. It is +impossible here to enter into all the arguments relating to this +disputed point, but I think the authority of the best, and by far the +most vivid of the biographers of St. Francis can be trusted without +further comment, and that we may safely believe the hut of St. +Francis, known as Rivo-Torto, lay close to the present chapels of San +Rufino d'Arce and Sta. Maria Maddalena. See Appendix for information +as to their exact position in the plain and the nearest road to them. +_Disertazione sul primo luogo abitato dai Frati Minori su Rivo-Torto e +nell'Ospedale dei Lebbrosi di Assisi._ di Paul Sabatier (Roma, Ermanno +Loescher and Co., 1896). + +[54] See _The Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy_, vol. xxvii. +Nov. 1882. + +[55] _Speculum Perfectionis_, cap. lv., edited by Paul Sabatier. + +[56] This custom ceased in the fifteenth century; but in the year +1899, through the piety of the Rev. Father Bernardine Ibald, it was +revived. Once again the franciscans take a small basket of fish to the +abbot and his monks who now live at S. Pietro in Assisi, where the +benedictines went when their mountain retreat was destroyed by order +of the Assisan despot, Broglia di Trino. + +[57] This illustration is from a print to be seen in the somewhat rare +edition of the _Collis Paradisi Amoenitas, seu Sacri Conventus +Assisiensis Historiae_, published in 1704 at Montefalco by Padre +Angeli, and it may even have been taken from an earlier drawing. In it +there is the true feeling of a franciscan convent, such as the saint +hoped would continue for all time, and though there are some points +which are incorrect (the Church of Sta. Chiara, though curiously +enough not the convent, is represented, which was built several years +later than San Francesco), we get a clear idea of both Assisi and its +immediate neighbourhood. All the ancient gates of the town can be made +out, the Roman road from Porta Mojano to San Rufino d'Arce, a faint +indication of the path to the Carceri, and also the old road from +Assisi to the plain out of the gate of S. Giacomo, passing not very +far from the Ponte S. Vittorino. The wall round the Portiuncula and +the huts did not exist in the time of St. Francis, which, together +with the wooden gate, may have been added by Brother Elias. The +largest hut a little to the right of the chapel was the infirmary +where St. Francis died (now called the Chapel of St. Francis), and the +one behind it was his cell (now known as the Chapel of the Roses, see +chapter xi. for its story), whence he could easily pass out through +the woods to San Rufino d'Arce hard by. + +[58] For fuller account see _The Mirror of Perfection_, translated by +Sebastian Evans, caps. 107, 108, 112, and _The Little Flowers of St. +Francis_, translated by J. W. Arnold (Temple Classics), chap. vi. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +_The building of the Basilica and Convent of San Francesco. The Story +of Brother Elias_ + + "O brother mine, O beautiful brother, O brother of love, build me + a castle which shall have neither stone nor iron. O beautiful + brother, build me a city which shall have neither wood nor + stone."--BEATO EGIDIO. + + +One of the strangest characteristics of mediaeval Italy was the rivalry +between different towns to gain possession of the bodies of holy +people. They did not even wait for the bull of canonisation to arrive +from Rome, but often of their own accord placed the favoured being in +the Calendar of Saints, and papal decrees merely ratified the choice +of popular devotion. We have an example of this with the Perugians. +Ever on the alert to increase the glory of their city, they hovered +near the road St. Francis was to follow during his last illness when +borne from Cortona to Assisi, meaning to carry him off by force so +that he might die in Perugia.[59] Never at a loss for a way out of any +difficulty Elias hastily changed the itinerary for the journey, and +instead of the short way by lake Thrasymene he took the much longer +and more difficult road by Gualdo and Nocera, far back in the +mountains to the north of Assisi. He warned the Assisans of the peril +run by the little company of friars with their sick father, and +soldiers were immediately sent to escort them safely to the Bishop's +Palace where St. Francis stayed until carried to the Portiuncula when +he knew that he was dying. + +They were sad days at Assisi when St. Francis was borne through the +city blind and ill; and as he stretched out his hands to bless the +people they bowed their heads and wept at the sight of so much +suffering. Now that the end had come and they knew he lay safely in +the little shrine of the Portiuncula, their mourning was changed into +rejoicing, and as though they were preparing for a great festival, +strange sounds of busy talk, of laughter and of singing were heard in +the streets. Had a stranger found himself at Assisi that Sunday +morning he might well have asked: "What victory have you gained to +merit all this show of gladness, or what emperor are you going forth +to greet?" And the answer would have been: "Francis, our saint, the +son of Bernardone, returned to us when he was nigh to death, and now +that he is dead we possess his body which will bring great honour and +fame to our city by reason of the many miracles to be wrought at his +tomb." + +The sun had not yet risen when the Assisans left their houses and +thronged down the hill to the Portiuncula to bring the precious burden +to rest within the more certain refuge of their walled town. "Blessed +and praised be the Lord our God who has entrusted to us, though +unworthy, so great a gift. Praise and glory to the ineffable Trinity," +they sang as they hurried along in the cold dawn. Trumpeters blew loud +and discordant notes, nearly drowning the voices of the priests who +vainly in the din tried to intone the canticles and psalms. The nobles +came from their castles with lighted torches to join the procession, +the peasants from the hills brought sprigs of olive, and those from +the forests stripped the oaks of their finest branches which they +waved above their heads, while children strewed the ground with +flowers. + +Amidst all this stirring show of joy a kindly thought had been taken +of St. Clare and her nuns, so that when the body of St. Francis had +been laid in a coffin, and the long line of friars, priests and +townsmen turned to climb the hill, they took a path skirting just +below the town, through the vineyards and olive groves, to the convent +of San Damiano. The sound of chanting must have warned the watchers of +their approach long before they came in sight. An artist has pictured +the nuns like a flock of timid sheep in his fresco, trooping out of an +exquisitely marbled chapel, with St. Clare endeavouring to suppress +her grief as she bends over the dead Francis, while the sisters press +close behind her. This is how it ought to have been; but, alas, only +an iron lattice, through which the nuns were wont to receive the Holy +Communion, was opened for them, and the friars lifting the body of St. +Francis from the coffin, held it in their arms at the opening as one +by one the nuns came to kiss the pierced hands. "Madonna Chiara's" +tears fell fast as she gazed on him who had brought such joy into her +cloistered solitude. "Oh father, father," she murmured, "what are we +to do now that thou hast abandoned us unhappy ones? With thee departs +all consolation, for buried here away from the world there is none to +console us." Restraining the lamentations which filled her heart she +passed like a shadow out of sight to her cell, and when all the +sisters had bidden farewell to St. Francis, the small window was +closed "never again to open upon so sad a scene." + +The people, who until now had wept bitterly, began to sing again as +the procession went on its way up the hill towards the Porta Mojano. +The trumpets sounded louder than ever, and "with jubilation and great +exultation" the sacred body was brought to the church of San Giorgio, +where it was carefully laid in a marble urn covered with an iron +grating, and guarded day and night from the prying eyes of the +Perugians. If Francis had worked miracles during his life, those +chronicled at his tomb are even more marvellous; in recounting some +which read like fairy tales, a biographer recounts with pride that, +"even from heaven, the Saint showed his courtesy to all." + +Devotion to St. Francis was not confined to Umbria or even to Italy, +for we read how his fame spread throughout France, and how the King +and Queen with all the barons of the land, came to Paris to kiss one +of his relics. "People journeyed from the east and from the west," +enthusiastically exclaims Celano with a total disregard of detail, +"they came from the north and from the south, even the learned and the +lettered who abounded in Paris at that time." + +But while France was being stirred by the news of perpetual miracles +and prodigies wrought through the intercession of the saint, and +Assisi in consequence was fast growing into a place of great +importance in the world, Pope Gregory IX, who had been lately elected +upon the death of Honorius III, spent many hours in the Cannonica at +Perugia wrestling with his doubts concerning the truth of the greatest +miracle of all, the miracle of the Stigmata. While in this state of +uncertainty and perplexity St. Francis, the _Fioretti_ relates, +appeared to him one night, and showed him the five wounds inflicted by +the Seraph upon his hands, feet and side. The vision, it seems, +dispelled all doubt from the mind of Pope Gregory, for in conclave +with the cardinals he proclaimed the sanctity of his friend, the +Poverello d'Assisi, and determined to set the final seal of the church +upon his miracles and fame. + +This vision was the prelude of a great ceremony held a few days later +in San Giorgio for the canonisation of Francis, at which all Umbria +seems to have been present. Pope Gregory, clothed in vestments of +cloth of gold embroidered with precious stones, his tiara "almost as +an aureole of sanctity about his head," sat stiffly on his pontifical +throne like some carved image, surrounded by cardinals in crimson +garments and bishops in white stoles. All eyes were fixed upon this +splendid group, and it is not improbable that among the spectators +stood Pietro Bernardone and Madonna Pica, and many who had reviled +Francis in his early days of sanctity, and now, within two years of +his death, witnessed him placed among the greatest of the saints. +Gregory had prepared an eloquent address, which he delivered in a +sonorous voice occasionally broken by sobs of emotion. Becoming more +and more enthusiastic as he proceeded, he compared Francis to a full +moon, a refulgent sun, a star rising above the morning mists, and when +he had finished the pious homily, a sub-deacon read out a list of the +saint's miracles, and a learned cardinal, "not without copious +weeping," discoursed thereon, while the Pope listened, shedding +"rivers of tears," and breaking forth every now and then into +deep-drawn sighs. The prelates wept so devoutly that their vestments +were in great part wet, and the ground was drenched with their tears. +The ceremony ended when the Pope rose to bless the people, and intoned +the _Te Deum_, in which all joined with such good will that the "earth +resounded in great jubilee." + +Had St. Francis foreseen how his humility would be rewarded? This we +know, that he in part had realised how his order would slip away from +his ideal, and there is a deep note of sadness in many pages of his +life, showing us how fully he realised the pitfalls his disciples were +likely to fall into when he was no longer there to watch over them +with tender care. Often while he was absent for only a little time the +brethren forgot his simple rule, building cells and houses too +spacious and pretentious for the home of the Lady Poverty. This had +been one of the signs to him that his earnest prayers to God, his +example and admonitions to his followers, which come to us through his +letters and the pages of Brother Leo like the cry of one who bravely +fought against the inevitable, were all to be in vain. It is a tragic +story, and rendered still more so by the fact that the Saint's last +years should have been saddened by this knowledge of coming events. + +Only a little while and the teaching of poverty and obscurity which he +had so deeply implanted in the hearts of his followers was to be +completely swept away; upon the ruins of that first franciscan order, +guarded jealously for a time by a faithful few, arose the new +franciscan spirit which Elias Buonbarone, inspired by the will of +Gregory IX, brought into being almost before the echo of his master's +words had died away. It is not for us in this small space to trace +the many changes that crept into the young community, but we simply +note as a fact, what to some may appear exaggerated, that the order +St. Francis founded, and prayed would continue as he left it, ceased +at his death, while the order that grew up afterwards bore the +unmistakable stamp of Elias and the Vatican. + + * * * * * + +The extraordinary humility of St. Francis gave rise to the myth that +when he lay dying at the Portiuncula he expressed a strong desire to +be buried in the most despised spot near Assisi, which, because +criminals were said to have been executed there, bore the name of +Colle del Inferno. It seems unlike him to have been concerned with +what might become of "brother body" after death, and it was probably +not until Gregory IX conceived the idea of building a church in honour +of his friend, that a suitable burial-place was searched for near the +walls of the town, if not actually within them, where the citizens +could safely guard the precious relics. Everything favoured the +designs of Gregory, for not only was he fortunate in finding a man +like Elias, capable, prompt and energetic, but the one place suited +for the erection of a great church, happened to be in the possession +of a generous citizen of Assisi. No sooner were the wishes of the +Pontiff made known than Simon Puzzarelli offered his land on the +Collis Inferni, which from this time forward Gregory ordered to be +called Collis Paradisi, the Hill of Paradise.[60] + +A document, duly sealed and signed, is still in the Assisan archives, +in which we read how the site for the building of "an oratory or +church for the most holy body of St. Francis" was given over, in words +that admitted of no withdrawal, to Elias as representative of the Lord +Pope Gregory IX--"dedit, tradedit, cesset, delegavit et donavit +simpliciter et irrevocabiliter." Now the use of the word _oratory_ is +a remarkable fact as suggesting that at the beginning the Assisans +little dreamed of the erection of a great basilica which would cast +their cathedral entirely into the shade. + +A few days after the ceremony of the canonisation of St. Francis, Pope +Gregory, amid the usual crowd of Umbrian spectators, laid the +foundation-stone of the franciscan basilica. Then being recalled by +his Roman subjects, whom Assisan chroniclers describe as "a race of +men most seditious and fierce," he was obliged to hurry south, leaving +Elias to carry out his wishes as he thought best. + +So far the task left to Elias was easy enough, for money was not +lacking, and countless workmen were ready to begin the great +enterprise; but the question of who should design a church upon the +site chosen was a more difficult matter to settle, as Vasari tells us: +"There was a great scarcity of good architects at this time, and the +church, having to be built upon a very high hill, at the base of which +flows a torrent called the Tescio, an excellent artist was required +for the work. After much deliberation a certain Maestro Jacopo Tedesco +was called to Assisi as being the best architect then to be found, and +having examined the site, and consulted the wishes of the fathers, who +were holding a Chapter in Assisi to discuss the matter, he designed +the plan of a very beautiful church and convent."[61] + +"Jacopo" is said to have come to Italy in the retinue of the Emperor +Frederick II. Vasari recounts that the fame he gained all over Italy +by his work at Assisi was so great that the Florentines summoned him +to build them bridges and palaces, and "Jacopo," charmed with the +Tuscan city, married and dwelt there. The citizens, following a custom +which still continues in every Italian town, changed his name to Lapo, +and he is revealed to us as father of the famous Arnolfo di Lapo, +architect of the Florentine cathedral and of the Palazzo della +Signoria. In the seductive pages of Vasari the account reads so +pleasantly that it seems a pity later writers should have discovered +that the story rests upon uncertain dates and legends. Vasari's +endeavour to amalgamate three artists into one person, have forced +many to the opposite extreme, until even the existence of "Jacopo +Tedesco" is denied, and they are reduced to speak of _an_ architect +who designed the church and convent of San Francesco.[62] + +Such is the irony of fate, that while numerous documents remain giving +the names of contractors and minor masons employed in the building +there is absolutely no evidence or clue of any kind as to the +architect employed by Elias. We can only suppose that the document +relating to this and other interesting points in connection with the +decoration of the church, must have been destroyed by the Perugians +when they sacked Assisi under Jacopo Piccinino and burnt so many +treasures in the archives. We are consequently at the mercy of local +legends, which were no doubt recounted to Vasari by the Assisans +themselves when he visited the town in the middle of the sixteenth +century. But there is still the evidence of our own eye to help us to +know something of the builder of San Francesco, the builder of the +first Gothic church in Italy. We are told he was a German; but then we +know from Mr Fergusson's Handbook of Architecture that Germans were +only just awakening to the Gothic influences at the time of St. +Francis's death, and, when they wished to build churches in the new +style they called in French masons to help them. Was it therefore +likely that Germany should have given the mysterious architect to +Assisi? A church recalling the Assisan Basilica may be vainly searched +for in Germany or in Lombardy and this further fact inclines us to +believe in the theory of M. Edouard Corroyer. + + [Illustration: CHURCH AND CONVENT OF SAN FRANCESCO] + +Whether the man who conceived the original idea of raising one church +above another flanked by a colonnaded convent on the spur of a great +mountain was called Philip or James, or whether he came from a Lombard +or a German province seems of small importance compared with the +country where he learned his art. Even supposing "Jacopo" to have been +a northern Italian from the home of the Comacine Guild of master +masons, which is extremely likely, everything goes to prove that he +must have drawn his inspiration for the Assisan Basilica straight +from the south of France. What establishes the French parentage of +San Francesco is the mode of construction, especially visible in the +Upper Church, and which, as M. Corroyer says, "possesses all the +characteristics peculiar to the French architecture in the south of +France at the close of the thirteenth and the beginning of the +fourteenth century, of which the Cathedral of Albi [in Aquitaine] is +the most perfect type. The single nave, its buttresses projecting +externally in the form of half turrets, add to the likeness of the +Italian church of Assisi with that of Albi in France."[63] A glance at +the illustrations of the two churches will bear this theory out better +than many words; and it will be seen at once that had the half turrets +between the bay windows of San Francesco been completed with pointed +roofs and small lancet windows, as no doubt was the intention, the +likeness would be even more striking. + +Although "Jacopo" left a very substantial mark of his genius upon the +Umbrian hill-side, he came and went like a shadow, leaving his designs +and plans to be carried on by his young disciple Fra Filippo Campello, +whom we shall meet with again in the chapter on Santa Chiara. Little, +therefore, as we know of this earlier portion of its history, San +Francesco at least remains to us in all its first prime and glory to +tell its own tale, and endless should be the hymn of praise sung by +the Assisans for the chance which brought so beautiful a creation +within their walls. + +It seems indeed strange that a style so new and so admired, was not +more faithfully adhered to at a time when cathedrals and churches were +being erected in every Italian city. Perhaps the Romanesque and +Byzantine influences from the south so tempered the Gothic tendencies +of Lombard architects, that they were unable to attain the true ideal, +and succeeded only in creating a style of their own, to be found at +Florence, Siena and Orvieto, known as Italian Gothic. Thus it happens +that the Assisans are the proud possessors, not only of the first +Gothic church built in Italy during the dawn of the new era, but of a +church which is unique, as recalling less dimly than those of other +cities the splendour of the northern cathedrals. + + * * * * * + +The rapidity with which the Assisan Basilica progressed is one of the +most wonderful results of the love inspired by St. Francis among +mediaeval Christians. The generosity of the Catholic world was so +stirred that donations poured in without ceasing from Germany and +France, and even from Jerusalem and Morocco. "Cardinals, bishops, +dukes, princes, counts and barons," write the chroniclers, helped +Elias in his work, while the people of Umbria, too poor to give money, +came in numbers, out of the reverence they bore the Saint, to work for +small and often for no wages. It was a busy time; and Assisi awoke to +a sense of her importance. Under the vigilant eye of Elias, armies of +masons and labourers worked as unremittingly as ants at a nest, while +processions of carts drawn by white oxen, went ever to and fro upon +the road leading to the quarries, bringing creamy-white, rose and +golden-coloured blocks of Subasian stone. + +This universal enthusiasm enabled Elias to complete the Lower Church +in twenty-two months, while the Upper Church was roofed in six years +later, and finished in all essential details by 1253. But while Elias +was applauded by most people, a few of the franciscans, headed by Fra +Leo, still clung to the letter of the franciscan rule, and bitterly +disapproved of these innovations. They sorrowfully looked on at the +army of workers, raising, as if by magic, walls and colonnades upon +the hill-side and towers ever higher against the sky. They watched +blocks of marble and stone being chiselled into cornices, friezes and +capitals ornamented with foliage and flowers, until, with despair in +their hearts, they slowly returned to their mud huts in the plain. The +dreams of Francis were vanishing fast as the allegiance to the Lady +Poverty diminished. Now her shrine existed only in the Carceri, in San +Damiano and in the Portiuncula, where few sought her company, for all +eyes were turned towards the new Basilica. The words of the Master, +recorded faithfully in Leo's biography, were ever ringing in his ears: +"Set a good hedge round in lieu of a wall, as a sign of holy poverty +and humility ... build poor little cells of mud and wood, and other +cells where at times the brethren may pray and work to the gain of +virtue and the avoidance of sloth. Also cause small churches to be +built; they ought not to raise great churches for the sake of +preaching to the people, or for any other reason, for they will show +greater humility and give a better example by going to preach in other +churches. And if by chance prelates, clerics, religious or seculars +should come to these abodes, the poor houses, the little cells and +small churches will be better sermons and cause greater edification to +them than many words."[64] + +No wonder that Leo and his friends watched Elias at his work with no +friendly eye, for between the mud huts which Francis had planned with +so much simplicity, and the massive Basilica and palatial convent, +stretched an infinite chasm, separating the old order from the new. + +They were still more unhappy and scandalised when Elias, who had the +full permission of Gregory IX. for this innovation, placed a marble +vase outside San Francesco to receive the contributions of those +anxious to see the church quickly finished. A curious account is given +by a latin chronicler of the warfare which ensued between the +standard-bearers of the new and the old franciscan spirit: "Some +brothers of marvellous sanctity and purity went to Perugia to consult +Brother Egidio, a good and pious man, concerning the erection of so +large a building and the manner of collecting money, which seemed to +be expressly against the rule. And Brother Egidio answered them: "If +that building were to reach from Assisi to here [to Perugia] a little +corner would suffice for me to dwell in." And they having asked him +what he thought about the vase, he said, turning to Brother Leo: "If +thou considerest thyself already dead [to the world and its +persecutions] go and break it. But if thou livest, stay thy hand, for +perchance thou mayest not be able to bear the persecution of that +Brother Elias."[65] Hearing this, Brother Leo went with his companions +and broke the vase to pieces. Then Brother Elias, hearing this, had +them severely beaten by his servants, and drove them from Assisi in +great confusion. For this reason a great tumult arose among the +brethren. Because of these aforesaid excesses, and because Brother +Elias threatened the complete destruction of the rule, when the +brethren met in general Chapter they deprived him of the office of +Vicar General, and unanimously elected Brother John of Florence +[Giovanni Parenti]."[66] + +But these murmurs were drowned in the din of public applause which +enabled Elias to work in his own way, unscrupulously dispersing every +difficulty without any reference to the rule of St. Francis. + +He continued to be the presiding spirit at Assisi, and such was the +success of his untiring energy that by the month of May 1230, the +Lower Church of the Basilica was ready to receive the "most sacred +body" of the Saint, while the magnificent quarters in the adjoining +convent were ready for those friars who belonged to the moderate +party, and approved of the new order of things. + +Pope Gregory was unable to visit Assisi at this time owing to +difficulties with his unruly Roman subjects, but he sent innumerable +indulgences, golden crosses studded with precious stones containing +relics of the true cross, vases of silver and gold, and a large sum of +money for the further advancement of the building. These generous +gifts were followed by a Brief, which in calmer moments the monks +might have viewed with irritation, declaring both Basilica and convent +to be immediately subject to the Holy See. The franciscan order was +fast becoming a Papal institution, to be patronised and ruled by +succeeding Pontiffs. + +While Giovanni Parenti was preparing for the Conclave to be held in +the spacious rooms of the new convent, the wily Elias was holding +secret councils with the magistrates of the town as to ensuring the +safe conduct of the body of St. Francis to the Basilica. The number of +people continually arriving in anticipation of the coming ceremony +made them somewhat uneasy, and their doubts were carefully discussed +in the Communal Palace. They came to the conclusion that if the exact +place of the saint's sepulchre was known, there would always be the +danger of its being rifled by the citizens of neighbouring towns, +especially by the Perugians, whose partiality for relics was well +known. So a stratagem, most likely invented by the fertile brain of +Elias, was decided upon and succeeded admirably. + +The friars and citizens, unconscious of the plot hatched in their +midst, were all eager for the day of the Translation. The Umbrians +left their towns empty to assist at the great spectacle, and their +number was so great, that, failing to find room within the walls of +Assisi, they wandered like droves of cattle on the hills above trying +to obtain a sight of the procession. It was a great day in the annals +of Assisi; outside the little church of San Giorgio a triumphal car, +drawn by a pair of magnificent oxen, their whiteness almost hidden +beneath purple draperies and their horns wreathed and garlanded with +flowers, stood waiting for the holy burden. Three Papal Legates and +Elias placed the heavy sarcophagus with their own hands upon the car, +covering it over with a piece of rich brocaded silk sent for the +occasion by the mother of King Louis of France. They kept close to the +car all the time, while the brethren, holding palms and torches, +formed a long procession followed by the bishops and their clergy, and +the Podesta with his retinue of crimson-robed priors. It was the month +of May, and from every garden and terrace the nobles and their ladies +showered flowers over the "sacred ark" as it was borne slowly up the +street amidst the deafening sound of trumpets and the cheers of the +populace. All that could be done to honour St. Francis had been +thought of; Gregory IX. had even composed a hymn to be sung on that +day in which the "Poverello" was compared to Christ. They were in the +midst of the hymn of praise and quite close to the new Basilica when +the heavy tramp of numerous armed men was suddenly heard; swiftly a +passage was made through the crowd, who for the moment fell back +amazed and powerless, while the soldiers hurried with the sarcophagus +into the church, closely followed by Elias, who promptly shut and +barred the door. After the first moment of surprise, a wild burst of +indignation arose from the thousands who were thus deprived of a +spectacle which they had come miles to see. They howled like wild +beasts baulked of their prey, banging at the doors of the church in +their fury; but silence reigned within, for Elias and his accomplices +were stealthily engaged in hiding the body of St. Francis in the very +bowels of the mountain, where for five centuries it remained unseen +and undisturbed. + +Till far into the night the people continued to murmur; the bewildered +friars asked each other what this strange behaviour of Elias meant, +and the only people who preserved any appearance of calmness were +Messer il Podesta of Assisi and his priors, who smiled to see how well +the plot had worked. It was not long before the scandal reached the +ears of Pope Gregory. The enemies of Elias painted the story in +glowing colours, and the Pope expressed himself greatly shocked at +sacrilegious hands having been laid upon the holy body of the saint. +He blamed the magistrates for allowing such a tumult to arise, and +called upon them to give due explanation of their conduct within a +fortnight at the court of Rome under pain of their city being laid +under an interdict. The Pope's Brief caused consternation, and his +accusations of their ingratitude for past favour rankled deeply. We +are not told how the anger of the Pope was pacified, but no doubt both +Elias and the Podesta explained satisfactorily the reasons for so +strange a burial, as Assisi continued to enjoy the patronage of the +Holy See. The efforts of Elias to ensure the safety of the body of St. +Francis had been eminently successful, and Gregory could hardly fail +to pardon the unusual manner in which this had been obtained. + +Out of the mysterious events of that day of tumult grew a legend which +lasted until the body of St. Francis was finally discovered five +centuries later. It was believed that a church far surpassing the +other two in grandeur and beauty had been built beneath them by Elias, +and that St. Francis risen from his tomb stood in the midst, his hands +crossed upon his breast, his head thrown back, gazing eternally +towards the sky. The Umbrians, refusing to believe that their saint +could suffer the common lot of mortals, loved to think of him as +"almost alive," waiting for the last call, surrounded by the glorious +beauty of a hidden church which they had never seen and only dimly +pictured to themselves. Vasari refers to this "invisible church" +described to him by the awe-struck citizens, when he mentions that +"the tomb containing the body of the glorious saint is in the lowest +church where no one enters, and whose doors are walled up"; and in the +beginning of his description of the Basilica, he speaks of three +ranges of buildings placed one above the other, the lowest of all +being subterranean, which is curious as showing how closely he +followed tradition regarding the Assisan church. Padre Angeli so +unhesitatingly accepted the story that in his "Collis Paradisi" he +drew from imagination a plan, together with a picture of the +"invisible church." It represents a long vaulted hall somewhat +recalling the architecture of the Upper Church, at the end of which is +St. Francis standing upon his tomb in a recess corresponding to a kind +of choir; the vaulted roof is supported by slender columns with +chiselled capitals, and the walls and floor are ornamented with +marbles and mosaic of different colours. + + * * * * * + +To close this chapter without touching upon the career of Elias, who +is at once the black sheep of the franciscan order and one of the +greatest citizens of Assisi, would be impossible. Few have written +calmly about him, trying either to exculpate him or blaming his +actions too severely, so that it is difficult to obtain any just idea +of the real motives which guided him in an ill-starred life. Elias was +neither devil nor saint, though he possessed the energy of both and +his marked and domineering character would have fitted him better for +the world than for the cloister. Ambition seems to have been his chief +fault, together with a certain proud reserve which kept him aloof from +his companions. From the various references to him in the early +biographies of St. Francis we feel the writers failed ever to come +quite in touch with one so outside their lives, and whom they +considered as a kind of Judas--for did he not betray the interests of +the Master? + +"Elias is an altogether different type of man from the simple-minded +Francis," writes Mrs Oliphant, echoing the general opinion. "He is an +ambitious and ascetic churchman, of the class which has pushed Rome +into much power and many abuses--an almost conventional development of +the intellectual monk, making up for compulsory humbleness in external +matters by the highest strain of ecclesiastical ambition and spiritual +pride." + +But while all abused him, none doubted his very exceptional talents, +and even in the _Fioretti_ he was accounted "one of the most learned +men in the world," and St. Francis showed the great confidence he had +in him by naming him Vicar-General after the death of Peter Cataneo. +It was at a Chapter held in the wood by the Portiuncula that the saint +expressed his desire to again resign the government of the order to +another, and while Elias discoursed to the assembled friars St. +Francis sat at his feet listening attentively to every word.[67] On +the other hand, the saint was quite aware of his faults, and from the +_Fioretti_, where Elias is pictured for artistic effect in strong +colours as the wicked friar, we seem to realize the strain that often +must have come between these two very different men. Thus we read that +it being revealed to St. Francis that Elias was destined to lose his +soul and bring dishonour on the order, he conceived such an antipathy +towards him that he would even avoid meeting him, although at the time +they were living in the same convent. The scene when Elias, +discovering the reason of his displeasure, threw himself at the feet +of the saint to implore his intercession with heaven reveals in the +most touching way the great belief and reverence inspired by St. +Francis in the heart of the least docile of his followers. "I have so +great a faith in thy prayers," said Elias, "that were I in the midst +of hell, and thou wert to pray to God for me, I should feel some +relief; therefore again I pray thee to commend me, a sinner, unto God +who came to save sinners that He may receive me into His mercy." And +this did Brother Elias say with much devotion and many tears, so that +St. Francis, like a pitying father, promised to pray to God for him. +It will be seen how far the revelation of St. Francis came true, and +the manner in which his prayer was answered. + +So long as Elias remained under the influence of Francis his pride was +tempered, and his ambition curbed, but when cast upon his own +resources he gave full rein to the ideas which had no doubt been +forming in his mind for some years past. Elias thought the franciscan +order, if faithful to the Lady Poverty, would prove of small +importance; and he therefore willingly leagued with Gregory IX. to +mould it so that it should become a visible power upon the earth. The +vision he conjured up with the sceptre in his own hand was very fair; +and he failed to see why religion should not be served quite as well +within the massive convent walls he had helped to rear, as when +dwelling in a mud hut. He had too broad a mind to look closely to the +detail of his rule; he only saw the broad outline of his master's +teaching; and who can say whether after all he was not right? This we +know, the mud huts have long since vanished, while thousands come each +year to pray at the tomb of Francis within sight of Giotto's +master-pieces. They sing aloud his praises, and as they pray and sing +throw coppers and silver in heaps upon the altar steps, and pass out +of the church into the sunlight again, knowing little of the lessons +St. Francis spent his life in teaching. + +But we must return again to Elias and his many troubles with the +franciscan world. While patronized by Pope Gregory, he also seems to +have had a strong party of monks on his side, probably those who had +joined the Order during the last few years. Their names have not come +down to us, and their personalities have merged in that of Elias who +thus led them forward on a somewhat perilous way. They began by +attempting to depose Giovanni Parenti while he was holding a Chapter +in the new convent, a few days after the ceremony of the Translation +of the body of St. Francis to the Basilica. His friars were gathered +round him discussing the various missions to be undertaken, and the +work that had been done during the past year, when the door was thrown +open and a crowd of excited friars with Elias at their head appeared +upon the threshold. Before anyone could realize what this strange +apparition meant, Elias was borne rapidly along by his companions and +installed in the seat of Giovanni Parenti, while a scene of +indescribable tumult arose among those whose indignation had not yet +cooled down after the events of the past week. It is said that St. +Anthony of Padua was present at this conclave, and vainly tried to +calm the excitement, but his voice was drowned in the clamour. At +last, driven to despair, Giovanni Parenti began to cry aloud and tear +his garments as one distraught; he could not have hit upon a better +plan, for where words had failed this piece of dramatic acting +produced an instantaneous effect. His friars formed a vanguard round +him, acclaiming him Vicar-General as they beat back the intruders with +hard blows and angry scowls. Elias, seeing the game was lost, threw +himself on the ground, and with expressions of deep contrition +implored forgiveness. He was pardoned, but banished to a distant +hermitage, where humbled and sad he pondered for many months upon his +next move. He allowed his hair and beard to grow to such a length that +even his enemies began to believe his repentance was sincere, and only +two years after his misconduct we find him elected Vicar-General in +the place of his former rival, and, under the title of Guardian and +Master of the Basilica and Convent, in full command of the works at +San Francesco. + +He now enjoyed a season of peace and plenty in the comfortable +quarters of the franciscan convent, and is said to have gathered a +household about him surpassing the splendour of a cardinal's court. +Fra Illuminato di Rieti (afterwards Bishop of Assisi) acted as his +secretary, writing numberless letters to "the Pope and the Princes of +the World," for Elias was in correspondence with more than one crowned +head and paid many visits to distant courts in quest of money for the +Assisan Church. On these journeys he always went on horseback, and +even when going from one church to another in Umbria, he was well +mounted on a "fat and stout palfrey," to the intense scandal of some +of the friars. "He also had secular servants," writes an indignant +chronicler, "all dressed in divers colours like to those of bishops, +who ministered to him in all things." His food was always good, and he +had the reputation of keeping an excellent cook. + +This peaceful and successful period of his life was of short duration, +for he soon fell into dire trouble and disgrace. It was his misfortune +to be sent by Pope Gregory, who trusted implicitly in his discretion +and ability, on a mission to Frederic II, in the hopes of bringing the +Emperor to a sense of his misdoings. A disciple of St. Francis seemed +to be the right person to send as an emissary of peace; but instead of +the orthodox humble and barefooted friar, we read of him as a very +haughty personage, quite at his ease in the political world, then +ringing with the angry cries of Guelph and Ghibelline. + +No sooner had Elias reached the franciscan convent at Parma than the +magnates of the city, aware of the errand he had come upon, assembled +to do him honour. Fra Salimbene, who was present at the interview, +describes how Elias waited for his visitors, his head swathed in an +Armenian turban, and comfortably seated upon a soft chair drawn close +to a huge fire. When Gherardo da Correggio, known as "Messer il +Podesta of the big teeth," entered the room, Elias remained seated, +and to the astonishment of all in no way disturbed himself for his +illustrious guest. The Podesta very sensibly took no offence, but +passed the matter over by expressing his wonder that the Vicar-General +should have chosen so cold a season for his visit to Lombardy--a +glance at the fire had told him that this franciscan friar liked +comfort as much as most people. + +There is no detailed account of the interview of Elias with the +Emperor to inform us whether he behaved at it with the same easy +familiarity; all we know is that Frederic, "the wonder of the world," +and Elias, the Assisan friar, formed a friendship which lasted during +the remainder of their lives, linking them together in a common fate. +Whether Elias was won over from the first by the charm of so +fascinating a personality, or simply baffled by a mind more subtle +than his own, it is difficult to say, as the chroniclers have drawn +too thick a veil over this unfortunate meeting for anyone to judge +with fairness. His failure certainly gave a good opportunity to his +many enemies to commence a very satisfactory scheme of blackening his +character with the Pope; and the rumour flew to Rome that he was a +traitor to his church. Branded with the abhorred name of Ghibelline +there was now little hope for Elias, whose friendship with the +arch-enemy of Holy Church grew always stronger. The Lombards becoming +uneasy, accused Gregory of favouring the Emperor, while the latter +bitterly complained that the Pope listened too much to the cause of +the Lombards, and thought too little of the imperial dignity. At last +a Chapter was called to enquire into the conduct of the Vicar-General, +and as he was not present, his misdeeds lost nothing by the telling. +Although Elias was deposed, and his place filled by a Pisan, he still +held the title of Guardian and Master of the Assisan Basilica, but in +a city of such strong Guelph sympathies as Assisi, it was unlikely he +would be left in peace, especially as the Pope no longer favoured him. +Life soon became impossible there, and of his own free will he retired +to a hermitage in the woods of Cortona, followed by some dozen +faithful friars, "not excepting," adds a spiteful chronicler, "Fra +Bartolomeo da Padova, his most excellent cook." Thence he wrote to the +Pope explaining his conduct, and humbly entreating to be pardoned, but +the letter was found years afterwards in the pocket of the Pisan +Vicar-General, who had promised to deliver it safely at Rome. Whether +the letter was wilfully laid aside or only forgotten, none have been +able to decide, but the incident had disastrous effects upon Elias. He +waited anxiously for the pardon which never came, until embittered by +finding himself deserted by nearly everyone, he openly joined the +party of Frederic II. He went a step further, and abused Pope Gregory +in caustic language, taunting him with injustice and avarice, and with +being a simonist, which of course ended in his excommunication "to the +great scandal of the Church." The news of his disgrace spread quickly +through Italy, and the children sang a couplet, invented on the spur +of the moment, under the windows of franciscan convents: + + "Or'e attorno Frat'Elia + Che pres'ha la mala via." + +It was the cry which met the friars in every street they passed, so +that the name of their former Vicar-General became hateful to them. +And yet even now Elias must have had some friends in the Order, as at +a council held at Genoa in 1244 there were a few who wished to +reinstate him. The Pope commanded him to appear, but as the papal +brief never arrived he was thus again debarred from clearing his much +damaged character. The consequence of these efforts in his behalf only +ended in his falling still deeper into disgrace; and for the second +time he was excommunicated. We next hear of him roaming about the +country with Frederic II, who found him useful on more than one +occasion as a diplomatic agent. Elias was sent with strong letters of +recommendation from Pier delle Vigne to Baldwin II, Emperor of +Constantinople, and to Hugo I, King of Cyprus, and he was even charged +to arrange a marriage for a daughter of Frederic. Among his various +talents Elias seems to have been able to accommodate himself to a +military life. We hear of him, both at the siege of Faenza and of +Ravenna, riding out to battle on a magnificent charger. At other times +he found a peaceful asylum at the Emperor's court, presenting a +strange contrast to the "strolling minstrels, troubadours, poets, +warriors, jugglers and artists of every grade" who frequented it. Upon +the Emperor's death Elias returned to Cortona where the citizens +received him kindly as he had obtained privileges for them at various +times from his patron. Here, at the small hermitage in the ilex wood, +he passed the last few years of his life in building a Franciscan +church and convent, aided by the citizens who gave the ground for the +site. + +While the last touch was being put to the building of the great +Assisan Basilica and it was about to be consecrated by Innocent IV, in +1253, Elias lay dying in his little cell at Cortona. His loneliness +touched the heart of a lay brother, who with gentle words expressed +his sorrow at seeing him an outcast from the Order and offered him +help. Elias, no longer the proud ambitious churchman, answered very +gently: "My brother, I see no other way save that thou shouldst go to +the Pope and beg him for the love of God and of St. Francis His +servant, through whose teaching I quitted the world, to absolve me +from his excommunication and to give me back again the habit of +religion." The lay brother hastened to Rome and pleaded so humbly that +Innocent "permitted him to go back, and if he found Brother Elias +alive he was to absolve him in his name from the excommunication and +restore unto him the habit; so full of joy the friar departed and +returned in hot haste to Brother Elias, and finding him yet alive but +nigh unto death he absolved him from the excommunication and put on +him again the habit, and Brother Elias quitted this life and his soul +was saved by the merits of St. Francis and by his prayers in which +Brother Elias had reposed such great faith." + +Some say that even at the last fate pursued Elias, for the city of +Cortona being at that time under an interdict no blessed oil could be +found for the sacrament of extreme unction. Certainly his body was not +allowed to rest in the church he had built for the brethren. A zealous +friar dug it up and flung it on a dunghill, saying that no Ghibelline +should be permitted to lie in consecrated ground. + +Thus it was that Elias left a name hated among the franciscans as +bitterly as the Emperor Frederic's always has been by Guelph +historians. But while the war against the latter still rages as +fiercely as ever, Elias, save for the gratitude felt by the citizens +of Assisi, rests almost forgotten and his story hidden in the pages of +old chronicles. Few even remember that owing to the untiring energy of +this man Assisi owns one of the most beautiful monuments of mediaeval +art. It is possible that had Fra Leo, Bernard of Quintavalle and his +companions succeeded in those first days of struggle, the Basilica of +San Francesco might never have attained its present magnificence or +the art of Giotto been born in this Umbrian corner of Italy. Chi lo +sa? It is a question one hardly even likes to think of. But the danger +passed away, and who cares now whether the franciscans grumbled at the +time, or said the church and convent with its buttresses and towers +looked more like the feudal fortress of some mighty baron than the +tomb of the Preacher of Poverty? The San Francesco we love rises +golden and rose-tinted above the olive groves and the vineyards, above +the plain with its young corn and the white villages lying among the +fruit-trees, above a rushing torrent which circles round the base of +the Subasian mountain on its way to the Tiber; and all day the varied +group of church, arcaded convent and terraced gardens, is showing its +beauty to the sun. + +In every light it is beautiful, in every mood we recall it, together +with the choicest things we have seen in travel, haunting us like the +charm of a living person. When the winter mists at early morning wrap +round it like a mantle, or the stars form crowns above its roof and +bell tower, there is always some new loveliness which thrills us, some +fresh note of colour we have not noticed there before, making us again +and again feel grateful that Elias forgot or ignored the teaching of +his master. + + [Illustration: SAN FRANCESCO FROM THE PLAIN] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[59] In the same way when Beato Egidio, ill and nigh his end, wished +to return to the Portiuncula to die in the place he loved so well, the +Perugians refused their consent and even placed soldiers round the +monastery of Monte Ripido to prevent his escape. + +[60] In the illustrations on p. 38 and p. 107 is shown the gallows +erected where now stands the franciscan basilica, but it is unlikely +that the property of a private individual should have been used for +such a purpose, and Collis Inferni may simply have meant the spur of +hill beneath the upper portion of Assisi upon which the castle stood. + +[61] See Vasari, _Life of Arnolfo di Lapo_. + +[62] It would be a thankless task to follow the bewildering maze of +contradictory evidence which has enveloped the question as to who +built San Francesco. Those who are eager to do so, however, can +consult Henry Thode's exhaustive work, _Franz von Assisi_ (beginning +p. 187), which deals most thoroughly with the subject. Leader Scott +also, in her learned book upon _The Cathedral Builders_, gives some +ingenious theories with regard to "Jacopo" and his supposed +relationship with Arnolfo, p. 315-316. + +Another book is _I Maestri Comacini_, by Professore Marzario, whose +statements about "Jacopo's" nationality are interesting and probable. +But, following Vasari a little too blindly, he gives us the startling +fact that "Jacopo" died in 1310, this, even supposing him to have been +only twenty-five when he was at Assisi as chief architect, would make +him one hundred and fifteen years of age at the time of his death. + +[63] _L'Architecture Gothique_ par M. Edouard Corroyer. See pp. 96 and +105. + +[64] _Speculum Perfectionis._ Edited by Paul Sabatier, cap. x. + +[65] For the Latin text see p. c. of M. Paul Sabatier's introduction +to his edition of the _Speculum Perfectionis_. + +[66] Giovanni Parenti, who does not stand out very clearly in the +history of the Order, was a Florentine magistrate of Citta di +Castello, one of the first towns to feel the influence of St. Francis. +There he heard of the new movement which so rapidly was spreading +throughout Western Europe, and, together with many of the citizens, +became converted through the teaching of the Umbrian saint. + +[67] It is impossible in this small book to give any idea of the +various influences at work upon the young franciscan order during the +life of the saint. I can only refer my readers to the charming pages +of M. Paul Sabatier, who gives us a vivid picture of these early days +in _La Vie de Saint Francois_, and in his introduction to the +_Speculum Perfectionis_. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +_Cimabue and his School at San Francesco_ + + "Il semble au premier coup d'oeil que le reve de Francois + d'Assise a du amener la fin de tout l'art et de toute noble vie. + Chose etrange! ce sordide mendiant fut le pere de l'art + italien."--E. RENAN. _Nouvelles Etudes d'Histoire Religieuse._ + + +THE LOWER CHURCH + +So rarely in Italy is a church perfect both within and without that it +is with amazement we find at Assisi not one but two churches, choir +and nave piled above each other, and covered from roof to floor with +frescoes, as perfect of their kind as the buildings which they +decorate. Wars in every town, trouble, dissension and jealousies among +men, raged like a storm over the land, but all this turmoil of a +fevered age was unable to check the steady, rapid progress of at least +this monument to a dead saint's memory; and we perceive yet another +proof of the extraordinary influence of St. Francis, who was able by +the devotion and admiration he excited, to inspire all with some of +his own love of the beautiful, which has lasted in Italy, from the +days of his ministry, through centuries of both faith and unbelief +down to modern times. But from this arose a strange event; this lover +of solitude, who during his life sought only for humiliation and +obscurity and loved best the poor and deserted way-side sanctuaries, +was laid to rest in one of the most beautiful Italian churches of that +time. + + [Illustration: THE LOWER CHURCH] + +While wandering through the Lower Church, marvelling at the delicate +friezes of tiny heads, flowers and winged horses, which frame every +fresco; at the great spreading arches--built for strength; the vaulted +roof of deep azure blue with dull golden stars upon its surface, +looming above the paintings and dimming their brilliancy by the +shadows which lurk in its depth, we feel that within the shelter of +its perpetual twilight this is a place to pray in. It is truly the +home of St. Francis, and notwithstanding its richness and vast +splendour his spirit is here, the certainty that he once had dwelt +upon the earth is felt. + +Few ever stop to look at the walls of the nave, and indeed, upon +coming out of the sunlight, the darkness and gloom for some minutes is +oppressive and but little can be distinguished in the gloom. It was +almost by chance that we one day noticed some frescoes, ruined and +faded, just outside the Chapel of St. Martin. They are of no beauty as +works of art, indeed they are rather ugly, but their interest lies in +showing us that from the very beginning artists had endeavoured, +however feebly, to depict the legend of St. Francis.[68] On the left +wall of the nave, outside the Chapel of St. Martin, is a fresco +representing the Sermon to the Birds with the same idea of composition +which was adopted later by Giotto; the saint slightly bends towards +the birds upon the ground, his companion stands behind, while the +single tree adds a certain solemnity to the scene. The figures are +large and ungainly, with feet terrible to behold, the lines are hard, +and there is little feeling of movement or life; yet we look at it +with reverence and hope, for we know that, with all the ugliness and +stiffness of workmanship, the artist was vehemently striving in this +dark church to shake off the hampering chains of worn-out traditions, +and find for himself something nearer to the truth. And as we look at +this one and at the next, representing St. Francis receiving the +Stigmata, our thoughts are carried to other renderings of these +scenes, and we say with light hearts: "After this poor craftsman comes +Giotto, King of Tuscan painters." + +These are the only two frescoes illustrating the life of the saint, +though there may have been others which were destroyed when the walls +of the nave were broken down in order to form entrances to the +chapels, added to the main building about 1300. But on the right side, +beginning outside the Chapel of San Stefano, are parts of several +scenes from the New Testament; a crowd of women and men standing round +the cross, a group of women, the Descent from the Cross, a Pieta, a +landscape with houses and a decoration of circular ornaments outside +the Capella di Sta. Maria Maddalena, generally attributed to Giunta +Pisano, thus giving them too early a date.[69] + +To us their interest seems rather to lie in that they plainly show how +the earliest masters, whilst endeavouring to illustrate the franciscan +legend, failed so completely to satisfy their employers that they were +bidden to stay their hand and continue to paint the well-worn theme of +the history of the world's redemption, which required less invention +than the legend of St. Francis, where a new out-look on life had to be +acquired. So the franciscans, failing to find a painter who could +illustrate their founder's life to their satisfaction, contented +themselves with other things, perhaps hoping that in course of time +one might arise who could do justice to the theme. Well it was that +they waited. + +Shortly after these frescoes had been completed in the Lower Church, +art received a new impulse (one likes to think that the struggles of +the first artist towards something better and more true to life had to +do with this); others came, with Giotto at their head, and painted +over some of these early efforts, leaving us only Cimabue's great +Madonna, a few ruined frescoes, a Byzantine pattern, and stray touches +of colour in dark corners of the church to remind us of these first +decorators of San Francesco. + +We get a melancholy picture from Vasari of the depths to which art had +sunk, and of the degenerate artists still following a worn-out +tradition until it became as a dead thing in their hands deprived of +all inspiration, when "in the year 1240, by the will of God, Giovanni +Cimabue ... was born in the city of Florence to give the first light +to the art of painting." + +Cimabue is rightly called the Father of Italian art, as he represented +a new era among Italian masters who were awakening to their country's +needs; when men, filled with strange restless energy, grew tired of +the Byzantine Madonna with her court of stiff, lifeless saints, and +looked for something in closer touch with their mood and aspirations. + +Round the name of Cimabue are grouped many charming legends belonging +to a time when the people, anxious to possess the new thing their +hearts craved for, looked eagerly and critically at an artist's work. +There is the story of how when he had finished the picture of the +Virgin Mary, the Florentines came to his workshop, and, expecting much +from him, yet were amazed at the wonderful beauty of the grand +Madonna, and carried the picture with rejoicing, to the sound of +music, to the Church of Sta. Maria Novella, where it still hangs in +the dark chapel of the Ruccellai; a street in Florence down which the +picture passed being called Borgo Allegri, because of the gladness of +that day. It is only a legend, and one that has been oft repeated, and +as often doubted. Now the existence of Cimabue is even questioned by +some, but whoever invented the story understood the great change which +had come among the people and into art. It was only right that in the +church of the saint who personified the feeling of the age, caught its +spirit, and sent the impulse of the people even further, should centre +all the first efforts towards this awakening and revival, until, step +by step, the masterpieces of Giotto were reached. When we remember +this, the large fresco of Cimabue in the right transept of the Lower +Church becomes more full of beauty and meaning.[70] The great spirit +of her presence fills the church, her majesty and nobility is that of +the ideal Madonna, grave to sadness, thinking, as her eyes look +steadily out upon the world, what future years would bring to the +Child seated on her lap, who stretches out a baby hand to clasp her +veil. All the angels round the throne sway towards her; in their heavy +plaits of hair shines a dull red light, and in their wings and on the +Madonna's gown are mauve and russet shades like the colours of +autumnal oaks.... "To this day," says Mr Ruskin, "among all the Mater +Dolorosas of Christianity, Cimabue's at Assisi is the noblest; nor did +any painter after him add one link to the chain of thought with which +he summed the creation of the earth, and preached its redemption." + +St. Francis has not been forgotten in this fresco, but Cimabue having +given all his art to make the Virgin and her choir of angels +beautiful, his figure is not quite one's idea of the ethereal Umbrian +preacher, and his being there at all spoils the symmetry of the +grouping. It is not improbable that the figure of St. Clare stood on +the other side, and was erased when the Chapel of Sta. Maria Maddalena +was built, and the ornamental border painted round this fresco, which +cut off part of the wings of the two angels on the left of the Virgin. + +Vasari vaguely tells us of some frescoes from the lives of Jesus +Christ and of St. Francis, painted by Cimabue in the Lower Church, and +later writers have thought these must have been destroyed to make +room for Giotto's work. If paintings were there at all they were more +likely to have been the work of inferior artists, for it seems +improbable that Giotto, coming to Assisi for the first time when he +was quite a youth, should destroy any work of his master, who was +still alive, in order to substitute his own early efforts. + + +THE UPPER CHURCH + +Not only was the Upper Church essentially fitted for fresco painting, +but it required an elaborate scheme of decoration, just as a setting, +however perfect, needs a gem to complete it; and it almost seems as +though "Jacopo" had stayed his hand, with the intention that here, at +least, architecture should be subservient to wall decoration, and had +foreseen the need of large spaces to be covered with paintings, as +brightly coloured, as clear, and as closely set together as are the +colours upon a butterfly's wings. + +"It was here, in the Upper Church of Assisi," says Mr Roger Fry, "that +the Italian genius first attained to self-expression in the language +of monumental painting, a language which no other European nation, +except the Greeks, has ever mastered." But the question as to who were +the predecessors of Giotto, and when exactly they came, can never, we +think, be answered; for the time is not far off when these splendid +ruins of early art will have totally faded away, or, what is +infinitely worse, be covered with still thicker layers of paint than +the "restorer" has already laid upon them. + + [Illustration: LOOKING THROUGH THE DOORS OF THE UPPER CHURCH TOWARDS + THE PORTA S. GIACOMO AND THE CASTLE] + +Vasari finds no difficulty about the matter, declaring, to his own +satisfaction and for the instruction of future generations, that every +fresco in the apse and transepts, together with the series relating to +the history of the Jews and the life of Christ, are by Cimabue. But +then Cimabue was a Tuscan, and Vasari, the painter of Tuscan Arezzo, +was determined to give as much glory to his fatherland as he could. We +too would give all possible honour to Cimabue, but are bound to follow +the opinion of later critics, who less prejudiced and hasty in their +criticisms than Vasari, see the work of many hands in all these +frescoes; so we have gathered together a few notes concerning them +from various authorities to help the traveller to form his own ideas +upon the subject. The theme is too endless to attempt in a small space +to give more than a very brief summary of the chief facts. + +_Frescoes of the Choir and Transepts._--These may be divided into two +distinct classes, those of the north transept, which are older and +inferior to those of the south transept and choir. Herr Thode +attributes their difference to the fact that while all are the work of +Cimabue, the frescoes in the north transept were painted when he was +quite young, while the rest belong to a later period, when he had +attained his full powers. The Crucifixion of the north transept, one +of the most ruined, reminds us somewhat of works by Margaritone which +may be studied, without much pleasure, in most Italian galleries. The +figures standing round the Cross are short, with small heads and large +hands, and not even in the fainting Madonna is there the slightest +charm. In the Martyrdom of St. Peter, on the next wall, it is curious +to note the similarity of treatment to Giotto's fresco at Rome of the +same subject. The Saint, head downwards upon the Cross without any +group of people would have made but a dull composition; so both +artists added an obelisk on either side to relieve the monotony of +line. + +Then follows the scene of Simon Magus being borne upwards by demons +with bat-like wings; and upon the next wall, beneath the triforium, is +represented the death of Ananias and Sapphira, and St. Peter curing +the lame before the Temple, where the figures are certainly more +majestic and, according to Herr Thode, distinctly show the hand of +Cimabue. + +Behind the papal throne are medallions of the friend and patron of +St. Francis, Gregory IX, and of Innocent IV, who consecrated the +Basilica. The frescoes represent the life of the Virgin, but they are +all too faded to be enjoyed, save that of the Coronation on the right +wall, just above the choir stalls; the Virgin is seated upon a wooden +throne with Christ by her side and a group of apostles and spectators +beneath. There is a striking resemblance in the drawing and form of +the standing figures to those in the Crucifixion of the south +transept. This, though very ruined and blackened in parts, showing no +other trace of colour than a faint film of golden yellow, has still +the power to make us feel that once, long ago, it was a fine work, +worthy of a great master. Weeping angels fly above the Cross, some +with outstretched hands, while others veil their eyes from the sight +of the suffering Saviour; the Magdalen, her arms thrown up above her +head, is seen in strong relief against the sky, and contrasting with +this dramatic gesture, is the figure of the Virgin, erect and still, +her hand clasped in that of St. John. The whole conception is +dignified, replete with dramatic feeling of the nobler kind, and has +been thought worthy, by Herr Thode, to be put down as the finest of +Cimabue's creations. + +The remaining frescoes deal with scenes from the Apocalypse, but they +are so ruined that it is a thankless task for any, except the student, +to try and distinguish each separately. Indeed after a minute +examination of so many ruined works of art, a certain sadness and +weariness is felt, but if the pilgrim has time to rest awhile in a +quiet corner of the stalls and look at choir and transepts solely for +their colour, he will gain for himself many beautiful memories not +easily forgotten. It is a vision of youthful saints, of men with +lances hurrying down a rocky mountain side, of angels trumpeting to +the four ends of the earth, and out of this medley of shadowy forms +in fading frescoes, like sunlight breaking through a mist with golden +light, loom the mighty angels of Cimabue. Their heads are crowned by a +heavy mass of auburn hair, their wings slightly lifted, as though they +were on earth but for a short space, and they seem as remote from +mortals as the Sphynx herself in their dignity and calm repose. To +Cimabue belongs the conception of such grave and strangely beautiful +creations, winged messengers of strength, who come midway between the +stiff Byzantine figures, and the swift-moving angels of Giotto and the +cherub children forms of later Umbrian and Venetian schools. + +_The Nave._--All writers upon the subject agree that here the frescoes +show no trace of Cimabue's style, but are from the hand of his +contemporaries and pupils, who worked together in unfolding the +history of the Jews and the world's redemption. If it is impossible to +hint even at the names of these artists, the most hurried traveller +must notice the different character which marks the legend of the New +Testament from that of the Old, where the work of talented copyists of +classical works of art differ from that of others who kept nearer to +the style of Cimabue, instilling into it more or less life, as their +individual powers permitted. Herein lies much of the history of early +Italian art, but the few remaining frescoes, especially on the left +wall, have been so terribly over-painted that the work of the critic +is rendered well-nigh hopeless. + +Beginning at the right wall by the High Altar we have probably +the work of a fine Byzantine master, or at least of one who must +have copied a Greek masterpiece. In the Creation of the World, +God, represented as a young man seated on a globe of fire, is, +with a gesture of his hand, casting upon the earth his last +creation--man--who, still suffused with celestial colour, is borne +across the sea towards the land. A ram, a bull and a lion besport +themselves upon the shore, enormous birds sit on the bushes, and the +sea is already full of every kind of fish; slender pink clouds are in +the sky, and the distant hills on the horizon have faded into shades +of blue-green, like the landscape of an Umbrian picture. + +The nude figures of Adam and Eve in the Expulsion from Paradise are +wonderfully good for the time, and the manner in which the angels are +kicking them out of the garden of Eden is somewhat unusual. + +Beginning again at the first bay window but on the lower row of +frescoes, in the Building of the Ark Noah is seated, an obelisk-shaped +rock rising behind him, and gives his directions with a majestic air +to his sons as to the sawing and placing of the great beams. A man, +standing by his side, completes the composition, which has much +dignity and finish. + +The fresco of the Sacrifice of Isaac, with Abraham raising his sword +above him his body slightly thrown back, is perhaps one of the most +striking of the series. The wind has caught his yellow robe, which +unfurls itself against a landscape of sandy hills. + +All that remains of the next are three angels, whose grandeur can only +be compared to those of Cimabue in the south transept. The remaining +subjects on this side are by a different master, who followed closely +the best classical traditions, and succeeds in giving extraordinary +repose to his compositions as well as meaning to the various figures. + +In Jacob before Isaac, Isaac is waiting for his dish of venison, and +Jacob's attitude denotes uncertainty as to the reception he is likely +to receive, while his mother, lifting the curtain of her husband's +bed, seems to encourage her son. + +The next fresco is similar in composition, but better preserved. Here +we feel the blindness of Isaac, the perplexity of Esau, who cannot +understand why his father refuses to bless him, and the fear of +Rebecca, who has stepped back, knowing that her fraud must now be +discovered. In this composition the artist has strictly kept to rules +laid down by his predecessors, and the result, if a little stiff and +wanting in originality, is yet pleasing and restful to look at, +presenting a great contrast to the somewhat exaggerated movements +expressed in the preceding ones. + +The last of the series is the steward finding the cup in Benjamin's +sack, though greatly ruined it still shows much beauty of composition. + +Upon the opposite wall, by the altar, is depicted the life of Christ +by followers of Cimabue, but the few frescoes that remain are so +mutilated and repainted, that it is impossible to say much about them, +or even to imagine what they may once have been. + +"In the Capture," writes Messrs Crowe and Cavacaselle, "the Saviour is +of a superior size to the rest of those around him, and of a stern but +serene bearing. Trivial conception marks the scene of the Saviour +carrying the Cross." + +The Pieta, one of the last, is evidently by a finer scholar of +Cimabue, and the woman coming round the rocks resembles slightly the +figure of Rebecca in the two frescoes on the opposite side. "The +composition," write the same authors, "is more like that which Giotto +afterwards conceived than any other before or since"; but the colossal +figure of Christ destroys the harmony of the scene. + +The arch at the end of the nave is painted to represent a series of +niches, in each of which stands the figure of a saint, all are much +repainted, as are the medallions of St. Peter and St. Paul by the +door. The Descent of the Holy Spirit is greatly ruined, and in the +Ascension the _intonaco_ has peeled off, showing the bricks, so that +the apostles have the appearance of looking over a wall. + +The ceiling is frescoed in three different places by other masters, +whose names have not come down to us. Between the transepts and nave +the four Evangelists, seated outside the gates of towns, are so +utterly ruined and blackened by time and damp that it is barely worth +craning one's neck to look at them.[71] But the four medallions of +Christ, the Madonna, St. John the Baptist and St. Francis, which +ornament the centre of the nave, are among the most beautiful things +in the church, and quite perfect as decoration. At each corner of the +spandrels stands an angel upon a globe, with wings uplifted, delicate +in outline and brilliantly coloured, while the whole is bordered by +the most exquisite design of blossoms and green foliage rising out of +slender vases, which mingle with cupids, angels, winged horses and +rabbits on a dull red ground. It must have been painted by one who had +learned his art from the same source whence the decorative painters of +Pompeii drew their inspiration. + +It is not an easy thing to fit entire figures seated on large marble +thrones into triangular spaces, and so the artist found, who in the +groined ceiling nearest the door had to paint the Doctors of the +Church, Sts. Jerome, Gregory, Ambrose and Augustin, dictating their +epistles to busy clerks. But there is much that is charming in them, +though as decoration they partly fail, and a resemblance may be found +to the frescoes of Isaac and his sons, which seem to have influenced +Giotto in his paintings of old men. + +Vasari's enthusiasm was roused when he looked upon these endless +paintings, and he tells us that: "This work, truly grand and rich, and +admirably well executed, must, I conceive, in those times have +astonished the world, the more so that painting had for so long been +sunk in such obscurity: and to me, who saw it once more in 1563, it +appeared most beautiful, as I thought how Cimabue, in such darkness +could have discovered so much light." + + * * * * * + +It would be well, before leaving, to look at the windows of the Upper +Church, which are among the oldest in Italy, and, according to Herr +Burckhardt, the most beautiful. As of most things connected with San +Francesco, little is known about them; Vasari says they were designed +by the painters of the frescoes; an opinion partly held by Herr Thode, +who sees a great resemblance to the style of Cimabue in the right-hand +window of the choir (the centre one is modern) with scenes from the +lives of Abraham, David and Christ, of most beautiful colour and +design. The left window, belonging to the same period, contains naive +scenes from the Old Testament, amongst which (the sixth from the top +of the left half) is Jonah emerging from a blue-green whale the colour +of the waves, and possessed of large white eyes. + +Those of the transepts of the same date are even finer and more +beautifully coloured. Medallions of geometrical patterns of exquisite +design and hue ornament the left-hand window of the north transept, +while that on the right contains scenes from the Old Testament and the +life of Christ; in both of these, according to Herr Thode, the +influence of Cimabue is apparent. + +The left window of the south transept contains seven scenes from the +Creation and seven from the lives of Adam and Eve, who (in the last +two divisions of the right half) are being driven out of Eden, and, +spade in hand, are working at the foot of a tree. The eight saints of +the right window, seated majestically on gothic thrones ornamented +with spires, and dressed in rose-coloured, red and green garments, +have certainly the appearance of being, as Herr Thode suggests, of a +style even anterior to Cimabue. + +Half of the bay window on the left, looking towards the altar, is the +work of the Umbrian school of the time of Fiorenzo di Lorenzo (there +is a Madonna in a blue mantle, and St. Onofrio clothed in +vine-leaves), while the left half, with medallions composed of very +small pieces of glass representing scenes from the early life of +Christ, are perhaps the most beautiful, and certainly the oldest, in +the church, and can even be compared to the stained glass of French +cathedrals. The third window (the second has suffered considerably, +and what is left of the original belongs to the fifteenth century) has +been a good deal restored, but the large angels with blue and purple +wings standing in an arch, behind which a little town is seen, are +very fine, and below them is a curious small figure of St. Francis +floating in front of a colossal Christ, belonging also to the +fifteenth century. + +Very beautiful are the two saints beneath gothic arches in the last +window, and the priests in their rose-coloured stoles, the bishops in +crimson and gold, and the other figures of warriors and saints. + +The right half of the bay window near the door upon the opposite +side, belonging also to the Umbrian school, contains some charming +scenes from the life of St. Anthony, while on the left are incidents +of the life of St. Francis. The whole is remarkable for delicate rose +colours, greens and pale blues, and a total absence of the strong deep +tones of the older and finer windows; but they are very beautiful of +their kind, like patches of pale sunshine in the church. + +The next two windows betray a more ancient style in the fine figures +of the apostles (their heads, alas, are modern), and in the scenes +from their lives, which are of a deeper tone than the former one; but +even more beautiful is the last window, which does not seem to have +been restored within the last three centuries, and where the colours +standing out from a creamy background are very lovely. The two large +and grand figures of two apostles are believed by Herr Thode to be +from drawings by Cimabue. + +Both Francesco di Terranuova and Valentino da Udine were employed to +repair all the windows about 1476, large sums being expended, +principally by the Popes who never ceased to patronise the franciscan +Basilica. A most comical appearance is given by the distressing +additions made in our own time of modern heads upon bodies of the +thirteenth or fourteenth century. Until very lately an exquisite rose +window was to be seen over the eastern door, now replaced by white +glass; one would like to know how it so mysteriously disappeared and +where it now is. + +No pains had been spared to make San Francesco as lovely in every +detail as the brain of man could devise, and it is most remarkable how +the frescoes belong to the general idea of the building as though +every artist had thought as much of this unity as of the individual +perfection of his work. The beautiful papal throne in the choir, of +white marble encrusted in mosaic with its frieze of strange animals +in low relief, its arms supported by red marble lions, is almost a +replica of the Soldan's throne in Giotto's fresco, and was designed by +Fuccio Fiorentino in 1347, when the architecture that Giotto delighted +in was still the recognised style in Italy.[72] The marble and mosaic +altar is of the same date, and the octagonal pulpit of sculptured +stone, with saints in small tabernacles, spiral columns and designs of +leaves slightly tinted, supposed also to be by Fuccio, is placed at +the corner of the wall of the nave looking as if it had grown there. +The columns supporting the arched gallery round the church have each +been painted to represent mauve and rose-coloured marbles, and there +is not a single space in all the building which has not been decorated +to harmonise with the frescoes, giving a perfect sense of infinite +completeness and beauty, to which time has added by mellowing +everything into a pale orange colour--the colour of Assisi. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[68] It is difficult to say how free a hand the artists were allowed +when called in to execute work for any church, but probably, in the +case of San Francesco, they were obliged to illustrate precisely the +scenes and events chosen by the friars, who in the case of the saint's +legend would be very severe judges, requiring quite the best that the +artist could produce. + +[69] Later documents of the convent speak of a crucifix painted in +1236 by Giunta Pisano with a portrait of Brother Elias "taken from +life" and the following inscription: + + Frater Elias fieri fecit + Jesu Christe pie + Misere pecantis Helie + Giunta Pisanus me pinxit. A.D.M. MCCXXXVI. + +It hung from a beam in the Upper Church until 1624 when it suddenly +disappeared, and it seems to have inspired Padre Angeli (author of the +"Collis Paradisi") with the theory that Giunta Pisano was the first to +paint in San Francesco, ascribing to him, as some have continued to +do, the frescoes in the choir and transept of the Upper Church. Messrs +Crowe and Cavacaselle say, on what authority it is impossible to +discover, that the middle aisle of the Lower Church "seems to have +been painted between 1225 and 1250," ignoring the fact that Pope +Gregory only laid the foundation stone of the Basilica in 1228. +Without trying to find such early dates for the history of art at +Assisi, it appears to us quite wonderful enough that some fifty or +sixty years after the ceremony of the consecration in 1253, Cimabue +and his contemporaries--Giotto and his Tuscan followers--had completed +their work in both churches. + +[70] _Right_ transept is always synonymous with _South_ transept, but +in this case, as San Francesco is built with the altar facing to the +west because it was necessary to have the entrance away from the +precipitous side of the hill, the _Right_ transept looks to the +_North_, the _Left_ to the _South_, and we have thought it easier to +keep to the actual position of the church in describing the different +frescoes. Herr Thode in his book has done this, but it may be well to +observe that Messrs Crowe and Cavacaselle refer to the transepts and +chapels as if they faced the parts of the compass in the usual way. + +[71] To facilitate seeing the paintings of the ceiling, both here and +in the Lower Church, it would be well to use a hand-glass, a simple +and most effectual addition to the comfort of the traveller. + +[72] Mr Ruskin says that the gable of the bishop's throne is "of the +exact period when the mosaic workers of the thirteenth century at Rome +adopted rudely the masonry of the north. Briefly this is a Greek +temple pediment, in which, doubtful of their power to carve figures +beautiful enough, they cut a trefoiled hold for ornament, and bordered +the edge with a harlequinade of mosaic. They then call to their aid +the Greek sea waves, and let the surf of the AEgean climb along the +slopes, and toss itself at the top into a fleur-de-lys." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +_The Paintings of Giotto and his School in the Lower Church_ + + "... Cimabue thought + To lord it over painting's field; and now + The cry is Giotto's, and his name eclipsed." + DANTE, _Purgatory_, xi., Cary's translation. + + +The work of Cimabue, grand and noble as it is, yet gives the +impression of belonging to remote times, between which and that of +Giotto, his pupil, a great gulf is set. In both churches at Assisi we +pass from the early efforts of an awakening age to the work of one, +who, if not the first to see the light, was the first to discover the +true principles of art, to give it life, and to found a school whence +a long series of painters came to carry on for generations the lessons +he had taught. Cimabue did wonders for the century in which he lived; +of Giotto, even granting that his drawing was sometimes faulty, and +the types of faces he painted were not always beautiful, it would be +an insult to express such condescending praise; and even a hasty study +of his frescoes in San Francesco must soon explain the everlasting +sway he holds, now, as in those first years when his work seemed +little short of miraculous to the wondering Florentines. + + [Illustration: PLAN OF THE LOWER CHURCH AND MONASTERY OF SAN FRANCESCO + AT ASSISI] + +Some fourteen miles to the north of Florence, among the hills of the +Mugello, lies the scattered hamlet of Vespignano where Giotto Bondone +was born of a poor peasant family in the year 1265. Even at an +early age, Vasari says, the boy was remarkable for the vivacity and +quick intelligence which endeared him not only to his parents, but to +all who knew him in the village and country round. He passed his +childhood among them, knowing nothing of the city just across the +hills, but learning much, during the long days while he wandered forth +to tend his father's sheep, which was helpful to him in after years to +preserve his straightforward outlook upon life and the strength and +freshness of a nature that loved the sunburnt valleys and the freedom +of the shepherd's existence. + +When Giotto was ten years old it happened that Cimabue, on his way +from Florence to Vespignano upon a matter of business, found him +seated by the roadside, his flock gathered near, busily employed in +drawing the outline of a sheep from life upon a smooth piece of rock. +Struck by the boy's industry in the pursuit of art and his evident +cleverness, Cimabue hastened to obtain the father's consent to adopt +and make an artist of him. Leaving the old life in the peasant's +cottage for ever, Giotto now turned south along new roads, and with +Cimabue by his side, saw for the first time the city of Florence, +beautiful as she lay upon the banks of the Arno in a setting of wooded +hills. + +The progress he made under Cimabue's guidance, who taught him all he +knew, was marvellous indeed. At ten years of age a shepherd tracing +idle fancies on the stones, then for a few years an apprentice in a +Florentine workshop grinding colours with the others for his master's +big Madonnas; while ten years later he had already gained the title of +Master and was a famous painter, courted by popes and kings, and +leaving masterpieces upon the walls of churches throughout Italy, +that people of all times and countries have come and paused awhile to +see. + +Let us suppose it was the air of Florence, which, according to Vasari, +"generates a desire for glory and honour and gives a natural quickness +to the perceptions of men," that made Giotto a perfect Florentine, +alert, witty, and ever ready with a caustic repartee to anyone who +bandied words with him. But though other influences were at work +around him, and new images crowded upon his active brain, he kept +undimmed the vision of his mountain valley, of the fields, of the days +spent in his native village, and, with the eyes of a shepherd he +continued to look on all the incidents of human life; he saw the +grandeur, the tragedy, the weaknesses, aye, and the humour too, in +everything that surrounded him, setting it all down in his frescoes in +his own simple and original way. In a few words Mr Ruskin has touched +upon the keynotes of Giotto's character when he says: ... "his mind +was one of the most healthy, kind and active that ever informed a +human frame. His love of beauty was entirely free from weakness; his +love of truth untinged by severity; his industry constant without +impatience; his workmanship accurate without formalism; his temper +serene and yet playful; his imagination exhaustive without +extravagance; and his faith firm without superstition. I do not know, +in the annals of art, such another example of happy, practical, +unerring, and benevolent power." + +Such was the man who came to Assisi to take up the work left +uncompleted by Cimabue and his contemporaries. Giotto was then almost +unknown, not having executed any of those great works upon which his +fame now rests, and it is not unlikely that the recommendation by +Cimabue of his promising pupil to the friars of San Francesco led to +his being called there when barely twenty years of age.[73] Opinions +differ as to which were his first works and whether he began in the +Lower or in the Upper Church, and as there are absolutely no documents +relating to the subject, and Vasari is of no help in the matter of +dates or precise details, the only way to come to any conclusion is to +group these frescoes according to their style. We do not wish to force +any arbitrary opinions on this matter, and have simply placed Giotto's +work in the order that it seems to us more likely to have been +executed. Those who disagree have only to transpose the chapters as +they think fit. The chief thing is to enjoy the frescoes and speculate +as little as possible on all the contradictory volumes written about +them. + +_Right Transept._--According to Messrs. Crowe and Cavalcaselle these +frescoes are by Giotto, and Mr Bernhard Berenson is of the opinion +that they belong to his early period, and were executed by him before +the franciscans knew what his powers were, and whether they could +entrust to him the more difficult task of illustrating the legend of +St. Francis. The subjects are taken from the early life of Christ +which had been depicted many times in preceding centuries, but +although Giotto attempted no very elaborate or original manner of +treatment, his style was rapidly developing, and we have in some of +the scenes little traits of nature which only belong to him. On the +outside of the Chapel del Sacramento, over the arch, he painted the +Annunciation with such charm, dignity and harmony of outline that it +would be difficult to find a more perfect conception of religious +feeling even among the pictures of Angelico. Unfortunately it can only +be seen in the early afternoon when the light comes in through the +windows of S. Giovanni; the Madonna rising with queenly grace and the +angel hastening forward with his message then stand out from their +dark background like living people, and show how, from the first, +Giotto attained the power of giving vitality to his figures. His +Madonna is not like a graven image to be worshipped from afar; she is +essentially the earthly mother of the Saviour, and Giotto, while +treating her story with dignity and a certain sense of remoteness, +tells it by the simplest means, endowing her with the maternal +tenderness of a young peasant girl whom we meet upon the roads +carrying her child to lay beneath the shadow of a tree while she goes +to her work in the fields close by. + + [Illustration: CHOIR AND TRANSEPTS OF THE LOWER CHURCH] + +The Visitation (on the same wall as Cimabue's Madonna) is one of those +frescoes that we remember like a scene we have witnessed, so naturally +does the Virgin move forward, followed by a group of handmaidens, and +hold out her arms to greet Elizabeth who is bending with such +reverence to salute her cousin. They stand at the entrance of a dainty +house inlaid with mosaic which is set among the bare rocks with only a +stunted tree here and there. But Giotto does not forget to place a +flowering plant in the balcony just as the peasants have always done +in his mountain home. + +It is interesting to compare the next fresco of the Nativity with the +same subject in the Upper Church, treated by a follower of Cimabue +where the same idea is depicted, but with what a difference. Though +two episodes are placed in one picture, Giotto succeeds in giving a +harmonious composition, which, if a little stiff and over symmetrical, +is full of charm and beauty. The angels singing to the new-born Infant +and those apprising the shepherds of the news hover like a flight of +birds above the barn. They are in truth the winged spirits of the air, +"birds of God" Dante calls them, and thus Giotto paints them. As +though to accentuate the sadness and poverty of Christ's birthplace, +the barn, all open and exposed to the night breezes, is laid in a +lonely landscape with a high rock rising behind it. Beyond in the +valley, a leafless tree grows upon the bank of a calm stream where the +heavenly light from the angels is seen to play like moonbeams in its +waters. + +Messrs. Crowe and Cavalcaselle hold that the Visit of the Magi was +"never painted with more feeling, more naturally or beautifully +composed than here"; and Giotto must have felt he could add little to +the perfection of the scene when in later years he painted the same +subject at Padua. All interest is centred on the Child, who, bending +forward from the Virgin's arms, lays a tiny hand in blessing upon the +head of the aged king. Curiously enough St. Joseph has been forgotten, +and instead an angel stands upon either side to receive the offerings +of the Magi. + +But to us the Purification seems even more beautiful in sentiment, +composition and the perfection of religious feeling. Giotto was the +first to conceive the idea of the Infant Jesus turning from Simeon +towards the Virgin Mary as if anxious to come back to her, while she +holds out her arms to invite him with a naive attitude of gentle +motherhood. + +From charming frescoes like these we come to the grand and powerful +scene of the Crucifixion. Every figure tells a different tale of +sorrow; of tender pity, as in the group of women round the fainting +Virgin; of wonder that Christ should be allowed to suffer, as in the +gesture of the woman with arms thrown back and St. John who wrings his +hands almost fiercely; of sympathy expressed by the Magdalene, as she +kisses the pierced feet; and of hope and prayer, in the kneeling +figures of St. Francis and his brethren. Even more vehement in their +grief are the angels, who rending their garments fly away with arms +stretched out as if unable to bear the sight of so much pain. How +rapidly they turn and circle in the air; they are not borne along by +the winds, but trusting to their wings they rise with the swift, sure +flight of a swallow.[74] + +Upon the opposite wall the early life of the Virgin is continued with +the Flight into Egypt, which bears a strong resemblance to the fresco +at Padua. There is the same sense that St. Joseph, his bundle slung on +a stick over his shoulder like a pilgrim, is really walking along and +in a moment must disappear from sight; a palm tree bends sideways to +the breeze, and above two angels seem to cleave the air as they +hurriedly lead on the travellers to exile and safety. Only the Virgin +sits calm and unruffled. In the Massacre of the Innocents Giotto has +happily not painted the full horror of the scene, but has aimed rather +at suggesting the tragedy than at giving its actual representation. +Very beautiful are the women to the left mourning for their dead +children. One rocks her child in her arms and tries to awaken him with +her kisses, whilst another raises her hands in despair as she gazes +upon the dead child upon her knees. + +The Return of the Holy Family from Egypt, though only showing a group +of houses within surrounding walls and a gateway and a group of +people, suggests better than a more complicated composition would have +done the scene of a home-coming after long absence. + +The Preaching of the Child in the Temple completes the series, and +like the one at Padua, it is the least interesting of Giotto's +paintings. + +There are three other frescoes in the Transept which most people, with +reason, attribute to Giotto, representing miracles of St. Francis. +The first refers to a child of the Spini family of Florence who fell +from a tower of the Palazzo Spini (now Feroni), and was being carried +to the grave, when the intercession of St. Francis was invoked and he +appeared among them to restore the child to life. Part of the fresco +has been lost owing to the ruthless way in which the walls were cut +into for the purpose of erecting an organ--a barbarous act difficult +to understand. But the principal group of people are seen outside an +exquisite basilica of marble and mosaic, and each figure can be +studied with pleasure as they have not been mutilated by the +"restorer's" usual layers of thick paint. Seldom has Giotto painted +lovelier women than those kneeling in the foreground, their profiles +of delicate and pure outline recalling a border of white flowers. Near +them is a figure bearing so strong a resemblance to Dante, that we +would fain believe that Giotto meant to represent the type of a true +Florentine in a portrait of the poet. Above the staircase is a fine +picture of St. Francis resting his hand upon the shoulder of a crowned +skeleton "in which," says Messrs. Crowe and Cavalcaselle, "a much +deeper study of anatomy is revealed than has ever been conceded to +Giotto." The oval face of the saint, with clear brown colouring, is +very beautiful, strongly resembling the St. Francis in glory in the +fresco above the high altar. By him also is the half-length figure of +Christ in the vaulting of the window. + +Although the two remaining frescoes deal with the death and +resurrection of a child, they probably have nothing to do with the +Spini miracle; the one where the dead child is lying in the arms of +two men has unfortunately been so repainted as to take all character +away from the faces, and we can only admire the general grouping, the +fine gestures of the weeping women, and the grand modelling of the +figures. Only a great artist could make one feel, by such simple +means, the strain of the dead weight upon the men's arms. The man to +the left (the second from the one holding his finger to his chin) is +believed to be the portrait of Giotto; if it is, the painter has not +flattered himself, and we can believe Dante's tale that he was +remarkably ugly, and had six hideous children. On the other side of +the arch the legend continues; a procession of white-robed monks and +sorrowing friends approach the house to which the child has been +taken, but in the meantime St. Francis has called him back to life, +and a man, evidently in great excitement over the miracle, is hurrying +down the steps to announce what has occurred. The story is so well and +simply told that, although we have failed to find any account of it, +it is easy to understand the sequence of the two frescoes, and the +events they relate. + +_Allegories by Giotto in the ceiling over the High Altar._--The task +was now given to Giotto to depict by the medium of allegory the three +virtues of the franciscan order and St. Francis in glory. These +virtues, the rocks upon which the franciscan order was so securely +founded, had been preached by St. Francis to the people of Italy with +the extraordinary results we have seen, and now Giotto came to take up +the theme and, by means of his immortal art, perpetuate it as long as +the great basilica lasts, and pilgrims come to pray and read upon the +walls, in a language even the unlettered can understand, the lessons +taught by the Umbrian preacher seven centuries ago. Apart from the +fact of his genius, it was a fortunate thing that he should have been +chosen for the task. A man of weaker and more impressionable +temperament might have been led into such exaggerations of feeling and +sentiment as we find in the Lorenzetti frescoes of the transept. +Giotto came not many years after the Flagellants, roaming in hordes +through the land calling for mercy and beating their half-naked bodies +with leathern thongs, had spread a spirit of fanaticism which +threatened to destroy the healthy influence of the teaching of St. +Francis. But the mountain-born painter, impervious to such influences, +kept his faith pure amidst the turmoil and unrest; and much as he +admired the saint (it is said he belonged to the Third order), he +looked upon his teaching from the practical point of view and was by +no means carried away by the poetical manner in which it had been +presented to the people. Nothing shows the mind and character of +Giotto so plainly as some lines he wrote on poverty, most likely after +painting his famous Allegories when he had an opportunity to observe +how little the manners and customs of mediaeval monks corresponded with +the spirit of their founder. Every line of the poem is full of common +sense and knowledge of human frailty. Many, Giotto remarks somewhat +sarcastically, praise poverty; but he does not himself recommend it as +virtue is seldom co-existent with extremes; and voluntary poverty, +upon which he touches in a few caustic lines, is the cause of many +ills, and rarely brings peace to those who have chosen her as a mate +and who too often study how to avoid her company; thus it happens that +under the false mantle of the gentlest of lambs appears the fiercest +wolf, and by such hypocrisy is the world corrupted.[75] + + [Illustration: THE MARRIAGE OF ST. FRANCIS WITH POVERTY + (D. ANDERSON--_photo_)] + +Giotto, an artist before he was a moralist, undertook to carry out the +wishes of his patrons, and thought only how he could best fill the +triangular spaces of the ceiling with the figures of saints and +angels. It was by no means an easy task, but Giotto succeeded so well +that these four frescoes are reckoned among his masterpieces and +the wonders of the thirteenth century. They certainly show a marked +advance upon the earlier works in the Transept, but they lack the +power and assurance of those in the Upper Church, where the youthful +painter all but reached the zenith of his fame. + +_The Marriage of St. Francis and Poverty._[76]--In this fresco Giotto +has represented three incidents, but just as they all refer to one +subject, so do the figures form a perfect harmony, faultless as +decoration and beautiful as a picture. A youth, imitating the charity +of St. Francis to whom his guardian angel is pointing, is seen on the +left giving his cloak to a beggar, while upon the other side, a miser +clutching his money-bag and a youth with a falcon on his gloved hand +refuse to listen to the good suggestions of an angel and of the friar +who stands between them. The lines of decoration are further carried +out by the two angels who fly up carrying a temple with an enclosed +garden, perhaps symbolising Charity, and a franciscan habit, which may +be the symbol of Obedience. But these are details and the eye does not +rest upon them, but rather is carried straight into the midst of a +court of attendant angels where Christ, standing upon a rock, gives +the hand of St. Francis to the Lady Poverty, who slightly draws away +as if in warning of the hardships and disillusions in store for him +who links his life with hers. Cold and white, her garments torn by a +network of accacia thorns, she is indeed the true widow of Christ, +who, after His death as Dante says, + + "... slighted and obscure + Thousand and hundred years and more, remain'd + Without a single suitor, till he came."[77] + +The bridesmaids, Hope pointing to the sky, and Charity holding a heart +and crowned with flowers that start into tiny flames, come floating +out of the choir of angels towards the pale bride whose veil is +bounded only by her hair. Heedless of the children of earth, who +encouraged by the barking of a dog, press the thorns still deeper into +her flesh, she gazes at St. Francis, and shows him the pink and white +roses of paradise and the Madonna lilies which are flowering behind +her wings. + +_Chastity._--The different stages of perfection in the religious life +are portrayed in this allegory. To the left St. Francis welcomes three +aspirants to the order--Bernard of Quintavalle--typifying the +franciscans; St. Clare--the Second Order; and one, who is said to be +the poet Dante, in the near foreground in a florentine dress of the +period--the Third Order. Two angels in the central group impose hands +and pour the purifying water upon the head of a youth standing naked +in a font, and two other angels bend forward with the franciscan +habits in their hands, while leaning over the wall of the fortress are +two figures, one presenting the banner of purity the other the shield +of fortitude to the novice. On either side stands a grey-bearded, +mail-clad warrior, lash and shield in hand to denote the perpetual +warfare and self-mortification of those who follow St. Francis. To the +right three youthful warrior-monks, beautiful of feature, bearing the +signs of the Passion in their hands, aided by one in the garb of a +Penitent with angels' wings, are chasing away the tempting spirits of +the flesh from the rocks about the fortress into the abyss below. The +winged boar falls backwards, followed by a demon and a winged skeleton +emblematic of the perpetual death of the wicked, while poor +blindfolded Love writhes beneath the lash of Penitence. But just as he +is about to spring down with the rest, his string of human hearts +still slung across his shoulders, he snatches up a sprig of roses from +the rocks. + +Above, out of a walled enclosure guarded at each end by towers like +every mediaeval castle on the hills about Italian towns, rises a +crenulated fortress. At the open window of the magnificent central +tower is seen Chastity, veiled and in prayer as if unconscious of the +scene below, her vigilance typified by the bell o'erhead. She appears +to be reading, by the light of a taper, from the open book held before +her by an angel, while another is bringing her the palm of sanctity. +They are no longer Giotto's bird-like creations, but stately +messengers with splendid human forms uplifted by outstretched wings +their garments brought into long curved lines by the rapidity of their +flight. + +_Obedience._--Under an open _loggia_ sits the winged figure of +Obedience in the habit of a franciscan, holding his finger to his lips +as he places a wooden yoke (symbol of obedience) upon the neck of a +kneeling friar. Prudence, with double face, holding a glass mirror and +a compass, and Humility, with her lighted taper to illumine the path +to paradise, are seated on either side, perhaps to show that he who +imposes obedience upon others must be prudent and humble himself. An +angel upon the right is pointing these virtues out to a centaur +(symbolizing pride, envy and avarice), who, thrown back upon his +haunches by a ray of light from the mirror of Prudence, is thus +stopped from tempting away the young novice kneeling on the opposite +side, encouraged in his act of renunciation by the angel who holds him +firmly by the wrist. Two divine hands appear from the clouds above and +are holding St. Francis by his yoke, while two angels unroll the rules +of his order. + +_The Glory of St. Francis._--The throng of fair-haired angels, seem, +as they move towards the throne of the saint and press around it, to +be intoning a hymn of perpetual praise and jubilation. Their figures, +against the dull gold background, are seen white and strong, with here +and there a touch of mauve or pale blue in their garments bringing out +more distinctly the feeling of light and joyousness. The perpetual +movement of the heavenly choir, some blowing long trumpets, others +playing on flutes and tambourines, while many gaze upwards in silent +prayer as they float upon the clouds, contrasts strangely with the +stiff and silent figure of St. Francis, who in his robe of gold and +black brocade, a brilliant light behind him, looks like some +marvellous eastern deity, recalling Dante's words of how he + + "... arose + A sun upon the world, as duly this + From Ganges doth: ..." + +In the dimness of the cave-like church built to serve the purpose of a +tomb and keep men's ideas familiar with the thought of death, these +frescoes are glimpses into the heaven of the blest. Watch them at all +hours of the day and there will be some new wonder to be noted, a face +among the crowd which seems fairer than the rest, or, as the sunshine +moves across, a flash of colours in an angel's wing like the sudden +coming of a rainbow in a cloudy sky. And who shall forget the strange +play of fancy as the candle light, during an afternoon service, +mingles with the strong sunshine upon the white figures of saints and +the whiter figure of the Lady Poverty, who appear to move towards us +from amidst a blaze of golden clouds, until gradually as the evening +closes in and the candles go out one by one, they are set once more in +the shadow of their backgrounds like so many images of snow. + +_La Capella del Sacramento, or the Chapel of St. Nicholas._--Giotto +left one scholar at Assisi whose work it is easy to discover, but who, +as far as name and personality are concerned, is unknown, and shares +in the general mystery which surrounds both the builders and painters +of San Francesco. All we know is that he followed his master's style +and great laws of composition even more closely than Taddeo Gaddi, and +that he possessed much charm and originality. By the kind help of Mr +Bernhard Berenson we have been able to group together some of the +works of this interesting artist, who was evidently working at Assisi +between 1300 and 1310 when he executed the last nine frescoes of the +Upper Church illustrating the death and the miracles of St. Francis, +decorated the Capella del Sacramento in the Lower Church with the +legend of St. Nicholas, and painted a fine Crucifixion in the +Confraternity of San Rufinuccio (see chap. x). There is a very +delightful panel picture also by him in the corridor of the Uffizzi +(No. 20 in the corridor), with eight small scenes from the life of St. +Cecilia. + +In a fresco over the arch on the inside of the Capella del Sacramento +are portraits of the donors of the chapel, Cardinal Napoleone Orsini, +who is being presented to Christ by St. Francis, and his younger +brother Giovanni (below him is written Dns Jons Gaetanus frater ejus), +presented by St. Nicholas. It helps to date the decoration of the +chapel, for we know that Giovanni Orsini received the cardinal's hat +in 1316, while here he is represented in the white dress of a deacon +confirming the general opinion that these frescoes must have been +painted before that date.[78] + +St. Nicholas of Myra, generally known as St. Nicholas of Bari, both +during his life and after his death was forever coming to the +assistance of the oppressed; he did not even object to be the patron +saint of drunkards and thieves, as well as of maiden virtue. He can +easily be recognised in art by the three purses or golden balls which +are always placed at his feet, in reference to the first kind action +he performed when a wealthy young noble. This incident is charmingly +recorded in the chapel upon the right wall near the entrance. Three +sleeping maidens are lying by their father's side, and St. Nicholas, +who has heard of their poverty, throws in three bags of gold as he +passes by the open window. This charitable deed has made him a famous +saint; when Dante is in Purgatory he hears the spirit of Hugh Capet +recounting various acts of virtuous poverty and generosity, among +which + + "... it spake the gift + Of Nicholas, which on the maidens he + Bounteous bestow'd, to save their youthful prime + Unblemish'd...." + +Below (the picture immediately beneath is entirely obliterated) is a +very beautiful composition, recalling the same artist's treatment of +St. Clare and her nuns in the Upper Church. In front of a Gothic +chapel of white and black marble stands St. Nicholas, between two +placid and portly friars, listening to the petition of a despairing +father who implores his protection for his three sons, unjustly +condemned to death by a wicked consul. The figures of the prisoners, +with halters round their necks, followed by sympathising friends, are +full of movement and life; St. Nicholas is particularly charming, +dressed in his episcopal robes, slightly bending forward and listening +attentively to the doleful tale.[79] + +The legend is continued upon the opposite side, where he arrives just +in time to save the youths. The figure of the kneeling victim +expecting the blow every moment to fall upon his neck and the majestic +attitude of the saint in the act of seizing the sword, are finely +rendered, but Giotto would hardly have approved of the complicated +building decked with much superfluous decoration which is supposed to +represent the city gate. + +The fresco below relates a vision of the Emperor Constantine who had +ordered his three generals, unjustly accused of treason, to be put to +death. St. Nicholas appears and commands him to release the prisoners, +who are in a wooden cage by the bed. + +High up in the lunette of this wall is an interesting fresco referring +to a humorous incident of one of the saint's miracles. It appears that +a Jew, hearing that St. Nicholas gave special protection to property, +placed a statue of him in his house; but it must be remembered that +St. Nicholas was also the patron of thieves, and one day all the Jew's +possessions disappeared. Enraged by the failure of his plan he +administered a sound thrashing to the statue, which stands in a +beautiful niche with spiral columns, behaving much in the same way as +the childish sons of faith in Southern Italy who turn the Madonna's +picture to the wall when their prayers have not been effectual. In +this case St. Nicholas was so deeply offended that he appeared in a +vision to the thieves, who kindly restored the goods of the irate Jew. +There are dim remains of frescoes on this wall, but it is impossible +to make out what they represent. Other wonderful miracles are related +upon the opposite side, beginning high up in the lunette, where, with +some difficulty, we distinguished St. Nicholas restoring a child to +life who has been taken from his parents and killed by evil spirits. +Below is a scene in a banqueting hall, where a king, seated at table, +takes a goblet of wine from the hand of a slave boy. St. Nicholas, in +full episcopals, performs one of his many aerial flights, lays his hand +upon the boy's head and carries him back to his parents. In the scene +beneath St. Nicholas is restoring to his people another youth, who, it +seems, was nearly drowned while filling a goblet with water for the +altar of St. Nicholas; or it may be the continuation of the preceding +legend, and show the home-coming of the captive boy from the king's +palace. It is one of the most charmingly rendered of the series; the +impetuous action of the mother rising with outstretched arms to +welcome her son, and the calm dignity of the father's embrace, are +almost worthy of Giotto himself. A small dog bounds forward to add his +welcome to the others, while St. Nicholas surveys the scene with great +gravity, every line of his figure denoting dignity, power and repose. + +On one side of the arched entrance to the chapel is a fresco of St. +Mary Magdalen, on the opposite side is St. John the Baptist, and in +the vaulting of the arch, on the right, are St. Anthony of Padua with +St. Francis; St. Albino with St. George; St. Agnes holding a lamb, +perhaps the most graceful of the figures, with St. Cecilia crowned +with roses. Opposite are St. Rufino and St. Nicholas holding a book; +St. Sabino and St. Vittorino, both Assisan martyrs; and St. Claire +with St. Catherine of Alexandria. But the quality of this artist will +be only half realised if the single figures of the apostles on the +walls below the scenes from the life of Nicholas are overlooked. Very +grave and reposeful they lend an air of great solemnity to the chapel, +and as Messrs. Crowe and Cavalcaselle remark, they are "after those of +Giotto in the Ciborium of Rome, the most admirable that were produced +in the early times of the revival...." + +It is as difficult to explain why the Chapel of St. Nicholas possesses +so much charm, as it is to understand why people seldom spend more +than sufficient time to read the few lines in their guide-book about +it and verify for themselves that the frescoes are there; but perhaps +when some fifty frescoes by Giotto have to be realised in about an +hour, which is the time usually devoted to them by the visitor to +Assisi, it is not surprising that Giotto's follower, the closest and +the best he ever had, should be neglected. + +The stained glass windows, remarkable rather for their harmony than +for their depth of tone, belong also to the early part of the +fourteenth century, and are decorated with the Orsini arms. On the +left side of the central window is a charming design of St. Francis in +a rose-coloured mantle, recommending to Christ the young Giovanni +Gaetano Orsini, who is said to be buried in the chapel. His monument +behind the altar, erected soon after his death in 1347, is, according +to Vasari, the work of Agostino da Siena, a pupil of Giovanni Pisano. +Very calm and youthful-looking the Cardinal lies at full length in +long folded robes while two angels guard his slumbers. + +There is yet another treasure in St. Nicholas' Chapel; a lovely +picture on panel of the Virgin and saints (rather difficult to see as +it is against the light over the altar), by a Sienese artist who +possesses some of Simone Martini's talent of depicting ethereal and +serene Madonnas. + +_The Chapel of St. Maria Maddalena._--According to a legend given by +Padre Angeli the chapel was built and consecrated by St. Bonaventure +while General of the franciscan order towards the end of the +thirteenth century. The three frescoes on the left wall certainly +belong to Giotto's time, and if not actually painted by him they +appear to be from his designs, and not merely copies of the Paduan +frescoes which they resemble. Above the frescoes of the Raising of +Lazarus and the Anointing of Christ's feet is the Communion of the +Magdalen, rendered with such simplicity yet with so much religious +feeling and solemnity that we realise it is indeed the last communion +of the saint on earth. The attitude of the priest, the splendid +drapery of the man in orange-coloured garments, and the way in which +the figure of the saint being carried by angels to heaven completes +the composition, bear unmistakably the impress of Giotto's style +before the Paduan period (1206). + +The "Noli mi Tangere" upon the opposite wall may also have been +designed by him, but the type of the faces are heavier than his, and +the angels are no longer swift spirits of the heavens ending in flame +and cloud. + +The painter, as if wishing to remind the faithful of the new life +symbolised in the resurrection of Christ, has covered the rocks and +ground with flowering rosebushes and exquisitely designed tufts of +ferns and leaves. + +The story of the Prince and Princess of Marseilles is a favourite +subject with the Giottesque school. The legend tells that when Mary +Magdalen arrived at Marseilles with Lazarus and Martha, she met a +prince and his wife who were praying to the gods for a son, and she +persuaded them to pray instead to the God of the Christians. Their +desire was granted, and they were converted, but evidently being of a +cautious turn of mind, they resolved to sail at once for Jerusalem and +find out if St. Peter's teaching agreed with that of the Magdalen. On +the way a terrible storm arose, and during the tempest the princess +gave birth to a son, and died. The sailors insisted that her body must +be thrown overboard or the storm, they said, would not abate; at last +the prince was forced to lay the body of his wife upon a rocky island +in the midst of the ocean, and calling upon Mary Magdalen for help, he +left the child wrapt in the cloak of its dead mother by her side and +continued the journey to the Holy Land. His visit to St. Peter ended +in his complete conversion, and upon his return to France he stopped +at the rocky island where he found his wife and son alive and well, +thanks to the prayers of St. Mary Magdalen. They returned to +Marseilles, the vessel being guided by angels, and the whole town +became Christian. + +Above the arch facing the altar is a very charming fresco of the +Magdalen standing at the entrance of a cave, her hair falling like a +mantle of cloth of gold about her, to receive the gift of a garment +from a charitable hermit who had heard of her life of austerity and +privation among the mountains of Provence. + +The single figures of St. Clare, St. Mary Magdalen and St. Rufino, as +well as the saints in the vaulting opposite the altar, no longer +follow Giotto's designs and are far inferior to the other frescoes. +Teobaldo Pontano, Bishop of Assisi between 1314 and 1329, is supposed +to be the kneeling figure at the feet of St. Rufino as donor of the +chapel. It is so unlikely Giotto should have repeated his later Paduan +designs in a feebler manner, as seen here, or that a pupil should +have slavishly copied them, that it seems more probable the chapel +dates from the time of St. Bonaventure, when its decoration may have +been begun by Giotto and completed by some later Florentine follower +called in by the bishop who desired to be buried here. The Pontano +arms decorate the beautiful stained glass windows, which certainly +date from the first half of the fourteenth century, and are the finest +in the Lower Church with the exception of those in St. Martin's +chapel. Each figure has a claim on our admiration, but especially +lovely is the figure of the Magdalen whose hair falls to her feet in +heavy waves of deepest gold. In the last division of the right window +is the death of the saint, with the lions at her feet which are +supposed to have dug her grave. + +_The Chapel of St. Antonio di Padova._--Built by the Assisan family of +Lelli in the fourteenth century, it was once ornamented by Florentine +frescoes of the same date which were destroyed when the roof fell in, +and it has now nothing of interest save the windows. These contain +some naive scenes from the life of St. Anthony; among them may be +noticed his preaching to the fish which raise their heads above the +water to listen. + +_Chapel of San Stefano._--This like the last, has only very decadent +frescoes by Adone Doni and is solely interesting for its windows +(second half of fourteenth century), where below the symbols of the +Evangelists are single figures of saints, among them King Louis and +the royal Bishop of Toulouse. Cardinal Gentile di Montefiore, founder +of the chapel of S. Martino, was also the donor of this one and is +represented in the right window with his crest, a tree growing out of +a blue mound against an orange background. + +_The Chapel of St. Catherine, or Capella del Crocifisso._--This +chapel was built by order of Cardinal Albornoz towards the end of the +fourteenth century when on his passage through Umbria to reconquer the +rebellious cities for the Roman Pontiff. He conceived at Assisi so +great a love for the memory of St. Francis that he desired to be +buried there; but though his body was brought to Assisi from Viterbo +where he died in 1367, it was afterwards carried to his bishopric at +Toledo "at small expense," writes an economical chronicler, "upon +men's shoulders"; only a cardinal's hat, suspended from the roof of +the chapel, now remains to remind us of the warlike Spanish prelate. +The frescoes here have been assigned to that mythical person +Buffalmaco, of whom Vasari relates such humorous tales. All we can say +is that they belong to the second half of the fourteenth century and +are not very pleasing scenes from the life and martyrdom of St. +Catherine of Alexandria, with a fresco of Cardinal Albornoz receiving +consecration from a pope under the auspices of St. Francis. The +windows are the first things to shine out amidst the gloom as one +enters the Lower Church. Especially attractive are the figures of St. +Francis and St. Clare, their cloaks of the colour of a tea-rose, and +of the other saints in green and russet-brown standing in a frame of +twisted ribbons tied in bows above their heads. Unfortunately the +glass has been repaired in some places by careless modern workers and +we see such strange results as the large head of a bearded man upon +the body of St. Catherine, high up in the left hand window. + + [Illustration: THE OLD CEMETERY OF SAN FRANCESCO] + +_The Chapel of St. Anthony the Abbot._[80]--About 1367 two monuments +were erected in this chapel over the sepulchres of two murdered +princes--Messer Ferdinando Blasco, nephew of the Cardinal Albornoz, +and his son Garzia. Some say they met their death at Spoleto where the +father was vice-governor, others that they were killed at Assisi close +to the convent of S. Appolinare by the citizens before they submitted +to the kindly rule of the Cardinal. The chapel had been built by a +liberal Assisan gentleman who also left money for its decoration; but +if there were paintings (Vasari mentions some by Pace di Faenza) +nothing now remains but a rather feeble picture by a scholar of +Pinturicchio. The white stone monuments, the white-washed walls and +the total absence of colour gives an uncared-for look to this +out-of-the way corner of the church. A much brighter spot is the old +cemetery opening out of this chapel, which was built in the fourteenth +century with the intention of adorning it with frescoes in imitation +of the Campo Santo at Pisa. The double cloister seen against a +background of cypresses and firs, above which rises the northern side +of the Basilica, form a pretty group of buildings, and can be better +enjoyed now than in former days, when the bones of Assisan nobles and +franciscan friars were piled in the open galleries. + +The Basilica of San Francesco became the burial place, not only of +some of the saint's immediate followers, but also of many +distinguished personages. The large stone tomb at the end of the +church is always pointed out as that of "Ecuba," Queen of Cyprus, who +is said to have come to Assisi in 1229 to give thanks for having been +cured of an illness by the intercession of St. Francis, when she gave +the porphyry vase full of ultramarine which is still to be seen, +though now empty of its precious contents. She is said to have died in +1240, and to have been buried in San Francesco. But this "Ecuba" is a +mysterious person not to be found in the history of her country, which +has led some writers to say that it is Iolanthe, the second wife of +Frederick II, who lies here. It is one of those tombs common in the +time of Giovanni Pisani, but bearing only a faint resemblance to his +masterpiece in the Church of San Domenico in Perugia. "On one side," +says Vasari, in surprise at the novelty of the style, "the Queen, +seated upon a chair, places her right leg over the left in a singular +and modern manner, which position for a lady is ungraceful, and +cannot be regarded as a suitable action for a royal monument." + +The tomb to the right was erected soon after 1479 in memory of Niccolo +Specchi, an Assisan physician of renown attached to the persons of +Eugenius IV, and Niccolo V. + +_Tomb of St. Francis._--Although it had always been supposed that St. +Francis lay beneath the high altar, no one knew precisely the spot +where Elias had hidden him. In the last centuries many attempts were +made to find the tomb by driving galleries in every direction into the +bed of rock on which the Basilica stands;[81] but all failed, until +more energetic measures were taken in 1818. And after fifty nights of +hard work, conducted with the greatest secrecy (it would seem as +though the spirit of Elias still presided over the workers), below the +high altar, encased in blocks of travertine taken from the Roman wall +near the temple of Minerva, and fitted together neatly as those of an +Etruscan wall, was found the sepulchral urn of St. Francis. It was +evidently the same in which he had been laid in the Church of San +Giorgio, untouched till that day. Round the skeleton were found +various objects, placed, perhaps, by the Assisans, who in this seem to +have followed the custom of their earliest ancestors, as offerings to +the dead. There were several silver coins, amongst them some of Lucca +of 1181 and 1208, and a Roman ring of the second century, with the +figure of Pallas holding a Victory in her right hand engraved on a red +cornelian. Five Umbrian bishops, four cardinals, numberless priests +and archaeologists visited the spot to verify the truth of the +discovery, and finally published the tidings far and wide, which +brought greater crowds than ever to Assisi, and among them no less a +personage than the Emperor Francis I, of Austria. Donations poured in +for building a chapel beneath the Lower Church round the saint's tomb, +and in six months the work was completed by Giuseppe Brizzi of Assisi. +The citizens, in their zeal, decorated it with marble altars and +statues, until the tradition treasured by the people of a hidden +chapel below the Basilica and rivalling it in richness was almost +realised, and they flocked down the dark staircases with lighted +torches to witness the accomplishment of the legends weaved by their +forefathers (see p. 136). It is a most impressive sight to attend mass +here with the peasants in early morning ere they go forth to their +work in the fields. Silently they kneel with bowed heads near the +tomb, touching it now and again through the grating with their +rosaries; the acolytes move slowly about the altar and the voices of +the priests are hushed, for here at least all feel the solemnity of a +religious rite. The candles burn dimly with a smoky flame, the +sanctuary lamps cast a flickering red light upon the marble pavement +and the walls cut out of the living rock, and with the darkness which +seems to press around is the damp smell, reminding us that we are +indeed in the very bowels of the Assisan mountain. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[73] There are only the most meagre scraps of information to rely upon +as to the dates of Giotto's works at San Francesco, and it is needless +here to enter into the endless discussion. One thing is obvious; the +Assisan frescoes must have been executed before those at Padua which +have always been assigned to 1306. In these pages we have sometimes +followed the view held by Messrs. Crowe and Cavalcaselle, sometimes +that of Herr Thode, who appears to have studied the question with open +eyes, but our final authority is M. Bernhard Berenson, who in a visit +paid lately to Assisi was kind enough to point out many things which +we should otherwise have passed by, and in the sequence of the +frescoes by Giotto at San Francesco we have entirely followed his +opinion. + +[74] For Simone Martini's Madonna and Saints between the two chapels +of this transept, see p. 212. The portraits (?) of some of the first +companions of St. Francis, painted beneath Cimabue's fresco, belong to +the Florentine school. It would be vain to try and name them. + +[75] See Vasari, ed. Milanesi, vol. i. p. 426. (Sansoni Firenze.) + +[76] It is often supposed that Giotto took the theme of this fresco +from the well-known lines of Dante referring to the mystical marriage +of St. Francis to Poverty. But Dante wrote the xi. canto of the +_Paradiso_ long after Giotto had left Assisi; both painter and poet +really only followed the legend recounted by St. Bonaventure of how +St. Francis met three women who saluted him on the plain of S. Quirico +near Siena. These were Poverty, Charity and Obedience. + +[77] _Paradiso_, xi., Cary's translation. + +[78] This fact alone would disprove the idea that Giottino, who was +born in 1324, could have been the author of these frescoes. Everything +that cannot be attributed to other painters is put down as his work, +so that we have many pictures and frescoes of totally different styles +assigned to Giottino. + +[79] Some say this fresco represents the three youths begging St. +Nicholas to pardon the consul who had condemned them to death, in +which case it would come after the scene of the execution on the +opposite wall. + +[80] The tabernacle on the altar is the work of Giulio Danti, after a +design by Galeazzo Alessi, both Perugians, in 1570. + +[81] How right Elias was to hide the body of St. Francis in so secure +a place is shown by the various endeavours made by the Perugians to +secure the holy relics for their town. In the fifteenth century they +attempted, while at war with Assisi, to carry off the body by force, +and failing, had recourse to diplomacy. They represented to Eugenius +IV, that it would be far safer at Perugia, and begged him to entrust +them with it. He denied his "dear sons'" request on the plea that the +Assisans would be brought to the verge of despair and their city to +ruin. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +_The Sienese Masters in the Lower Church. The Convent_ + + ... "Je donnerais pour ce caveau toutes les eglises de Rome."--H. + TAINE. _Voyages en Italie. Perouse et Assisi._ + + +THE CHAPEL OF ST. MARTIN[82] + +The best masters of Tuscany having, by the beginning of the thirteenth +century, covered most of the walls of San Francesco with choice work, +it now remained for Siena to send artists to complete their loveliness +by effigies of calmly sweet Madonnas and saints whose gentle beauty +seemed rightly fitted for their Umbrian surroundings. + +The first to come, probably very few years after Giotto had left, was +Simone Martini, "the most lovable," Mr Berenson calls him, "of all the +artists before the Renaissance."[83] He married Giovanna Memmi, a +Sienese, whose brother Lippo Memmi often helped him in minor works; +this may account for the confusion between the two, and why he is so +often called by his brother-in-law's surname. One of the artist's +claims to immortality, the highest, according to Vasari who was not +partial to the Sienese, was the praise he won from Petrarch for the +portraits he painted on more than one occasion of Madonna Laura. +Simone's talents were sung by the "love-devoted" Tuscan poet who calls +him "mio Simon," and in one perfect sonnet tells how he must surely +have been in paradise and seen the loveliness of Madonna Laura, as he +has drawn her features with such fidelity that all on earth must +perforce acknowledge her beauty. + +The Chapel of St. Martin at Assisi is filled with such faces as +Petrarch describes. It possesses, too, all the varied colour of a +garden, only a garden not inhabited by earthly mortals, but by gentle +knights and fairy kings wearing wonderful crowns of beaten gold, with +cherubs' heads, flowers and moons upon their surface, and women who +hold their lilies with caressing fingers. All gives way before his +sense of the beautiful, the ornate and the charming, so that he +creates a world apart of saints and angels with a feeling of +remoteness about them which is one of the most striking features of +his art. He loved all that was joyous; he depicted no tragic scenes; +his saints have already won their crowns in heaven, his kings are +conquerors, and around a death-bed the angels sing. He may sometimes +fail as a story-teller, and his compositions do not always give the +same sense of perfection as those of other stronger artists, but his +very faults are lovable, and all can be forgiven for the exquisite +finish of his paintings, which, in their brilliant colouring, are like +a piece of old embroidery where design and hues have been woven in by +patient fingers. "To convey his feeling for beauty and grace and +splendour," says Mr Berenson, "Simone possessed means more than +sufficient. He was a master of colour as few have been before him or +after him. He had a feeling for line always remarkable, and once, at +least, attaining to a degree of perfection not to be surpassed. He +understood decorative effects as a great musician understands his +instruments."[84] + +It is a little difficult to find out where Simone begins his legend of +St. Martin, as he seems to have fitted in the different scenes just +where he could, thinking, as was only right, more of the effect of +decoration than of the sequence of the story. The two frescoes on the +left wall refer to the well-known act of charity, when St. Martin, a +young Lombard soldier serving in the army of the Emperor Constantine +in Gaul, met, on a bitter winter's day, a beggar outside the gates of +Amiens, and having nothing but the clothes he wore divided his cloak +with the poor man. It is not one of Simone's pleasing compositions; +far better is the next where Christ appears to the saint in a dream, +wearing the cloak he had given in charity and saying to the angels who +surround him: "Know ye who hath thus arrayed me? My servant Martin, +though yet unbaptised, hath done this." The face of the young saint is +very calm and palely outlined against his golden aureole as he lies +asleep, clasping his throat gently with one hand. With what patience +has Simone drawn the open-work of the sheets, the pattern on the +counterpane, the curtain about the bed; no detail has been passed +over. And who can forget his angels, the profile of one, the thick +waving hair of another, and the grand pose of the standing figure, a +little behind Christ, whose head is poised so stately upon a +well-moulded neck. + + [Illustration: THE KNIGHTHOOD OF ST. MARTIN BY SIMONE MARTINI + (D. ANDERSON--_photo_)] + +Exactly opposite are two scenes belonging to the early times of the +saint's life when he was yet a soldier. In one the Emperor Constantine +is giving him his sword, while an attendant buckles on the spurs of +knighthood; here also, as in most of the frescoes, we pick out single +figures to dwell on, such as the youth with a falcon on his wrist, +whose profile is clearly outlined yet tender, with that pale +red-golden tinge over the face by which Simone always charms us. +Remarkable for grace and motion is the man playing on the mandoline, +with a sad dreamy face, who seems to sway to the sounds of his own +music; whilst almost comic is the player on the double pipes, with his +curious headgear and tartan cloak. + +The next scene is divided by a rocky ridge, behind which is seen the +army of the Gauls, who, by the way, have Assisan lions on their +shields. St. Martin, after refusing to accept his share of the +donations to the soldiers, declares his intention of leaving the army +to become a priest, and when accused of cowardice by the Emperor, he +offers to go forth and meet the enemy without sword or shield. Simone +pictures him as he steps forth upon the perilous enterprise, holding +the cross and pointing to the sky, as he refuses the helmet held out +to him by the Emperor. Next day, says the legend, the Gauls laid down +their arms, having submitted to the word of St. Martin who was then +allowed to quit the world for the religious life. + +On the opposite wall, above the apparition of Christ with the cloak, +we see St. Martin no longer in soldier's garb, but as the holy Bishop +of Tours. The saint has fallen into a reverie whilst saying mass, and +in vain a priest tries to rouse him by laying a hand upon his shoulder +for his eyes remain closed, and the kneeling priest waits patiently +with the book of the Gospels upon his knee. Simone never surpassed the +dignity, the religious feeling, the quiet repose and ease expressed in +the figure of St. Martin; while he has kept the scene as simple as one +of Giotto's frescoes, thus making it the most perfect among these +compositions. To the left is a much ruined picture of the restoration +of a child to life through the prayers of the saint, who was preaching +at Chartres. Among a crowd of people one figure, with a Florentine +headgear such as Andrea del Castagno paints, stands clearly out; below +a small child can be discerned stretching out little hands towards the +kneeling bishop. + +Above this again, almost too high to be clearly seen, is the death of +St. Hilary of Poitiers, at which St. Martin assisted. One of the +mourners has a mantle of turquoise blue, a beautiful piece of colour +like the sky seen through the arches of the Gothic windows. + +On the other wall, over the fresco where St. Martin receives +knighthood, is recorded the legend of how "as he went to the church on +a certain day, meeting a poor man naked, he gave him his inner robe, +and covered himself as he best might with his cope. And the +archdeacon, indignant, offering him a short and narrow vestment, he +received it humbly, and went up to celebrate mass. And a globe of fire +appeared above his head, and when he elevated the host, his arms being +exposed by the shortness of the sleeves, they were miraculously +covered with chains of gold and silver, suspended on them by +angels."[85] + +The next picture, which is very ruined, represents the visit of St. +Martin to the Emperor Valentinian, who, because he had rudely kept his +seat in his presence, suddenly found it to be on fire, and, as the +legend says, "he burnt that part of his body upon which he sat, +whereupon, being compelled to rise, contrite and ashamed, he embraced +Martin, and granted all that he required of him." + +Above this is the death of St. Martin, with a graceful flight of +angels hovering over the bier singing as they prepare to carry his +soul to heaven. Very fine is the fresco in the lunette of the +entrance, where Cardinal Gentile, in his franciscan habit, is kneeling +before the saint who bends forward to raise him from so humble a +position. But in the single figures of saints, in the arch of this +chapel, standing like guardian deities within their Gothic niches, +Simone rivals greater artists in grace and strange beauty. In honour +of the franciscan donor the chief franciscan saints are depicted +beside two others of universal fame. St. Francis and St. Anthony of +Padua, and below them St. Catherine of Alexandria and St. Mary +Magdalen; on the other side, St. Louis, King of France and St. Louis, +Bishop of Toulouse, and below them St. Clare and St. Elisabeth of +Hungary. Nowhere has St. Clare received so true an interpretation of +her gentle saintliness as in this painting by Simone, and he has +surpassed his other works in the exquisite drawing of the hand which +holds her habit to one side. It would seem as though in these saints +he had attained the limits of his power of expressing types of pure +beauty, were it not for the half figures in the embrasures of the +window of such finish and subtle charm as to haunt us like some strain +of long remembered music. There is a bishop in a cope of creamy white +with gold embroidery, a hermit with a long brown beard, and saints who +calmly pray with clasped hands. The broad white band of pale shadowed +fur is low enough to show the graceful line of the neck of the young +saint in the left hand window, his hair tinged with pale red and his +face so fair as to seem a shadow upon the wall, coming and going in +the play of light. + +So enthralling is the study of the frescoes that it is possible to +leave the chapel without noticing the stained-glass windows, perhaps +the loveliest in the church where all are lovely. They seem to belong +to the same epoch as the paintings, and in one or two instances a +figure may have been inspired by them, such as the angels with sword +and shield who resemble Simone's angels in the upper part of the +fresco of St. Martin's death. Cardinal Gentile was in all probability +the donor of these as well as of the chapel, for he is represented in +the central window kneeling before St. Martin, who is in full +episcopals. These windows are dazzling; there are warriors in red and +green, saints standing against circles of cream-tinted leaves, St. +Jerome in magenta-coloured vestments harmonising strangely with the +crimson of his cardinal's hat; and St. Anthony of Padua in violet +shaded with paler lights as on the petals of a Florentine iris. A +saint in white is placed against a scarlet background, another in pale +china blue against a sky of deep Madonna blue, and all these colours +lie side by side like masses of jewels of every shade. + +On leaving we find to the left of the papal throne a small chapel +ornamented only by a window which has an apostle standing in a plain +Gothic niche, the ruby red and tawny yellow of his mantle making a +brilliant patch of colour in this dark corner of the church. The head +is modern, but the figure, the circular pattern beneath, and the right +half of the window with five medallions, are, according to Herr Thode, +the oldest pieces of coloured glass in the lower church. + +Just above the papal throne is a handsomely worked ambo in red marble +and mosaic, forming a kind of pulpit from which many illustrious +people have preached, among them St. Bonaventure and St. Bernardine of +Siena. In the recess a Florentine artist of the fourteenth century has +painted the Coronation of the Virgin, a fresco worthy of its beautiful +setting; and there is a crucifixion and scenes from the martyrdom of +St. Stanislaus of Poland by a follower of Pietro Lorenzetti, pupil of +Simone Martini. St. Stanislaus was canonised in 1253 when Innocent IV, +came to consecrate the Basilica, and upon this occasion a miracle took +place which redounds to the honour of the saint. While Cardinal de +Conti (afterwards Alexander IV,) was preaching, one of the capitals of +a pillar above the pulpit fell upon the head of a woman in the +congregation, and thinking she was dead, as she had sunk down without +a groan, her neighbours covered her over with a cloak "so as not to +disturb the solemnity of the occasion." But to their amazement when +the sermon ended the woman rose up and gave thanks to St. Stanislaus, +for the blow, far from doing her harm, had cured her of headaches to +which she had been subject. The legend would long since have been +forgotten, were it not that the capital which fell on that memorable +day is still suspended by chains in the opposite corner of the nave, +and often puzzles the visitor who does not know its history. + +Below the pulpit is a slab of red marble let into the wall with these +simple words inscribed: "Hic jacet Jacoba sancta nobilisque romana," +by which the Assisans commemorated the burial place of Madonna Giacoma +da Settesoli the friend of St. Francis, who after his death lived at +Assisi and followed the rule of the Third order until she died in 1239 +(see p. 114). + +_Left Transept._--To Pietro Lorenzetti was given the work of +decorating these walls with scenes from the Passion, and so far as +completing the rich colour of the church be succeeded. But when +studied as separate compositions they betray the weakness of an artist +who, as Mr. Berenson remarks, "carries Duccio's themes to the utmost +pitch of frantic feeling." Great prominence is given to the subject +of the crucifixion where the vehement actions of the figures rather +than the nobility of the types are pre-eminent. It may be of interest +to some that the man on the white horse is said to be Gualtieri, Duke +of Athens, the tyrant of Florence, whose arms Vasari says he +discovered in the fresco which he describes as the work of Pietro +Cavallini. + +A curious composition is that on the opposite wall where the disciples +sit in awkward attitudes and the servants in the kitchen are seen +cleaning the dishes while a dog hastily licks up the scraps. It would +be difficult to know this represented a religious scene were it not +for the large aureoles of the apostles. Nor has Pietro succeeded in +giving solemnity to the scene of the Stigmata, where the strained +position of St. Francis and the agitated movement of the Seraph +partake of the general characteristics of these frescoes. But in his +Madonna, St. Francis and St. John the Evangelist, below the +crucifixion, Pietro Lorenzetti gives his very best and their faces we +remember together with the saints of Simone Martini. Referring to this +fresco M. Berenson says: "At Assisi, in a fresco by Pietro, of such +relief and such enamel as to seem contrived of ivory and gold rather +than painted, the Madonna holds back heart-broken tears as she looks +fixedly at her child, who, Babe though he is, addresses her earnestly; +but she remains unconsoled."[86] + +_Chapel of S. Giovanni Battista._[87]--Another lovely work by Pietro +Lorenzetti is the triptych over the altar, the Madonna, St. Francis +and St. John the Baptist, but here the action of the child leaning +towards the Virgin and holding the end of her veil, is more caressing +and suggestive of babyhood. Above are small heads of angels like those +Pietro places in medallions round the frescoes in the south transept. +This, and the panel picture over the altar in the opposite chapel, +complete the works of the Sienese school in Assisi. The Umbrian school +is represented by a large and unsympathetic picture by Lo Spagna +(dated 1526), which is however considered by local admirers of the +painter to be his masterpiece. It is a relief to turn from his +yellow-eyed saints and hard colouring to the windows of this chapel +which are remarkable for their harmony and depth of tone.[88] The +figures of the central window date from the second half of the +thirteenth century, those of the left window are at least two +centuries later. + +_The Sacristies._--These open out of St. Giovanni's Chapel. Both are +ornamented with handsomely carved cupboards of the sixteenth century +where the friars store their vestments and costly lace, and which once +were full of gold and silver vessels amassed during many centuries. +But often during mediaeval times of warfare the friars had to stand +aside and see the sacristies sacked by the Perugians, or even the +Assisans, when they must have envied the peace of mind of the first +franciscans who, possessing nothing, could have no fear of +robbers.[89] + +Devoted as the citizens were to the memory of St. Francis they do not +seem to have hesitated, when in want of money, to help themselves +liberally to the things in his church. At one time when the Baglioni +were besieging Assisi, her despot Jacopo Fiumi gathered the citizens +about him, and in an eloquent harangue called upon them to rob the +church at once before the enemy had entered the gates, lest the +treasure should fall into the hands of the Perugians. So the +sacristies were rifled, and with the proceeds Jacopo Fiumi rebuilt the +walls and the palaces which had fallen to ruin during the incessant +fighting of past years. The next plunderers were the soldiers of +Napoleon, and it is a marvel that so many things still remain. A +cupboard in the inner sacristy contains a beautiful cross of +rock-crystal ornamented with miniatures in blue enamel brought by St. +Bonaventure as a gift from St. Louis of France; there is also the +second rule of St. Francis which was sanctioned by Honorius III. Even +more precious is a small and crumpled piece of parchment, with a +blessing written in the big child-like writing of St. Francis, which +he gave to Brother Leo at La Vernia after he had received the +Stigmata. On one side he wrote part of the Laudes Creatoris, upon the +other the biblical blessing: + + "_Benedicat tibi Dominus et custodiat te_: + _Ostendat faciem suam tibi et misereatur tui_: + _Convertat vultum suam ad te et de tibi pacem_": + +and then below: + + "_Dominus benedicat te, Frate Leo._" + +Instead of the Latin, the saint signs with the Thau cross, which is of +the shape of the mediaeval gallows, and may have been yet another way +of showing his humility by humbling himself even to the level of +malefactors. Many pages have been written about this relic; the line +by Brother Leo in explanation below the signature of St. Francis: + + "_Simili modo fecit istud signum Thau cum capite manu sua,_" + +has puzzled many people, but in a pamphlet by Mr Montgomery +Carmichael[90] it has received a plausible translation. He thinks that +_cum capite_ refers to the small knob at the top of the Thau, by which +St. Francis meant to represent a malefactor's head; the line would +read thus: "in like manner with his own hand he made a cross with a +head," and not "with his own head," as some believe. Mr Carmichael +thinks the curious mound out of which the cross rises is a rough +drawing of La Vernia. Above the benediction, in neatly formed letters, +Brother Leo has written a short account of the sojourn at the Sacred +Mount and of the Vision of the Seraph. This relic has been mentioned +in the archives of the convent since 1348, and is always carried in +procession at the commencement of the feast of the "Perdono" on July +31st. + +Almost more honoured by the faithful is the "Sacred Veil of the most +Holy Virgin," which can only be exposed to the public in the presence +of the Bishop of Assisi, and is shown in times of pilgrimage when the +sacristy and church are full of men and women waiting for their turn +to kiss the holy relic. + +The picture over the door, painted by Giunta Pisano (?) is always +pointed out as a portrait of St. Francis, but as the painter's first +visit to Assisi was in 1230 he can only have seen the body of the +saint borne to its last resting-place in the Basilica, and even that +is doubtful when we remember with what secrecy the burial was +performed. Here the face is pointed and emaciated, with a curious look +in the eyes as though Giunta had desired to record his blindness. The +figure is surrounded by small scenes from the miracles of St. Francis, +performed during his lifetime and at his tomb in San Giorgio. But +though in the so-called portraits of the saint, the artists think more +of representing him as the symbol of asceticism and sanctity than of +aiming at giving a true likeness, both this picture and a fresco +painted in 1216 at Subiaco when the saint stayed there on his way to +Spain, are not very dissimilar from the graphic description left us by +Celano. He tells us that St. Francis "was rather below the middle stature +with a small round head and a long pinched face, a full but narrow +forehead and candid black eyes of medium size, his hair likewise was +black; the brows were straight, the nose well-proportioned, thin and +straight, the ears erect but small, and the temples flat; his speech +was kindly, yet ardent and incisive; his voice powerful, sweet, clear +and sonorous; his teeth were regular, white and set close; his lips +thin and mobile, his beard was black and scant, his neck thin, his +shoulders square; the arms were short, the hands small with long +fingers and almond-shaped nails, his legs were thin, his feet small, +his skin delicate, and he was very thin...." + + [Illustration: BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF THE BASILICA AND CONVENT OF SAN + FRANCESCO, FROM A DRAWING MADE IN 1820] + +_Right Transept._[91]--On the walls between the Chapels of the +Sacramento and of St. Maria Maddalena, Simone Martini has left some of +his loveliest work in the half figures of franciscan saints he places +near the Madonna. These are St. Francis, St. Louis of Toulouse, St. +Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Clare clothed in the habit of her order, +always to be recognised when painted by Simone by her heavy plaits of +hair, St. Anthony of Padua with the lily, St. Louis of France with a +crown of _fleur-de-lis_, and upon the right of the Virgin, a noble +saint who may be Helen the mother of King Louis, as she too holds a +sceptre with the lily of France on the top. Never had saints so +majestic a queen as Simone's Madonna. The subdued greens and tawny +reds of their mantles and their auburn hair look most beautiful +against the gold ground which shines with dull light about them. Each +of their aureoles bears a different pattern in raised _gesso_; a +garland of flowers, a circle of human heads, suns, a tracery of roses +and ivy, or yet again another of oak leaves. After Giotto's Allegories +and the frescoes in San Martino, these saints are by far the loveliest +things in San Francesco, and as they look towards us, ethereal, like a +faint moon on a misty night, they seem the very incarnation of +mediaeval faith. Dante created women such as Matilda, who sings to him +in Purgatory as she is picking flowers on a woodland river's edge, and +Simone paints them and conveys their spirit in the faces of St. Clare +and St. Elizabeth. + + +_The Convent_ + +It is natural to think that the Basilica and Convent built under the +guidance of Elias was as we see it now in its full magnificence of +chapels, porch, colonnades and cloisters. Certainly the essential form +of the building has not been altered, but in the early days it stood +isolated from the town, surrounded by such rocks as jut out among the +grass in the ravine outside Porta S. Pietro, and approached by a +drawbridge which made it resemble, even more than it does now, a +feudal stronghold guarding the Umbrian valley. Later on, as the life +of the place centred ever more round the church of the saint, the +citizens no longer built their houses near San Rufino or below the +castle, but close to San Francesco, until a second town sprang up +where once were only rough mountain pastures. It is still possible to +form an idea of how it looked by following round the base of the hill +by the Tescio, whence a wonderful and unique view of the northern side +of church and convent is obtained (see Appendix). Assisi lies hidden, +and standing high above us, shutting out the view of the valley, is +San Francesco; not the building with great arches we are familiar +with, rising high above the vineyards, but a castle, seen clearly +defined and strong against the sky, whose bastions clasp the hill top +as powerfully as a good rider bestrides his horse. Oak copses cover +the slopes from the convent wall straight down to the banks of the +Tescio, where little mills are set above deep pools of emerald green +water and narrow canals fringed by poplar trees. The minute detail of +the landscape in this deep ravine gives a curious feeling that we are +walking in the background of one of Pier della Francesca's +pictures--even to the distant view of low-lying hills where the +torrent makes the sudden bend round the mountain edge; and the +contrast is strange between it and the fortress-church upon the dark +hill, where deep shadows lie across it and lurk within the crannies of +its traceries in the bay windows of the chapels and in the depths of +jutting stones. Such was the massive building "Jacopo" planned to +stand upon the mountain ridge, as much a part of the rocks and the red +earth as the cypresses which crown the summit. And in the midst, but +on the southern side, he placed, as if to balance the rest, a square +and boldly conceived bell-tower rising high above the church.[92] +At the time it was the wonder of the Assisans, who boasted that for +beauty as well as for solidity it could be counted among the first, +not in Italy only, but in Europe. Bartolomeo of Pisa, came to cast one +of the big bells, and together with his own name he inscribed those of +Elias, Gregory IX, and Frederick II. On another bell, which has been +recast, was graven a delightful couplet informing the faithful of the +many services which consecrated bronze could render to the country +round. + + [Illustration: SAN FRANCESCO FROM THE TESCIO] + + "Sabbatha pango, funera plango, fulgura frango: + Excito lentos, domo cruentos, dissipo ventos." + ("I ring in Sunday, I lament for the dead, the lightning I break, + I hurry the sluggards, I vanquish the wicked, the winds I disperse.") + +To the time of Elias also belongs the fine entrance to the Upper +Church, where the Guelph lion and the eagle of Frederick II, record +the liberality of both parties towards the building of the church, +while the four animals round the wheel window seem to show that +"Jacopo," notwithstanding his marked love for pure Gothic +architecture, could not quite forget the strange but fascinating +beasts of Lombard facades. + + [Illustration: STAIRCASE LEADING FROM THE UPPER TO THE LOWER PIAZZA OF + SAN FRANCESCO] + +One friar in the fifteenth century inherited some of the enthusiasm of +Elias for the basilica; this was Francesco Nani, the General of the +franciscans, known as Francesco Sansone because his patron, Sixtus IV, +is said to have addressed him with these words in allusion to his +energy and strength of character, "Tu es fortissimus Samson." His +name is found upon the beautiful stalls of the Upper Church, and it +was he who superintended the laying out of the upper piazza, connected +with the lower one by a long flight of stairs. It may also have been +at this time that the _loggie_ of San Francesco were built for the +purpose of erecting booths during the festival of the "Pardon of St. +Francis." Certainly it was chiefly at his expense that Baccio Pintelli +(1478) built the handsome entrance door and porch to the Lower Church, +which in olden times was entered by a small door close to the +campanile. The architect fitted his work admirably into a corner of +the building, completing with clustered columns of pink marble, wheel +window, trefoiled arches and stone traceries, the scheme of colour and +the perfect proportions for which San Francesco is so remarkable. The +doors of carved wood, darkened now and of such massive workmanship as +to resemble bronze, were made in 1546 by Niccolo da Gubbio, who has +carefully commemorated the legend of St. Francis and the wolf of +Gubbio in one of the panels to the left. Sansone also commissioned +the doorway of what is now the entrance to the friars' convent a year +after the porch was finished, then it was only a small chapel, built +by the members of the Third order when St. Bernardine of Siena revived +the religious enthusiasm of the people. The Assisan artist placed a +bas-relief of the saint in the arch above the door, and it is still +called "la porta di San Bernardino." + +None should leave Assisi, not even those who only hurry over for the +day, without visiting the convent, which recalls an eastern building +from the whiteness of its great vaulted rooms, long corridors and +arcaded courtyards when seen against the bluest of summer skies.[93] +Then from the cool and spacious convent, a place to linger in upon a +hot day in August, we step out into the open colonnade which skirts +the building to the south, makes a sharp turn west, and then juts out +at the end, facing south again. This last portion was added by +Cardinal Albornoz in 1368, and goes by the name of the _Calcio_. But +two centuries later the foundations were found to be insecure, and +Sixtus IV, strengthened it by a bastion, which looks solid enough to +resist even the havoc of an earthquake. The Pope was a great +benefactor of the convent, and the friars placed his statue in a niche +in the bastion, where he sits, his hand raised in benediction, on a +papal throne overlooking the valley. From the rounded arches of rough +stone, turned by storm and sunshine to russet-red, pink and yellow, we +look out upon one of the most beautiful and extensive views in Umbria. +To the right is Perugia standing out almost aggressively on the hill +top; opposite, on a separate spur which divides the valley of Spoleto +from that of the Tiber, Bettona and Montefalco hang upon peaks like +the nests of birds in trees, and beyond are Spoleto, Trevi and Narni, +nearer again Spello, and the domes of Foligno in the plain, with a +host of small villages near. All the Umbrian world lies before us from +the convent of San Francesco. + + [Illustration: SAN FRANCESCO FROM THE PONTE S. VITTORINO] + +Many weary people besides the popes came to rest here in early times, +and one mediaeval warrior, Count Guido of Montefeltro, the great leader +of the Ghibellines, laid down his arms and left his castle at Urbino +in the year 1296, to pass his last days as a friar doing penance +within the peaceful shelter of San Francesco for a long life of +intrigue and bloodshed. He prayed by day, for at night they say he +stood gazing out of his window, one of those we see above the walled +orchard of the monks, watching the stars and attempting to divine the +mysteries and destinies he read there, exceeding even the superstition +of the age by his faith in the laws of astrology. But his meditations +and careful preparation for a holy death were suddenly disturbed, and +he found himself once more plunged into the whirl of Italian politics +and intrigue. War raged between Pope Boniface VIII, a Gaetani, and the +powerful family of the Colonna who braved his excommunications, and, +when their Roman palaces were burnt, fled to their strongholds in the +country. Many of these fell into the hands of the papal troops, but +Penestrino, their principal fief, resisted all attacks and the Pope +was nearly defeated when, remembering the old soldier Count Guido +known to be "more cunning than any Italian of his time, masterly alike +in war and in diplomacy," he hastened to ask his counsel. The story is +recounted by Dante, who could not forgive the Ghibelline chieftain for +coming to the assistance of the Pope. + +Boniface, seeking to silence the scruples of the friar, promised to +absolve him from all sin, even before committal, if only he would tell +him how to act so "that Penestrino cumber earth no more." Guido, whose +subtlety had not deserted him in the cloister, gave an answer which, +while it ensured success to the papal arms, stamped him as a man of +such deceit and treachery that Dante placed him in the eighth gulf of +hell, among the evil counsellors eternally surrounded by flaming +tongues of fire. + + "Then, yielding to the forced arguments, + Of silence as more perilous I deem'd, + And answer'd: 'Father! since thou washest me + Clear of that guilt wherein I now must fall, + Large promise with performance scant, be sure + Shall make thee triumph in thy lofty seat.'"[94] + +Besides Count Guido and the popes who, finding the large and airy +rooms of the convent a convenient summer resort, were constant +visitors at Assisi, it can show a fine list of royal visitors. Among +them is the Queen of Sweden who, in 1655, came escorted by Papal +Nuncios, foreign ambassadors and cavalry, to pray at the tomb of St. +Francis. The Assisans sent out their best carriages with horses ridden +by postillions to meet her, adorned their palaces with flags and +damask hangings, and rang all the bells as she approached the +Basilica. "The Queen is called Christina," a chronicler tells us; "she +is aged twenty-nine, is very learned, being able to write in eleven +languages; she is small but very comely.... One hundred and fifty beds +were prepared in the convent and beautiful it was to see the numerous +suite and the pages of the nobles." + + [Illustration: A FRIAR OF THE MINOR CONVENTUAL ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS] + + * * * * * + +It strikes the visitor to Assisi as strange that the black-robed +friars in charge of the Basilica are so unlike the franciscans with +whom everyone is familiar, and it may be well to give a few facts +relating to the many divisions in the Order which, as we have seen, +began already to change in the time of Elias. In 1517 a portion of the +brethren, desiring a mitigation of their rule, obtained from Leo X, a +dispensation and received the title of Friars Minor Conventuals +with the permission to choose their own Minister General. Their dress +is shown in the illustration. Those who kept to the rule more nearly +approaching to that of St. Francis, like those of Sta. Maria degli +Angeli, the Carceri and San Damiano, were called Friars Minor of the +Observance, or Observants, and take precedence over the others, +enjoying the privilege of electing the "Minister General of the whole +order of the Friars Minor and successor of St. Francis." In 1528, +Matteo Baschi, an observant, instituted a new branch called the +Capucins, because of their long pointed capuce, whom he inspired with +the desire to lead a hermit's life in solitary places, preaching to +the people but once in the year. They have deserted their hermitages +and are a very popular order in Italy, devoting themselves especially +to preaching and hearing confessions, and form quite a distinct family +from the rest. The Basilica at Assisi no longer belongs to the +Conventuals, as after the union of Italy it was declared to be a +national monument. The Government also took possession of the convent +as a school for boys, leaving only a small portion for the reduced +number of friars to inhabit. They went to law, and the judge +pronounced the convent to be the property of the Holy See which had +never ceased to exercise jurisdiction over it; but a proviso was made +that the school was to remain in its present quarters until the Pope +or the franciscans should erect a suitable building for it in another +part of the town. As much money is required for so large an edifice +and sites are not so easily procured, it seems probable that for many +years the sound of boys at play will be heard in the convent walls +instead of the slow footsteps of silent friars. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[82] The donor of this chapel was Gentile de Monteflori, a franciscan, +created cardinal in 1298 by Boniface VIII. + +[83] Simone was born at Siena in 1283, and died at Avignon in 1344. He +belonged to the school of Duccio, though influenced to some degree by +his contemporary Giotto, whose work at Assisi he had full opportunity +to study. + +[84] _Central Italian Painters of the Renaissance_, B. Berenson, p. +47. + +[85] _Sketches of the History of Christian Art_, by Lord Lindsay, p. +134, vol. i. + +[86] _The Central Italian Painters of the Renaissance._ Bernhard +Berenson, p. 48. + +[87] Built by the Orsini brothers, the founders of the Chapel del +Sacramento, in the beginning of the fourteenth century. + +[88] It is curious that the early Umbrian painters had so little share +in the decoration of the franciscan Basilica, the only other picture +of the school is the one in the Chapel of St. Anthony the Abbot, and a +fresco by some scholar of Ottaviano Nelli on the wall near the +entrance of the Lower Church. + +[89] Not only had the friars to guard their own things, but also the +vast treasures of the Popes who, especially during their sojourn at +Avignon, found San Francesco a convenient store-house. See on p. 20 +for the story of how these goods were stolen by the citizens and the +penalty this brought upon the town. + +[90] _La Benedizione di San Francesco_, Livorno, 1900. + +[91] See chapter vi. p. 171 for description of the frescoes here, and +of those above the altar. For Cimabue's Madonna on the right wall of +the Transept see chapter v. p. 155. + +[92] In 1529 the campanile, which rather gives the impression of a +watch-tower, was used by Captain Bernardino da Sassoferrato, as a sure +place of refuge when the Prince of Orange entered Assisi with his +victorious army. From its heights he kept his enemy at bay for three +days, and finally escaped to Spello leaving the city a prey to another +despot. + +[93] Open to visitors at two o'clock. + +[94] Cary's translation. Dante, _Inferno_, canto xxvii. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +_Giotto's Legend of St. Francis in the Upper Church_ + + "What, therefore, Giotto gave to art was, before all things, + vitality."--J. A. SYMONDS. _Renaissance in Italy._ + + +Giotto in the Lower Church had felt his way towards the full +expression of his genius; succeeding so well in the four Allegories +that he was chosen to illustrate the life of St. Francis, withheld, as +we have seen, from all former artists, while Cimabue was to hear the +poet's praise of his pupil, "Ora ha Giotto il grido." The task +undertaken by the young painter, already a master at twenty-five, was +almost superhuman, and certainly unique in the career of any artist; +for whereas the pictorial treatment of the New Testament had been +attempted by many during several centuries, Giotto was destined to +invent forms for the whole franciscan cycle with such perfection that +no succeeding artist has varied his formula. It remains a wonderful +achievement, and the noble manner of its accomplishment proved him to +be, as Mr Roger Fry expresses it, "the supreme epic painter of the +world." + +If St. Francis was fortunate in having his life related by so +admirable a story-teller, Giotto also owed something to the early +chroniclers who seeing, perhaps unconsciously, the extraordinary +poetry and the dramatic incidents in the saint's career, had +faithfully recorded them in simple and beautiful language. So far the +work was ready for Giotto, even the exact scenes were chosen for him +to illustrate, but the problem how to unfold and make them familiar to +the faithful by simple means, and yet not to lose the dignity and +charm of the theme, remained for him to solve; and the representation, +by a few figures, of a whole dramatic incident in so vivid a manner +could only have succeeded in the hands of a great master of the +fourteenth century. It is nearly certain that Giotto used St. +Bonaventure's _Life of St. Francis_, finished in 1263 and founded, +with but few additions, upon _The Three Companions_ and Celano's first +and second _Life of St. Francis_. Though written with a certain charm +of style and though it lacks the ring of those early pages, in which +St. Francis becomes known to us in such a way that we forget he lived +seven hundred years ago; and although the various incidents of his +life are presented like so many beautiful pictures, there is the +feeling always that St. Bonaventure was writing about a saint already +honoured upon earth and in heaven, and not of the man whom all loved +as the "Poverello d'Assisi." But this legend served Giotto's purpose; +and a knowledge of the words he followed being necessary in order to +see where he simply kept to the franciscan legend, and where he +penetrated the true spirit of the saint's life and its dramatic +interest, we quote from it at some length, although many of the main +facts have already been treated of in a preceding chapter.[95] + +I. _St. Francis honoured by the Simpleton._--(We begin on the right +wall by the High Altar, and follow straight on to the opposite side, +the legend unfolding as in the pages of a book.) + + "A certain man of great simplicity dwelt in those days in Assisi, + who, by virtue of knowledge divinely infused, whenever he met + Francis in the street, would take off his mantle, and spread it + upon the ground before him, declaring that he did so because he + was a man worthy of all honour and reverence, who should shortly + perform great works and marvellous deeds...."[96] + +The bare facts are here narrated which Giotto does not alter, but he +puts such life into the scene that we feel he might have been present +when the simpleton cast himself at Francis' feet and astonished the +Assisans by his words. Attention is fixed upon the six people in the +foreground. Two worthy citizens have just arrived in time to see the +cloak being spread on the ground before Francis, and to hear the +prophetic words; and as they turn to each other, one pointing to the +scene, the other raising his hand with a movement of surprise, we seem +to hear their carping criticisms upon the brilliant youth who, +although he spent his time in singing and carousals, was one day to +bring renown to their city. The young Francis, ever heedless of +worldly comment, is stepping lightly on to the cloak, with a movement +of surprise that he should receive such honour. All have the +Florentine headgear, but the head of St. Francis is covered by a small +white cap fitting close behind the ears, just showing his hair in +front, and we feel that Giotto would have left him so, but the +franciscans, ever to and fro in the church to see that the story was +painted as they liked, insisted upon an aureole being added. As much +glory for St. Francis they cried, as gold and money can give him. So +Giotto, who disliked unnecessary decorations, was made to put an +aureole above the white cap, larger than any we have ever seen. But +take away the halo and we should yet know which of the figures is the +saint, for he stands a little apart from his two noble friends with +ermine lined cloaks who talk with hands clasped together, and is +perhaps already wondering about the destiny which awaits him and of +which he was unaware, "for as yet he understood not the great purposes +of God towards him." + +Besides the human interest of the frescoes it is a delightful task to +study the architecture in each scene, for here, in the Upper Church, +Giotto has built a whole city of little pink houses with balconies, +towers and turrets, of exquisite Gothic basilicas, of temples and +gabled thrones. His priests sit within palaces full of lancet windows +and pointed arches, the groined roofs, as in the Assisan Church, +ablaze with myriads of stars. What love he had for dainty ornaments, +simple, nay almost severe in outline, but perfectly finished; and he +always likes to show the blue sky overhead, or at least peeping +through one of the windows, making the marble seem more lustrous and +creamy white. Would that all Florence had been built by him. + +2. _St. Francis giving his cloak to a poor Knight._ + + "Going forth one day, as was his wont, in apparel suited to his + state, he met a certain soldier of honour and courage, but poor + and vilely clad; of whose poverty, feeling a tender and sorrowful + compassion, he took off his new clothes and gave them to the poor + man-at-arms." + +None are there to witness the kind action of the young saint who, like +another St. Martin, has dismounted to give his mantle to the poor man +in a ravine near a little town enclosed by walls, a church spire +rising upon the opposite hill. Giotto must have been thinking of the +small rock-set towns, with stunted trees growing outside their walls, +in his Tuscan home in the Mugello when he painted this, instead of +the Umbrian town, standing amid vineyards and cornfields above an open +valley with winding rivers, whose church he was decorating. It is the +only one of the series in which the landscape is an important part of +the picture, in the others it is a mere accessory. + +3. _The Vision of St. Francis._ + + "On the following night, when he was asleep, the divine mercy + showed him a spacious and beautiful palace filled with arms and + military ensigns, all marked with the Cross of Christ to make + known to him that his charitable deed done to the poor soldier + for the love of the great King of heaven should receive an + unspeakable reward." + +It will be remembered that after this dream St. Francis started to +join the army of Walter de Brienne, having wrongly interpreted the +vision, which in reality symbolised the army he was eventually to lead +in the service of the Pope (see p. 44). This is, perhaps, the least +successful of the frescoes; probably the subject did not appeal +strongly to the painter (he only seems to have enjoyed inventing the +colonnaded palace with its trefoil windows) and also, as Mr Ruskin +explains: "Giotto never succeeded, to the end of his days, in +representing a figure lying down, and at ease. It is one of the most +curious points in all his character. Just the thing which he could +study from nature without the smallest hindrance, is the thing he +never can paint; while subtleties of form and gesture, which depend +absolutely on their momentariness, and actions in which no model can +stay an instant, he seizes with infallible accuracy."[97] + +4. _St. Francis praying before the Crucifix in San Damiano._ + + "As he lay prostrate before a crucifix he was filled with great + spiritual consolation, and gazing with tearful eyes upon the + holy cross of the Lord, he heard with his bodily ears a voice + from the crucifix, which said thrice to him: 'Francis, go and + build up My house, which as thou seest, is falling into ruin.'" + +Unfortunately this fresco is much faded and in parts peeled off; this, +combined with the representation of a ruined church, gives a curious +effect of total destruction, as if an earthquake had passed over the +land. The figure of the saint, just visible, and his attitude of +earnest prayer is very charming. + + [Illustration: ST. FRANCIS RENOUNCES THE WORLD + (D. ANDERSON--_photo_)] + +5. _St. Francis renounces the world._ + + "And now his father, ... brought this son, ... before the Bishop + of Assisi to compel him to renounce in his hands all his + inheritance.... As soon, therefore, as he came into the Bishop's + presence, without a moment's delay, neither waiting for his + father's demand nor uttering a word himself, he laid aside all + his clothes, and gave them back to his father.... With marvellous + fervour he then turned to his father, and spoke thus to him in + the presence of all: 'Until this hour I have called thee my + father on earth; from henceforth, I may say confidently, my + Father Who art in heaven.'" + +This, perhaps the most interesting of Giotto's frescoes, can be +compared with the one in Sta. Croce at Florence on the same subject, +painted when time and labour had given greater strength to his +genius. The Assisan scene is treated with more simplicity, and, if +less perfect as a decorative scheme, possesses quite as much +dramatic interest and vitality. A little block of pink houses on +either side reminds us that we are outside the Bishop's palace in +the Piazza S. Maria Maggiore, where the scene is said to have +occurred. Of course all the Assisans have turned out to see how the +quarrel between Bernardone and his son will end. They stand behind +the irate father like a Greek chorus, while one, evidently a citizen +of distinction from his ermine lined cloak and tippet, restrains +Messer Pietro, who is throwing back his arm with the evident +intention of striking his son. Francis' passion for repairing +Assisan churches and ministering to the wants of the poor had proved +a costly business to the thrifty merchant, who loved his money and +had little sympathy with Assisan beggars (sojourners in Assisi may +agree with him). Delightful are the two tiny children who with one +hand clutch up their garments, full of stones to throw at St. +Francis. The bishop is the calmest person there, turning to his +priests he seems to say: "All is well, there is God the Father's +hand in the sky (with a little patience it can be distinguished in +the fresco), and we are sure to gain the day, spite of Pietro's +angry words." And so he quietly folds his episcopal mantle around +St. Francis, who from this moment becomes indeed the Child of +heaven. It may seem strange, as Mr Ruskin truly observes, that St. +Francis, one of whose virtues was obedience, should begin life by +disobeying his father, but Giotto means to show that the young saint +was casting off all worldly restraint in order to obey the Supreme +Power, and the scene is a counterpart to Dante's lines referring to +his marriage with the Lady Poverty. + + "A dame, to whom none openeth pleasure's gate + More than to death, was, 'gainst his father's will, + His stripling choice: and he did make her his, + Before the spiritual court, by nuptial bonds, + And in his father's sight: from day to day, + Then loved her more devoutly."[98] + +6. _The dream of Innocent III._ + + "He saw in a dream the Lateran Basilica, now falling into ruin, + supported by the shoulders of a poor, despised, and feeble man. + 'Truly,' said he, 'this is he who by his works and his teaching + shall sustain the Church of Christ.'" + +In the representations of this vision painted for Dominican churches, +the Lateran is always supported by the two great founders, Francis and +Dominic, who, in their different ways, helped Innocent in his +difficult task of reforming the Church. Giotto shows his power and the +advance art is making under his hand, in the figure of St. Francis, +who with body slightly bent back and one hand on his hip, seems to +support the great weight, while his feet are so firmly planted that +there is no uncomfortable feeling of strain and only a sense of +strength and security. Two men are seated by the bedside of the Pope, +one is asleep while the other keeps watch, and in his slightly wearied +attitude and the reposeful figure of the sleeper, Giotto's keen +observation of the ordinary incidents of every day life is very +apparent. + +7. _Innocent III, sanctions the Rule of St. Francis._ + + "He was filled with a great and special devotion and love for the + servant of God. He granted all his petitions, and promised to + grant him still greater things. He approved the Rule, gave him a + mission to preach penance, and granted to all the lay brothers in + the company of the servant of God to wear a tonsure smaller than + that worn by priests, and freely to preach the Word of God." + +Giotto, in his fresco, has to represent the most important event in +the life of the saint--his arrival at the papal court when he comes +face to face with one of the greatest of the Roman Pontiffs; and by +the simplest possible means the scene is brought before us. Here are +no crimson-robed cardinals, no gilded papal throne; the bishops +grouped behind Innocent are hardly noticed, or even the brethren who, +with hands clasped as though in prayer, press closely to their leader +like a flock of sheep round their shepherd. The eye is so fixed upon +the two central figures, that all else fades away. Giotto has seized +the supreme moment when the Pope, having overcome his fear lest St. +Francis should falter in a life of poverty and prove to be only +another heretical leader of which Italy had already too many, is, with +kingly gesture, giving the Umbrian penitent authority to preach +throughout the land. St. Francis, holding out his hand to receive his +simple Rule, now bearing the papal seals, looks up with steady gaze; +he is the most humble among men kneeling at the feet of Rome's +sovereign, but strong in love, in faith and in knowledge of the +righteousness of his mission. M. Paul Sabatier has beautifully +illustrated the meaning of Giotto when he writes: "On pourrait croire +que le peintre avait trempe ses levres dans la coupe du Voyant +Calabrais [Joachim de Flore] et qu'il a voulu symboliser dans +l'attitude de ces deux hommes la rencontre des representants de deux +ages de l'humanite, celui de la Loi et celui de l'Amour." + +8. _Vision of the Friars at Rivo-Torto._ + + "Now while the brethren abode in the place aforesaid, the holy + man went on a certain Saturday into the city of Assisi, for he + was to preach on the Sunday morning in the Cathedral Church. And + being thus absent in body from his children, and engaged in + devout prayer to God (as was his custom throughout the night), in + a certain hut in the canon's garden, about midnight, whilst some + of the brethren were asleep and others watching in prayer, a + chariot of fire, of marvellous splendour, was seen to enter the + door, and thrice to pass hither and thither through the house; + ..." + +Giotto's was not a nature to find much enjoyment in the portrayal of +such events as saints being carried aloft in fiery chariots, and in +dealing with this miracle he dedicated all his power to representing +the astonishment of the brethren who witness the vision at Rivo-Torto. +Two talk together and point to St. Francis being borne across the +heavens by crimson horses, one hastens to awaken his companions who +are huddled together in their hut like tired dogs asleep, and another +starts from his slumbers to hear the wondrous news. + +9. _Vision of Brother Pacifico._ + + "This friar being in company with the holy man, entered with him + into a certain deserted church, and there, as he was praying + fervently he fell into an ecstacy, and amid many thrones in + heaven he saw one more glorious than all the rest, adorned with + precious stones of most glorious brightness. And marvelling at + the surpassing brightness of that throne, he began anxiously to + consider within himself who should be found worthy to fill it. + Then he heard a voice saying to him: 'This was the throne of one + of the fallen angels, and now it is reserved for the humble + Francis.'" + +With what devotion St. Francis, his hands crossed upon his breast, +prays upon the steps of the altar, while the friar behind is intent on +asking questions about the marvellous thrones he sees poised above his +head. Nothing can exceed the grace of the wide-winged angel floating +down to earth to record the humility of Francis, his garments slightly +spread by his movement through the air. + +10. _St. Francis chases the Devils away from Arezzo._ + + "In order to disperse these seditious powers of the air, he sent + as his herald Brother Sylvester, a man simple as a dove, saying + to him: 'Go to the gates of the city, and there in the Name of + Almighty God command the demons by virtue of holy obedience, that + without delay they depart from that place....'" + +The main facts of the legend are followed closely in this fresco, but +St. Bonaventure does not tell us how the miracle was performed, while +Giotto, understanding the soul of Francis, paints him kneeling outside +the gates of Arezzo praying with intense fervour for the salvation of +the city. His faith is so strong that he does not even look up like +Brother Sylvester, to see the demons flee away; some springing from +off the chimneys, others circling above the towers, their bat-like +wings outspread. The figure of Brother Sylvester is very fine, and the +way he is lifting his tunic and stepping forward, as he stretches out +one arm with a gesture of command towards the demons, could not be +rendered with more ease and truth. + +11. _St. Francis and Brother Illuminatus before the Sultan of Egypt._ + + "When they had gone a little further, they met with a band of + Saracens, who, quickly falling upon them, like wolves upon a + flock of sheep, cruelly seized and bound the servants of God ... + having in many ways afflicted and oppressed them, they were ... + according to the holy man's desire, brought into the presence of + the Sultan. And being questioned by that prince whence and for + what purpose they had come ... the servant of Christ, being + enlightened from on high, answered him thus: 'If thou and thy + people will be converted to Christ I will willingly abide with + thee. But if thou art doubtful whether or not to forsake the law + of Mohamed for the faith of Christ, command a great fire to be + lighted, and I will go into it with thy priests, that it may be + known which faith should be held to be the most certain and the + most holy.' To whom the Sultan made answer: 'I do not believe + that any of my priests would be willing to expose himself to the + fire or to endure any manner of torment in defence of his faith.' + Then said the holy man: 'If thou wilt promise me for thyself and + thy people that thou wilt embrace the worship of Christ if I come + forth unharmed, I will enter the fire alone.' ... But the Sultan + answered that he dared not accept this challenge, because he + feared a sedition of the people." + +This subject, from its dramatic interest, appealed to Giotto, giving +full scope to his powers, both as a story-teller, and as a painter +with such genius for portraying dignity and nobility of character. The +principal persons, the Sultan and St. Francis, are here clearly placed +before us as Giotto wished us to conceive them, and how correctly he +realised their characters we learn from the chronicles of the time. +"We saw," writes Jacques de Vitry in one of his letters, "Brother +Francis arrive, who is the founder of the Minorite Order; he was a +simple man, without letters, but very lovable and dear to God as well +as to men. He came while the army of the Crusaders was under +Damietta, and was much respected by all." This is indeed the man +depicted by Giotto in the slight figure of the preacher standing at +the foot of the marble throne, so humble, yet full of that secret +power which won even the Sultan's admiration. But though the story +centres in St. Francis, the person Giotto wishes all to notice is the +Sultan, who, far from being an ignorant heathen to be converted, +conveys the idea of a most noble and kingly person, Malek Camel in +short, known throughout the East as the "Perfect Prince." His mollahs +had wished to kill St. Francis and his companion, and the fine answer +he made was worthy of his high character. "Seigneurs," he said, +addressing his visitors, "they have commanded me by Mahomet and by the +law to have your heads cut off. For thus the law commands; but I will +go against the order, or else I should render you bad guerdon for +having risked death to save my soul." + +Giotto has chosen the most dramatic moment when St. Francis offers to +go through the ordeal by fire with the mahommedan priests, to prove +the power of the Christian God. With one look back upon the fire the +mollahs gather their robes around them and hurriedly leave the +Sultan's presence; St. Francis points towards the flames as though he +were assuring the Sultan that they will not hurt him, while the friar +behind gazes contemptuously after the retreating figures of the +mollahs. + +Dante and Milton in their different ways were able to give us a vivid +idea of fire, flame and heat, and so would Giotto have done had he +expressed his ideas by words instead of in painting; but he was wise +enough not to attempt it in his fresco, and so in lieu of a blaze of +crimson flames we have only what looks like a stunted red cypress, +realistic enough to make us understand the story without drawing our +attention away from the main interest of the scene. In this fresco we +are again reminded of the simple methods, grand and impressive by +their very straightforwardness, by which he brings before us so +strange a scene and accentuates the importance of an event in his own +individual way. + +12. _Ecstasy of St. Francis._ + +This legend is not recounted by St. Bonaventure, Celano, or in _The +Three Companions_, but there is a tradition of how St. Francis one day +in divine communion with God, was wrapt in ecstasy and his companions +saw him raised from the ground in a cloud. All that is human in the +scene Giotto has done as well as possible, but he evidently found it +hard to realise how St. Francis would have looked rising up in a +cloud, so he has devoted himself to rendering truthfully the +astonishment of the disciples who witness the miracle. + +13. _The Institution of the Feast at Greccio._ + + "... in order to excite the inhabitants of Greccio to commemorate + the nativity of the Infant Jesus with great devotion, he + determined to keep it with all possible solemnity; and lest he + should be accused of lightness or novelty, he asked and obtained + the permission of the sovereign Pontiff. Then he prepared a + manger, and brought hay, an ox and an ass to the place appointed. + The brethren were summoned, the people ran together, the forest + resounded with their voices, and that venerable night was made + glorious by many brilliant lights and sonorous psalms of praise. + The man of God stood before the manger, full of devotion and + piety, bathed in tears and radiant with joy; many masses were + said before it, and the Holy Gospel was chanted by Francis, the + Levite of Christ.... A certain valiant and veracious soldier, + Master John of Greccio, who, for the love of Christ, had left the + warfare of this world, and become a dear friend of the holy man, + affirmed that he beheld an Infant marvellously beautiful sleeping + in that manger, whom the blessed Father Francis embraced with + both his arms, as if he would awake him from sleep." + +Besides the wonderful way in which Giotto has succeeded, to use the +words of Mr Roger Fry, "in making visible, as it were, the sudden +thrill which penetrates an assembly at a moment of supreme +significance," there is the further interest of knowing that the scene +of the Nativity arranged by St. Francis at Greccio, was the first of +the mystery plays represented in Italy which were the beginning of the +Italian drama. Giotto makes not only Master John of Greccio see the +miracle of the Holy Child lying in the saint's arms and smiling up +into his face, but also those who accompany him and some of the +friars, while the other brethren, singing with mouths wide open like +young birds awaiting their food, are much too occupied to notice what +passes around them. A group of women, their heads swathed in white +veils, are entering at the door, and the whole scene is one of +animation and festivity. The marble canopy, with tall marble columns +and gabled towers, over the altar is one of Giotto's most exquisite +and graceful designs. But Giotto the shepherd has not succeeded so +happily in depicting an ox which lies at the saint's feet like a +purring cat. + +14. _The Miracle of the Water._ + + "Another time, when the man of God wished to go to a certain + desert place, that he might give himself the more freely to + contemplation, being very weak, he rode upon an ass belonging to + a poor man. It being a hot summer's day, the poor man, as he + followed the servant of Christ, became weary with the long way + and the steep ascent, and beginning to faint with fatigue and + burning thirst, he called after the saint: 'Behold,' he said, 'I + shall die of thirst unless I can find a little water at once to + refresh me.' Then without delay the man of God got off the ass, + and kneeling down with his hands stretched out to heaven, he + ceased not to pray till he knew he was heard." + +Giotto has here rendered the aridity of the summit of La Vernia, its +pinnacles of rocks with stunted trees. Two friars, by now quite +accustomed to miracles, converse together as they lead the donkey from +which St. Francis has dismounted to pray that the thirsty man's wishes +may be gratified. The grouping of the figures repeat the pointed lines +of the landscape, and the whole is harmonious and of great charm of +composition. It was justly admired by Vasari, who thought the peasant +drinking was worthy of "perpetual praise." Florentine writers were +continually harping on what they considered to be Giotto's claim to +immortality, his genius for portraying nature so that his copy seemed +as real as life, an opinion shared by Vasari when he gives his reason +for admiring this particular fresco. "The eager desire," he says, +"with which the man bends down to the water is portrayed with such +marvellous effect, that one could almost believe him to be a living +man actually drinking." + +Over the door is a medallion of the Madonna and Child which once was +by Giotto, but now, alas, the eyes of faith must see his handiwork +through several layers of paint with which restorers have been allowed +to cover it. A slightly sardonic smile has been added to the Madonna, +and to appreciate what is left of her charm it is necessary to look at +her from the other end of the church, where the beauty of line and +composition can still be discerned notwithstanding the barbarous +treatment she has undergone. + +15. _St. Francis Preaching to the Birds at Bevagna._ + + "When he drew near to Bevagna, he came to a place where a great + multitude of birds of different kinds were assembled together, + which, when they saw the holy man, came swiftly to the place, and + saluted him as if they had the use of reason. They all turned + towards him and welcomed him; those which were on the trees bowed + their heads in an unaccustomed manner, and all looked earnestly + at him, until he went to them and seriously admonished them to + listen to the Word of the Lord.... While he spoke these and + other such words to them, the birds rejoiced in a marvellous + manner, swelling their throats, spreading their wings, opening + their beaks, and looking at him with great attention." + +This theme has been treated by another artist in the Lower Church, +with little success as we have seen; it is also sometimes introduced +in the predellas of big pictures of the school of Cimabue; but it +remained for Giotto to give us a picture as beautiful in colour as +those left by the early chroniclers in words. He never painted it +again on a large scale, and the small representation in the predella +of the picture in the Louvre follows the Assisan fresco in every +detail. Two friars whose brown habits are tinted with mauve, one tree, +a blue, uncertain landscape and some dozen birds, are all he thought +necessary to explain the story, and yet the whole poetry of St. +Francis' life is here, the keynote of his character, which has made +him the most beloved among saints, and the man who though poor, +unlettered and often reviled, was to herald the coming of a new age in +religion, art and literature. With what love he bends towards his +little feathered brethren as he beckons them to him, and they gather +fearlessly round him while he points to the skies and tells them in +simple words their duties towards their Creator. + +Another Florentine, Benozzo Gozzoli, painted this subject; there +across the Assisan valley at Montefalco we can see it. His birds are +certainly better drawn, there are more of them too, and we can even +amuse ourselves by distinguishing among them golden orioles, +blackbirds, doves and wood pigeons, but no one would hesitate to say +that real charm and poetry are missing. Giotto's fresco, painted 600 +years ago, is somewhat faded and many of the birds are partly effaced, +but we do not feel it matters much what they are--we only love the +fact that St. Francis called the Umbrian birds around him and preached +them a sermon with the same care as if he had been in the presence of +a pope, and that Giotto believed the legend and took pains with his +work, intending that we also should believe and understand something +of the sweetness of this Umbrian scene. + +16. _Death of the Knight of Celano._ + + "When the holy man came into the soldier's house all the family + rejoiced greatly to receive this poor one of the Lord. And before + he began to eat, according to his custom, the holy man offered + his usual prayers and praises to God, with his eyes raised to + heaven. When he had finished his prayer, he familiarly called his + kind host aside, and said to him: 'Behold, my host and brother, + in compliance with thy prayers I have come to eat in thy house. + But now attend to that which I say to thee, for thou shalt eat no + more here, but elsewhere. Therefore, confess thy sins with truly + penitent contrition; let nothing remain in thee unrevealed by + true confession, for the Lord will requite thee to-day for the + kindness with which thou hast received His poor servant.' The + good man believed these holy words, and disclosing all his sins + in confession to the companion of St. Francis, he set all his + house in order, making himself ready for death, and preparing + himself for it to the best of his power. They then sat down to + table, and the others began to eat, but the spirit of the host + immediately departed, according to the words of the man of God, + which foretold his sudden death." + +This is one of the most characteristic of Giotto's works, showing his +power, unique at that time, of touching upon human sorrow with +simplicity, truth and restraint. Here is no exaggerated gesture of +grief, no feigned expression of surprise or false note to make us +doubt the truth of the tragedy that has befallen the house of Celano. +But the movement of the crowd of sorrowing people, the men gazing down +on the dead knight, the women weeping, their fair hair falling +about their shoulders, tell better than any restless movement the +awful grief which fills their hearts. It has happened so suddenly that +the friar still sits at table with his fork in his hand, while St. +Francis hast just risen to go to the people's assistance, while a man +in the Florentine dress turns to him seeming, from the gesture of his +hand, to say: "See, your prophecy has been fulfilled but too soon." + + [Illustration: DEATH OF THE KNIGHT OF CELANO + (D. ANDERSON--_photo_)] + +17. _St. Francis preaches before Honorius III._ + + "Having to preach on a certain day before the Pope and the + cardinals, at the suggestion of the Cardinal of Ostia he learned + a sermon by heart, which he had carefully prepared; when he was + about to speak it for their edification he wholly forgot + everything he had to say, so that he could not utter a word. He + related with true humility what had befallen him, and then, + having invoked the aid of the Holy Spirit, he began at once to + move the hearts of these great men...." + +In this fine fresco Giotto has represented St. Francis holding his +audience as though spell-bound by the power of his eloquence, and the +contrast is great between the charming figure of the saint and that of +the stern and earnest Pope, who, deep in thought, is leaning his chin +on his hand, perhaps wondering at the strange chance which has brought +the slight brown figure, so dusty and so poorly clad, so ethereal and +so eloquent, into the midst of the papal court. It is delightful to +study the faces and gestures of the listeners; some are all enthusiasm +and interest, like the charming young cardinal in an orange-tinted +robe, whose thoughts seem to be far away following where St. Francis' +burning words are leading them; but the older man gazes critically at +the saint, perhaps saying within himself: "What is this I hear, we +must give up all, our fat benefices, our comfortable Roman palaces, to +follow Christ"; and the cardinal on the right of the Pope also seems +surprised at the new doctrines of love, poverty and sacrifice. Four +others lean their heads on their hands; but how varied are the +gestures, from the Pope, all eagerness and keen attention, to the +cardinal bowing his head sadly thinking, like the man of great +possessions, how pleasant it would be to become perfect, but how +impossible it is to leave the goods of this world. St. Francis' +companion is seated at his master's feet as though affirming, "I +follow his teaching, and all he says is right." + +18. _The Apparition of St. Francis._ + + "For when the illustrious preacher and glorious Confessor, + Anthony, who is now with Christ, was preaching to the brethren in + the chapel at Arles on the title upon the Cross--'Jesus of + Nazareth, the King of the Jews'--a certain friar of approved + virtue named Monaldus, casting his eyes by divine inspiration + upon the door of the chapter-house, beheld, with his bodily eyes, + the blessed Francis raised in the air, blessing the brethren, + with his arms outstretched in the form of a Cross." + +The friars sit in various attitudes of somewhat fatigued attention +before St. Anthony who is standing, and none seem as yet to be aware +of the apparition of St. Francis, who appears at the open door under a +Gothic archway, the blue sky behind him. There is a strange feeling of +peace about the scene. + +19. _The Stigmata._ + + "... On the hard rock, + 'Twixt Arno and the Tiber, he from Christ + Took the last signet, which his limbs two years + Did carry...."[99] + +This fresco is unhappily much ruined; enough however remains to trace +a close resemblance to Giotto's predella of the same subject now in +the Louvre, but where the solemnity of the scene is increased by the +saint being alone with the Seraph upon La Vernia. + + * * * * * + +It may be well here to give some of the various opinions as to the +authorship of these frescoes, though in this small book it is +impossible to go at all deeply into the subject. Some, following Baron +von Rumohr, hold that the only paintings in the Upper Church by +Giotto, are the two by the door, the _Miracle of the Water_ and the +_Sermon to the Birds_, while Messrs. Crowe and Cavalcaselle give also +the first of the series and the last five to him, but while "youthful +and feeling his way," and all the rest to Gaddo Gaddi, or maybe +Filippo Rusutti. Lastly, Mr Bernhard Berenson is of opinion that +Giotto's style is to be clearly traced from the first fresco, _St. +Francis honoured by the Simpleton_, to the nineteenth, _The Stigmata_; +and they show so much affinity to the work of the great Florentine in +Sta. Croce and elsewhere, that it is impossible not to agree with him. +In the remaining frescoes, representing the death and miracles of St. +Francis, he sees a close resemblance to the work of the artist who +painted in the chapel of St. Nicholas (Lower Church), and who may have +aided Giotto in the Upper Church before being chosen to continue his +master's work. + +20. _Death of St. Francis._ + + "The hour of his departure being at hand, he commanded all the + brethren who were in that place to be called to him, and + comforted them with consoling words concerning his death, + exhorting them with fatherly affection to the divine love.... + When he had finished these loving admonitions, this man, most + dear to God, commanded that the Book of the Gospels should be + brought to him, and ... his most holy soul being set free and + absorbed in the abyss of the divine glory, the blessed man slept + in the Lord." + +This fresco has suffered from the damp and all that clearly remains +are the angels, in whom the artist's feeling for graceful movement is +shown, their flight down towards the dead recalling the rush of the +swallows' wings as they circle in the evening above the towers of San +Francesco. + +21. _The Apparitions of St. Francis._ + + "... Brother Augustine, a holy and just man, was minister of the + Friars at Lavoro: he being at the point of death, and having for + a long time lost the use of speech, exclaimed suddenly, in the + hearing of all who stood around: 'Wait for me, Father, wait for + me; I am coming with thee....' + + "At the same time the Bishop of Assisi was making a devout + pilgrimage to the church of St. Michael, on Mount Gargano. To him + the Blessed Francis appeared on the very night of his departure, + saying: 'Behold I leave the world and go to Heaven.'" + +In one fresco the artist has represented two different scenes, the +greater prominence being given to the dying friar surrounded by many +brethren. In neither is shown the figure of St. Francis, as the artist +probably thought that it would have been difficult to introduce the +apparition twice. But while the gesture of the friar stretching out +his arms and the arrangement of the others explain the story, it would +be difficult, without St. Bonaventure's legend, to know the feelings +of the bishop who is so calmly sleeping in the background. + +22. _The Incredulous Knight of Assisi._ + + "... when the holy man had departed from this life, and his + sacred spirit had entered its eternal house ... many of the + citizens of Assisi were admitted to see and kiss the Sacred + Stigmata. Among these was a certain soldier, a learned and + prudent man, named Jerome, held in high estimation in the city, + who, doubting the miracle of the Sacred Stigmata, and being + incredulous like another Thomas, more boldly and eagerly than the + rest moved the nails in the presence of his fellow-citizens, and + touched with his own hands the hands and feet of the holy man; + and while he thus touched these palpable signs of the wounds of + Christ, his heart was healed and freed from every wound of + doubt." + +This fresco is so much ruined that it is difficult to enjoy it as a +whole, but some of the figures of the young acolytes bearing lighted +torches, and the priests reading the service and sprinkling the body +with holy water, are very life-like. + +23. _The Mourning of the Nuns of San Damiano._ + + "Passing by the church of St. Damian, where that noble virgin, + Clare, now glorious in heaven, abode with the virgins her + sisters, the holy body, adorned with celestial jewels [the marks + of the Stigmata], remained there awhile, till those holy virgins + could see and kiss them." + +This, the loveliest of the last nine frescoes, recalls the one in St. +Nicholas' Chapel of the three prisoners imploring the saint's +protection; even to the basilica which forms the background of both. +Considering that it is the last farewell of St. Clare and her +companions to St. Francis the artist might have given a more tragic +touch to the scene, but all is made subservient to the rendering of +graceful figures, like the charming nuns who talk together as they +hasten out of San Damiano, whose humble facade of stone the artist has +transformed into a building of marble and mosaic almost rivalling the +glories of such cathedrals as Siena and Orvieto. St. Clare stoops to +kiss the saint while priests and citizens wait to resume their hymns +of praise, and a small child climbs up a tree and tears down branches +to strew upon the road in front of the bier.[100] + +24. _The Canonisation of St. Francis._ + + "The Sovereign Pontiff, Gregory IX, ... determined with pious + counsel and holy consideration to pay to the holy man that + veneration and honour of which he knew him to be most worthy ... + and coming himself in person to the city of Assisi in the year of + our Lord's Incarnation, 1228, on Sunday the 6th of July, with + many ceremonies and great solemnity, he inscribed the Blessed + Father in the catalogue of the saints." + +This fresco is so ruined that it is impossible to form any idea of its +composition; about the only object clearly to be seen is the +sepulchral urn of St. Francis, represented beneath an iron grating in +the church of San Giorgio. + +25. _The Dream of Gregory IX, at Perugia._ + + "On a certain night, then, as the Pontiff was afterwards wont to + relate with many tears, the Blessed Francis appeared to him in a + dream, and with unwonted severity in his countenance, reproving + him for the doubt which lurked in his heart, raised his right + arm, discovered the wound, and commanded that a vessel should be + brought to receive the blood which issued from his side. The + Supreme Pontiff still in vision, brought him the vessel, which + seemed to be filled even to the brim with the blood which flowed + from his side." + +We are here left with an impression that the artist was hampered by +not having enough figures for his composition, and the four men seated +on the ground and guarding the Pope, compare unfavourably with +Giotto's fresco of the three grand watchers by Innocent III, upon the +opposite wall. + +16. _St. Francis cures the Wounded Man._ + + "It happened in the city of Ilerda, in Catalonia, that a good + man, named John, who was very devout to St. Francis, had to pass + through a street, in which certain men were lying in wait to kill + him and ... wounded him with so many dagger-strokes as to leave + him without hope of life.... The poor man's cure was considered + impossible by all the physicians.... And, behold, as the sufferer + lay alone on his bed, frequently calling on the name of Francis + ... one stood by him in the habit of a Friar Minor, who, as it + seemed to him, came in by a window, and calling him by his name, + said, 'Because thou hast trusted in me, behold, the Lord will + deliver thee.'" + +The artist having here an incident less difficult to deal with than +visions and dreams, betrays a certain humour in the stout figure of +the doctor, who, as he leaves the room, turns to the two women as +though saying, "He has begun to pray, as if that can help him when I +have failed to cure him." Meantime St. Francis, escorted by two tall +and graceful angels with great wings, is laying his hands upon the +wounded man. Here, as in most of these latter frescoes, a single scene +is divided into more than one episode; this seems to us to be the +great difference between them and the works of Giotto, where the eye +is immediately attracted towards the principal figure or figures, the +others only serving to complete the composition. + +27. _The last Confession of the Woman of Benevento._ + + "... a certain woman who had a special devotion to St. Francis, + went the way of all flesh. Now, all the clergy being assembled + round the corpse to keep the accustomed vigils, and say the usual + psalms and prayers, suddenly that woman rose on her feet, in + presence of them all, on the bier where she lay, and calling to + her one of the priests ... 'Father,' she said, 'I wish to + confess. As soon as I was dead, I was sent to a dreadful dungeon, + because I had never confessed a certain sin which I will now make + known to you. But St. Francis, whom I have ever devoutly served, + having prayed for me, I have been suffered to return to the body, + that having revealed that sin, I may be made worthy of eternal + life.' ... She made her confession, therefore, trembling to the + priest, and having received absolution, quietly lay down on the + bier, and slept peacefully in the Lord." + +The legend is dramatic and the artist has not failed to make us feel +the great sadness and solemnity of the scene. A moment more, and the +group of people to the left will come forward to carry the woman away +for burial while the relations weep most bitterly; they stand aside +with heads bowed in grief, for already the presence of death is felt. +Only the sorrow of the child, who stretches out his arms, has passed +away upon seeing her rise to speak with the priest. Very tall and +slender are the figures of the women, bending and swaying together +like flowers in a gentle breeze. + +28. _St. Francis releases Peter of Alesia from Prison._ + + "When Pope Gregory IX, was sitting in the chair of St. Peter, a + certain man named Peter, of the city of Alesia, on an accusation + of heresy, was carried to Rome, and, by command of the same + Pontiff, was given in custody to the Bishop of Tivoli. He, having + been charged to keep him in safety ... bound him with heavy + chains and imprisoned him in a dark dungeon.... This man began to + call with many prayers and tears upon St. Francis ... beseeching + him to have mercy upon him.... About twilight on the vigil of his + feast, St. Francis mercifully appeared to him in prison, and, + calling him by his name, commanded him immediately to arise.... + Then, by the power of the presence of the holy man, he beheld the + fetters fall broken from his feet, and the doors of the prison + were unlocked without anyone to open them, so that he could go + forth unbound and free." + +Everything here gives the impression of height; the tall slim figures, +the high doorway, and the slender tower and arches. St. Francis is +seen flying up to the skies with the same swift motion the artist has +given to the figure of St. Nicholas in the Lower Church, and the +"Greek Chorus" to the left serves to show surprise at the unusual +occurrence of a prisoner suddenly emerging from his prison with broken +fetters in his hands. + + * * * * * + +None should leave the church without looking at the stalls in the +choir; they are by Domenico da San Severino, made in 1501, by order, +as an inscription tells us, of Francesco Sansone, General of the +franciscan order, and friend of Sixtus IV. The artist only took ten +years to execute this really wonderful work; the intarsia figures of +the stalls in pale yellow wood, most of them fancy portraits of the +companions of St. Francis, are remarkable for their form and +character. They betray, in the opinion of Mr Berenson, Venetian +influences of Crivelli and of the school of the Vivarini. + + [Illustration: ARMS OF THE FRANCISCANS FROM THE INTARSIA OF THE + STALLS] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[95] St. Bonaventure was born in 1221 at Bagnora in Umbria, and became +General of the franciscan order. Dante, in canto xii. of the +_Paradiso_, leaves him to sing the praises of St. Dominic, just as the +dominican divine St. Thomas Aquinas had related the story of St. +Francis in the preceding canto. + +[96] We have used Miss Lockhart's translation of St. Bonaventure's +_Legenda Santa Francisci_. + +[97] J. Ruskin, _Mornings in Florence_, iii. Before the Soldan. + +[98] xi. _Paradiso_, Cary's translation. + +[99] Dante, _Paradiso_, xi., Cary's translation. + +[100] A comparison may be made between the long and slender body of +the saint here with that in the death of St. Francis in Sta. Croce, +where the body is firmly drawn and of more massive proportions. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +_St. Clare at San Damiano. The Church of Santa Chiara._ + + "Comme les fleurs, les ames ont leur parfum qui ne trompe + jamais."--P. SABATIER. _Vie de S. Francois d'Assise_. + + +The days of St. Clare from the age of eighteen until her death in 1253 +were passed within the convent walls of San Damiano, and though +peaceful enough, for a mediaeval lady, they were full of events and +varied interest. + +She was born on the 10th of July 1194 in Assisi of noble parents, her +father being Count Favorino Scifi (spelt also Scefi) the descendant of +an ancient Roman family who owned a large palace in the town, and a +castle on the slope of Mount Subasio to the east of the ravine where +the Carceri lie among the ilex woods. The castle gave the title of +Count of Sasso Rosso to its owners, and was the cause of much +skirmishing between the Scifi and the Ghislerio who were continually +wresting it from each other, until in 1300, during one of these +struggles, the walls were razed to the ground and no one sought +afterwards to repair its ruins. Of Sasso Rosso a few stones still +remain, which, as they catch the morning light, are seen from Assisi +like a grey crag projecting from the mountain, high above the road to +Spello. When not fighting beneath the walls of his castle Count +Favorino was generally away on some skirmishing expedition, and during +his absences, his wife, the Lady Ortolana of the noble family of the +Fiumi, would depart upon a pilgrimage to the south of Italy or even to +the Holy Land.[101] An old writer remarks that her name "Ortolana +(market gardener) was very appropriate, because from her, as from a +well-tended orchard, sprang most noble plants." After her return from +Palestine she one night heard a voice speaking these prophetic words +to which she listened with great awe. "Be not afraid Ortolana, for +from thee shall arise a light so bright and clear that the darkness of +the earth shall be illuminated thereby." So the daughter who was born +soon after was called Chiara in memory of the divine message. With so +pious a mother it is not surprising that Clare should have grown up +thoughtful and fond of praying; we even hear of her seeking solitary +corners in the palace where she would be found saying her rosary, +using pebbles like the hermits of old instead of beads upon a chain. +But her evident inclination for a religious life in no way alarmed +Count Favorino, who had made up his mind that she should marry a +wealthy young Assisan noble, for even at an early age she showed great +promise of beauty. "Her face was oval," says a chronicler, "her +forehead spacious, her complexion brilliant, and her eyebrows and hair +very fair. A celestial smile played in her eyes and around her mouth; +her nose was well-proportioned and slightly aquiline; of good stature +she was rather inclined to stoutness, but not to excess." A little +while and her fate in life would have been sealed in the ordinary way, +and she would have continued to look out upon the world through the +barred windows of some old Assisan palace; but great changes were +being wrought in the town even when Clare had just passed into +girlhood. With the rest of her fellow-citizens, rich and poor, she was +destined to feel the potent influence of one who suddenly appeared in +their midst like an inspired prophet of old, calling on all to repent, +and picturing higher ideals in life than any had hitherto dreamed of. +Although her first meeting with St. Francis has not been recorded by +any early biographer, we may be sure that from the age of fourteen, +and perhaps even before, the story of his doings had been familiar to +her, for the stir his conversion made among the people, his quarrels +with his father, and the many followers he gained, even among the +nobles, were of too extraordinary a nature to pass without comment in +the family of the Scifi.[102] Their palace being near the Porta Nuova +it is certain that Clare and her younger sister Agnes must have often +seen St. Francis pass on his way to San Damiano, carrying the bricks +which he had begged from door to door to repair its crumbling walls, +and heard him scoffed at by the children and cursed by his angry +father. As his fame as a preacher grew the Scifi family hurried with +the rest to listen to his sermons in the cathedral, or perhaps even in +the market-place, where he would stand upon the steps of the old +temple and gather the peasants around him on a market day. But the +decisive time arrived in the year 1212, when St. Francis, by then the +acknowledged founder of a new order sanctioned by the Pope, and no +longer jeered at as a mad enthusiast, came to preach during Lent in +the church of San Giorgio. It was the parish church of the Scifi, and +the whole family attended every service. Clare was then eighteen, +young enough to be carried away by the words of the franciscan and +build for herself a life outside her present existence; old enough to +have felt unbearable the trammels of a degraded age, and to long, +during those years of warfare to which all the cities of the valley +were subjected, for an escape to where peace and purity could be +found. Only dimly she saw her way to a perfect love of Christ. The +preacher's words were addressed to all, but she felt them as an +especial call to herself, and unhesitatingly she resolved to seek out +the friar at the Portiuncula and ask his help and counsel in what was +no easy task. Instinctively knowing her mother could be of no aid, +even if she sympathised in her cravings for a more spiritual life, she +gained the confidence of her aunt, Bianca Guelfucci, who all through +played her part regardless of Count Favorino's possible revenge. + +Even during the first two years of his mission St. Francis was +accustomed to receive many men who wished to leave home and comforts, +and tramp along the country roads with him, but when the young Chiara +Scifi threw herself at his feet imploring him to help her to enter +upon a new way of life, his heart was troubled, and, reflecting on +what wide results his preaching was taking, fear even may have formed +part of his surprise. Bernard of Quintavalle he had bidden sell all +that he had, distribute it to the poor, and join him at the leper +houses; but before allowing Clare to take the veil he sought to prove +her vocation beyond a doubt, and bade her go from door to door through +the town begging her bread, clad in rough sack-cloth with a hood drawn +about her face. Her piety only increased until St. Francis, believing +that he was called upon to help her, resolved to act the part of the +spiritual knight errant. + + [Illustration: DOOR THROUGH WHICH ST. CLARE LEFT THE PALAZZO SCIFI] + +On Palm Sunday, arrayed in their richest clothes, the members of the +Scifi and the Fiumi families attended high mass in the cathedral, and +with the rest of the citizens went up to receive the branches of +palms. But to the astonishment of all Clare remained kneeling as if +wrapt in a dream, and in vain the bishop waited for her to follow the +procession to the altar. All eyes were upon her as the bishop, with +paternal tenderness, came down from the altar steps to where the young +girl knelt and placed the palm in her hand. That night Clare left her +father's house for ever. A small door in the Scifi palace is still +shown through which she is said to have escaped. It had been walled up +for some time, but the fragile girl gifted that night with superhuman +strength and courage, tore down timber and stones and joined Bianca +Guelfucci, who was waiting with some trembling maidservants where the +arch spans the street, to accompany her to the Portiuncula (see p. +104). Great was the consternation in the family when next morning her +flight was discovered, and news came that she had found shelter in the +benedictine convent near Bastia. Count Favorino and his wife lost no +time in following her, fully persuaded that by threats or entreaties +they would be able to induce her to return home and marry the man of +her father's choice; but they knew little of the strength of character +which lay hidden beneath the gentle nature of the eldest and hitherto +most docile of their daughters. The violent words of her father and +the tears of her mother in no way shook Clare's determination; +approaching the altar she placed one hand upon it while with the other +she raised her veil, and facing her parents showed them the close cut +hair which marked her as the bride of Jesus Christ. No earthly power, +she said, should sever her from the life she had chosen of her own +free will, and crest-fallen they left the convent without another +word. It was hardly surprising that Agnes, the second sister, who +sometimes went to see St. Clare at Bastia, should wish to take the +veil. At this the fury of Count Favorino knew no bounds, and he sent +his brother Monaldo with several armed followers, among whom may have +been Clare's slighted lover, to force Agnes, if persuasion failed, to +abandon her vocation. She was at their mercy but refused to leave the +convent, so they caught her by her long fair hair and dragged her +across the fields towards the town, kicking her as they went; her +cries filled the air, "Clare, my sister, help, so that I may not be +taken from my heavenly spouse." The prayers of Clare were heard, for +suddenly the slight form of the girl became as lead in the arms of the +soldiers, and in vain they tried to lift her. Monaldo, beside himself +with rage, drew his sword to strike her when his arm dropt withered +and useless by his side. Clare, who had by this time come upon the +scene, begged them to desist from their cruel acts, and cowed by what +had happened they slunk away, leaving the sisters to return to the +convent. + +St. Francis seeing the devotion and steady vocation of both Clare and +Agnes, and doubtless foreseeing that many would follow their example, +began to seek for some shelter where they could lead a life of prayer +and labour. Again the Benedictines of Mount Subasio came forward with +a gift, offering another humble sanctuary which the saint had repaired +some years before. This was San Damiano, a chapel so old that none +could tell its origin; the vague legend that it stands on the site of +a pagan necropolis seems confirmed by a lofty fragment of Roman +masonry which juts up on the roadside between the Porta Nuova and San +Damiano. With his own hands St. Francis built a few rude cells near +the chapel, resembling the cluster of huts by the Portiuncula, and +here the "Poor Ladies" were to pass their days in prayer and manual +labour. The little humble grey stone building among the olive trees +with the pomgranates flowering against its walls, so different to a +convent of the present day, must have seemed to Clare the realisation +of a freer life than ever she had known before. Others felt its charm +and before long several friends had joined her besides Bianca +Guelfucci, while upon the death of Count Favorino, Madonna Ortolana +received the habit from the hands of St. Francis together with her +youngest daughter Beatrice. The fame of the order spread far and wide, +gaining so many novices that several new houses were founded in Italy +even during the first few years. In those early days St. Clare was +given no written law to follow, but like the brethren she and her nuns +learnt all the perfection of a religious life from St. Francis, who +would often stop at San Damiano on his way to and from the town. He +did not allow them to go beyond their boundaries, but a busy life was +to be passed in their cells; owning nothing, they were to depend +entirely upon what the brothers could beg for them in the town and +country round, and when provisions were scarce they fasted. In return +the nuns spun the grey stuff for the habits of the friars and the +linen for their altars; and after St. Francis received the Stigmata, +St. Clare fashioned sandals for him with space for the nails so that +he might walk with more ease. Often the poor came to seek help at her +hands, and many times the sick were tended in a little mud hut near +her cell which she used as a hospital. Silently her life was passed, +and to those who looked on from the outside perhaps it might have +seemed of small avail compared with the very apparent results of St. +Francis' endeavours to help his fellow creatures. But very quietly she +was guiding the women of mediaeval Italy towards higher aims, for even +those who could not follow her into the cloister were aided in their +lives at home by the thought of the pure-souled gentle nun of San +Damiano. Not the least important part of her work was the womanly +sympathy and help which she gave to St. Francis. He turned to her when +in trouble, and it was she who encouraged him to continue preaching to +the people when, at one time he thought that his vocation was to be a +life of solitary prayer and not of constant contact with mankind. He +counted on her prayers, and trusting in her counsel went forward once +more to preach the words of redemption. From her lonely cell she +watched his work with tender solicitude, and when blind and ill he +came for the last time to San Damiano she tended to his wants in a +little hut she erected for him not far from the convent whence, across +the vineyard and olive grove which separated them, the first strains +of his glorious Canticle to the Sun came to her one morning. Her +gentle influence played an important part in his life, giving him a +friendship which is one of the most beautiful things to dwell on in +their lives. Some have sneered at its purity, and compared so ideal a +connection to a commonplace mediaeval tale of monk and nun; but it is +degrading even to hint at such an ending to the love of these two for +each other, and impossible to believe it after reading M. Sabatier's +beautiful chapter on St. Clare, where he touches, in some of his most +charming pages, upon a side of St. Francis' character that most +biographers have but little understood. + +A beautiful story in the _Fioretti_ relates how once St. Clare, +desiring greatly to eat with St. Francis, a boon he had never accorded +her, was granted the request at the earnest prayer of the brethren, +"and that she may be the more consoled," he said, "I will that this +breaking of bread take place in St. Mary of the Angels; for she has +been so long shut up in S. Damian that it will rejoice her to see +again the House of Mary, where her hair was shorn off, and she became +the bride of Christ." Once more St. Clare came to the plain of the +Portiuncula, and the saint spoke so sweetly and eloquently of heavenly +things that all remained wrapped in ecstacy, oblivious of the food +which was spread before them on the floor and, as Clare dwelt in +divine contemplation, a great flame sprang up and shrouded them in +celestial light. The Assisans and the people of Bettona, looking down +from their walls upon the plain, thought that the Portiuncula was on +fire, and hurried to the assistance of their beloved saint. "But +coming close to the House," says the _Fioretti_, "they entered within, +and found St. Francis and St. Clare with all their company in +contemplation wrapt in God as they sat round the humble board." +Comforted by this spiritual feast St. Clare returned to San Damiano, +where she was expected with great anxiety, as it had been imagined +that St. Francis might have sent her to rule some other convent, +"wherefore the sisters rejoiced exceedingly when they saw her face +again." Those were peaceful and happy days, but sorrow came when news +reached her that St. Francis was near his end; "she wept most +bitterly, and refused to be comforted," for she too was ill, and +feared to die before she could see his face again. This fear she +signified through a brother unto the Blessed Francis, and when the +saint, who loved her with a singular and paternal affection, heard it, +he had pity on her; and considering that her desire to see him once +more could not be fulfilled in the future, he sent her a letter with +his benediction and absolving her from every fault.... "Go and tell +sister Clare to lay aside all sadness and sorrow, for now she cannot +see me, but of a truth before her death both she and her sisters shall +see me and be greatly comforted." But the last she saw of him was +through a lattice window, when they brought his dead body for the nuns +to see and kiss the pierced hands and feet (see p. 119). + + * * * * * + + [Illustration: SAN DAMIANO, SHOWING THE WINDOW WITH THE LEDGE WHENCE + ST. CLARE ROUTED THE SARACENS] + +A strange thing happened to disturb the peaceful serenity of their +lives at San Damiano in the year 1234, when the army of Frederic II, +was fighting in the north of Italy, and a detachment of Saracen troops +under one of his generals, Vitale d'Anversa, came through Umbria, +pillaging the country as they passed. Assisi was a desirable prey, as +it had been to many before them, and coming to the convent of San +Damiano they scaled its walls, preparatory to a final rush upon the +town. The terror of the nuns may be imagined, and running to the cell +where Clare lay ill in bed they cowered round her "like frightened +doves when the hawk has stooped upon their dovecote." Taking the +Blessed Sacrament, which she was allowed to keep in a little chapel +next to her cell, she proceeded to face the whole army, trusting like +St. Martin in the power of prayer and personal courage. As she walked +towards the window overlooking the small courtyard a voice spoke to +her from the ciborium saying, "Assisi will have much to suffer, but my +arm shall defend her." Raising the Blessed Sacrament on high she stood +at the open window, against which the soldiers had already placed a +ladder; those who were ascending, as they looked up towards her, fell +back blinded, while the others took to flight, and thus cloister and +city were saved through the intercession of the gentle saint. Vitale +d'Anversa, who had not been present at the prodigy, probably thinking +the soldiers had failed in their enterprise through lack of valour, +came with a still larger company of men, and led them in person to +storm the town. St. Clare, hearing what peril encompassed Assisi, and +being asked by the citizens to intercede with Heaven as the enemy had +sworn to bury them beneath their city walls, gathered all her nuns +about her, and knelt in prayer with them. At dawn the next morning a +furious tempest arose, scattering the tents of the Saracens in every +direction, and causing such a panic that they took refuge in hasty +flight. The gratitude of the citizens increased their love for St. +Clare, as all attributed their release to her prayers, and to this day +she is regarded as the deliverer of her country. + +One cannot help regretting that while so many contemporary chroniclers +have left detailed and varied accounts of St. Francis, they only +casually allude to St. Clare, calling her "a sweet spring blossom," or +"the chief rival of the Blessed Francis in the observance of Gospel +perfection," but leaving later writers to form their own pictures of +the saint. And the picture they give is always of a silent and +prayerful nun, beautiful of feature, sweet and gentle of disposition, +coming ever to the help of those who needed it, and acting the part of +a guardian angel to the Assisans. Her horizon was bounded by the +mountains of the Spoletan valley; and from the outside world, on which +her influence worked so surely during her life and for long centuries +after her death, only faint echoes reached her when a pope or a +cardinal came to see her, or a princess wrote her a letter from some +distant country. Among the many royal and noble people who had entered +a Poor Clare sisterhood, or like St. Elizabeth of Hungary had joined +the Third Order, was the Blessed Agnes, daughter of the King of +Bohemia, who, kindled with a desire for a religious life upon hearing +the story of St. Clare, refused the hand of Frederick II, and passed +her life in a convent. Often she wrote to the Assisan abbess getting +in reply most charming letters, beginning "To her who is dearer to me +than any other mortal," or "To the daughter of the King of Kings, to +the Queen of Virgins, to the worthy spouse of Jesus Christ; the +unworthy servant of the poor nuns of San Damiano sends greetings and +rejoicings in the good fortune of living always in the extremest +poverty." These two never met, but their friendship was a close one, +and their correspondence, of which many letters are preserved, ceased +only with their death. + +St. Clare survived St. Francis twenty-seven years, and they were sad +years for one, who, like her clung so devoutly to his rule and +teaching. She lived to see the first divisions among the franciscans, +and before she died the corner-stone of the great Basilica had been +raised, filling her with dismay for the future, for in its very +grandeur and beauty she saw the downfall of the franciscan ideal. Not +only did she witness all these changes, but in her own convent she had +many battles to fight for the preservation of the rule she loved, she +even courageously opposed the commands of the Pope himself who wished +to mould the nuns to his wishes as he had done the friars. Even during +the lifetime of St. Francis, while he was absent on a distant +pilgrimage, Gregory IX, then Cardinal Ugolino, persuaded St. Clare of +the necessity of having a written rule, and gave her that of the +Benedictine nuns. But when she found that, although it was strict +enough, it allowed the holding of property in community, which was +entirely against the spirit of her order, she refused to agree to the +innovation. So upon the saint's return he composed a written rule for +the sisters, so strict, it is said, that its perusal drew tears from +the eyes of the Cardinal Ugolino. Still she had to fight the battle of +loyalty to a dead saint's memory; for the very year that Gregory came +to Assisi for the canonisation of St. Francis he paid a visit to St. +Clare, and with earnest words endeavoured to persuade her to mitigate +her rule. She held so firmly to her way that the Pope thought she +might perhaps be thinking of the vow of poverty which she had made at +the Portiuncula, and told her he could absolve her from it through the +powers of his papal keys. Then Clare summoned all her courage as she +faced the Pontiff, and said to him these simple words which showed +him he need try no more to tempt her from duty, "Ah holy father," she +cried, "I crave for the absolution of my sins, but I desire not to be +absolved from following Jesus Christ." + +Gregory had often been puzzled by the unique unworldliness of St. +Francis; his admiration for St. Clare was even more profound, and in +reading his letters after leaving the franciscan abbess one forgets +that he was over eighty at the time. With him she had gained her point +once and for all, but upon his death she had to oppose the wishes of +Innocent IV, who did all in his power to merge the franciscan order of +Poor Clares into an ordinary Benedictine community. Again it ended in +the triumph of St. Clare, and the day before her death she had the joy +of receiving the news that the Pope had issued a papal bull +sanctioning the rule for which both St. Francis and she had fought; +namely, that they were to live absolutely poor without any worldly +possession of any kind. "N'est-ce pas," says M. Sabatier, "un des plus +beaux tableaux de l'histoire religieuse, que celui de cette femme qui, +pendant plus d'un quart de siecle, soutient contre les papes qui se +succedent sur le trone pontifical une lutte de tous les instants; qui +demeure egalement respectueuse et inebranlable, et ne consent a mourir +qu'apres avoir remporte la victoire?" + +St. Clare during the remaining years of her life suffered continually +from ill-health, and it was from a bed of infirmity that she so +ardently prayed the Pope to sanction her rule of poverty, and enjoined +the sisterhood to keep its tenets faithfully. Like St. Francis, brave +and cheerful to the last, she called her weeping companions around her +to give them her final blessing and farewell. Among them knelt the +Blessed Agnes, who had come from her nunnery in Florence to assist her +sister, and the three holy brethren Leo, Angelo and Juniper. On the +11th of August 1253, the feast of St. Rufino, as she was preparing to +leave the world they heard her speak, but so softly that the words +were lost to them. "Mother, with whom are you conversing?" asked one +of the nuns, and she answered: "Sister, I am speaking with this little +soul of mine, now blessed, to whom the glory of paradise is already +opening." + +Then as the evening closed in and they were still watching, a great +light was seen to fill the doorway leading from the oratory of St. +Clare to her cell; and from out of it came a long procession of +white-robed virgins led by the Queen of Heaven, whose head was crowned +with a diadem of shining gold, and whose eyes sent forth such +splendour as might have changed the night into the brightest day. And +as each of the celestial visitors stooped to kiss St. Clare, the +watching nuns knew that her soul had already reached its home. + + * * * * * + +Once the little chapel of San Damiano has been seen there can be no +fear of ever forgetting the charm attached to the memory of St. Clare, +for she has left there something of her own character and personality, +which we feel instinctively without being able quite to explain its +presence. So near the town, only just outside its walls, this little +sanctuary yet remains as in the olden times, one of the most peaceful +spots that could have been chosen for a nunnery; but the silence which +falls upon one while resting on the stone seats before entering the +courtyard, has this difference with the silence of such a piazza as +that of San Rufino or of some of the Assisan streets; that there the +buildings tell of an age which is dead whose memories raise no +responsive echoes in our hearts, whereas San Damiano is filled with +the associations of those who, living so long ago, yet have left the +atmosphere of their presence as a living influence among us. As we +look at the steep paths below us leading through the fields and the +oak trees down to the plain, to Rivo-Torto and the Portiuncula, we +think how often St. Francis went up and down it whenever he passed to +see St. Clare and her sisters. And how many times did Brother Bernard +come with messages when he lay dying, and news was anxiously awaited +at San Damiano; then along the grass path skirting the hill from Porta +Mojano were seen the crowds of nobles, townsfolk, peasants and friars +bearing the dead body of the saint to San Giorgio, and pausing awhile +at the convent for the love of St. Clare. A pope with all his +cardinals next passes, on a visit to the young abbess; St. Bonaventure +stops to ask her prayers; while the poor and the ill were ever +knocking at the convent door to obtain her help or a word of kindly +sympathy. In the Umbrian land it is so easy to realise these things, +they are more than simply memories for those who have time to pause +and dream awhile; and sometimes it has seemed, while reading the +_Fioretti_ or Brother Leo's chronicle beneath the olive trees of San +Damiano, that we have slipped back through the ages, and looking up we +half expect to see the hurrying figure of St. Francis moving quickly +in and out among the trees. Suddenly the low sound of chanting comes +through the open door of the convent reaching us like the incessant +drone of a swarm of bees in the sunshine, until it dies away, and +brown-clothed, sandalled brethren pass out across the courtyard, and +two by two disappear down the hill on their way to the Portiuncula. +They bring a whole gallery of portraits before our eyes, of brethren +we read of, the companions of St. Francis; but when we look along the +path they have taken and see the church of the Angeli standing high in +the midst of the broad valley, its dome showing dark purple against +the afternoon light, where we had thought to catch a glimpse of the +Portiuncula and a circle of mud huts, the dream of the olden time +fades suddenly away. As we turn to enter the little church of San +Damiano with the image of the great church of the plain still in our +thoughts, we feel how much we owe to the reverence of the people and +the friars who have kept it so simple and unadorned, its big stones +left rough and weather-beaten as when St. Francis came to prepare a +dwelling-house for sister Clare. Truly says M. Sabatier, "ce petit +coin de terre ombrienne sera, pour nos descendants, comme ce puits de +Jacob ou Jesus s'assit un instant, un des parvis preferes du culte en +esprit et en verite." + +The church is very small and dim, with no frescoed walls or altar +pictures to arouse the visitor's interest, and only its connection +with the names of Francis and Clare bring the crowds who come to pray +here. Even the crucifix which spoke to St. Francis, telling him to +rebuild the ruined sanctuary, no longer hangs in the choir, but is now +in the keeping of the nuns in Santa Chiara. A few relics are kept in +the cupboard--a pectoral cross given by St. Bonaventure, the bell with +which St. Clare called the sisters to office, her breviary written by +Brother Leo in his neat, small writing, and the tabernacle of +alabaster which she held up before the invading host of Saracens upon +that memorable occasion. There is also a small loaf of bread which +recalls the well-known story recounted in the _Fioretti_ (cap. +xxxiii.) of how Pope Innocent IV, came to see St. Clare, "to hear her +speak of things celestial and divine; and as they were thus +discoursing together on diverse matters, St. Clare ordered dinner to +be made ready, and the bread to be laid on the table so that the Holy +Father might bless it; and when their spiritual conference was +finished, St. Clare, kneeling most reverently, prayed him to bless the +bread which was on the table. The Holy Father replied: 'Most faithful +Sister Clare, I will that thou shouldst bless this bread and make upon +it the sign of the most blessed Cross of Christ, to whom thou hast so +entirely given thyself.' St. Clare said: 'Holy Father, pardon me, for +I should be guilty of too great a presumption if in the presence of +the Vicar of Christ, I, who am but a miserable woman, should presume +to give such a benediction.' And the Pope answered: 'That this should +not be ascribed to presumption, but to the merit of obedience, I +command thee by holy obedience to make the sign of the Holy Cross on +this bread, and to bless it in the name of God.' Then St. Clare, as a +true daughter of obedience, most devoutly blessed that bread with the +sign of the Holy Cross. And marvellous to say, incontinently on all +the loaves the sign of the Holy Cross appeared most fairly impressed; +then of that bread part was eaten and part kept for the miracle's +sake." + +A ring belonging to St. Clare was also kept here, until in the year +1615 a Spanish franciscan vicar-general with his secretary came to +visit San Damiano, and such was his devotion for anything that had +belonged to the saintly abbess that when a few months later the relics +were being shown to some other visitors, the precious ring was +missing. A great disturbance arose in the city, and angry letters were +speedily sent after the Spanish priest as suspicion had fallen upon +him at once; he did not deny that he had piously stolen the ring, but +as it was now well upon its way to Spain where, he assured the irate +Assisans, it would be much honoured and well cared for, he refused to +return it. The citizens and friars still regret the day that the +Spanish dignitary and his secretary called at San Damiano. + +The small chapel out of the nave was built in the middle of the +seventeenth century to contain the large Crucifix which is still +there, and whose story is very famous. In 1634 Brother Innocenzo of +Palermo was sent to the convent to carve a crucifix for the friars, +his sanctity and the talent he possessed as an artist being well +known. After nine days he completed all except the head, and on +returning next morning after early mass he found that mysterious hands +had fashioned it during the night; not only was it of wonderful +workmanship, but looking at it from three different points of view +three different expressions were seen--of peace, of agony, and of +death. The fame of the Crucifix spread throughout Umbria, and people +flocked to San Damiano. "Now, the devil," says a chronicler, "very +wrath to see such devotion in so many hearts, turned his mind to +finding out some means of sowing seeds of discord. Through his doing +there arose in Assisi a whisper that owing to the rapidly growing fame +of this Crucifix, the ancient one of the cathedral would lose the +veneration in which it had hitherto been held." + +Now before placing the Crucifix of San Damiano in its place over the +high altar the monks settled that it should be carried in solemn +procession through Assisi. "But," writes the angry chronicler, "those +who had joined this diabolical conspiracy against our Crucifix were +not slow to prevent this, and had recourse to the Inquisitor of +Perugia, who was induced to send his vicar to stop the procession, and +bid the monks of San Damiano to keep their Crucifix hidden and allow +no one to see it." There arose a terrible storm in the troubled +community of Assisi, between those who took the part of the +"persecuted Crucifix" and those who sided with the jealous canons of +the cathedral. Finally, the case was placed before the Pope himself, +and all waited anxiously the result of his investigations. A duplicate +of the Crucifix of San Damiano was sent to Rome that it might be well +examined by the Pope and the whole college of cardinals, and they not +finding in the pious Brother Innocenzio's work anything contrary to +the teaching of the gospel, it was unanimously decreed that the +Crucifix of San Damiano might receive all the homage and love of the +friars and citizens. So on a burning Sunday in August solemn high mass +was sung at the altar of St. Clare in San Damiano and, although the +friars were defrauded of their procession, such was the concourse of +people who came to gain the plenary indulgence granted by His Holiness +that the good friars rejoiced, and were comforted for all the +persecution they had suffered on account of this marvellous Crucifix. +What must have been the feelings of Brother Innocenzo as he stood by +the high altar and watched the crowd of worshippers and the women +lifting up their streaming eyes to the crucifix he had fashioned in +his cell? The devotion to it grew as the years passed on, and we read +that a century later the monks were obliged "for their greater quiet +to transfer it from the choir to the chapel," where it now is, after +which the monks could say their office in peace. Now we see it +surrounded with votive offerings, and our guide pours forth an +incessant stream of praise, and recounts at length numberless +miracles. + +Through the chapel of the Crucifix we reach the choir of St. Clare, +left as when she used it, with the old worm-eaten stalls against the +wall. It is probable that originally this was part of the house of the +priest who had the keeping of San Damiano before the benedictines gave +it to the Poor Clares; for here is shown the recess in the wall where +St. Francis hid when his father came to seek for him, and where he is +supposed to have lived in hiding for a whole month until the storm +should have blown over. It was for the rebuilding of the chapel that +he had taken bales of costly stuffs from the Bernardone warehouse in +Assisi to sell at the fair of Foligno, and thus called forth the wrath +of Messer Pietro. The good priest of San Damiano was so much +astonished at this sudden conversion of Francis, that thinking he +mocked him he refused to accept the purse of gold, which Francis +finally threw on to a dusty window-sill. But the priest soon became +his friend, allowing him to remain at San Damiano and partake of such +humble fare as he could give, joining him in repairing of the poor +ruined chapel. + +An artist of the sixteenth century had sought to adorn the altar with +a fresco of the Crucifixion which was only discovered a few months +ago, but the whitewashed walls and severe simplicity of the rest seem +more in keeping with the place than this crude attempt at decoration. +By a rough flight of stairs we reach the small private oratory of St. +Clare, which communicated with her cell and where, in her latter days +of illness, she was permitted to keep the Blessed Sacrament. The rest +of the convent being strict "clausura," ever since the Marquess of +Ripon bought San Damiano from the Italian Government and gave it into +the keeping of the franciscan friars, can only be seen by men. Within +is the refectory of St. Clare where Innocent IV, dined with her and +witnessed the miracle of the loaves, and Eusebio di San Giorgio (1507) +has painted in the cloister two fine frescoes of the Annunciation and +St. Francis receiving the Stigmata. + +But anyone may step out into the small and charming garden of St. +Clare which is on a level with her oratory. Walls rising on either +side leave only a narrow vista of the valley where Bevagna, and +Montefalco on her hill, can just be seen. Within this small enclosed +space the saint is said to have taken her daily exercise and carefully +attended to the flowers, and the friars to this day keep a row of +flowers there in memory of her. It will be well on leaving the chapel +of San Damiano to look at the open chapel in the courtyard where +Tiberio d'Assisi has painted one of his most pleasing compositions. +The Madonna is seated in an Umbrian valley, low lines of hills fade +away in the distance, and franciscan saints, among whom St. Jerome +with his lion seems curiously out of place, surround her, while at her +feet is placed the kneeling figure of the nun who succeeded St. Clare +as abbess. It is signed and dated 1517, while the fresco on the +side-wall of St. Sebastian and St. Roch was painted five years later. +In another corner of the courtyard, near the entrance, is a painting +in a niche of the Madonna and saints by some Umbrian artist who felt +the influence of both Giotto and Simone Martini, so that we have a +curious, if pleasing result. + + +SANTA CHIARA + +St. Clare was no sooner dead than the people, as they had done with +St. Francis, sought to honour her memory, but in this case, Innocent +IV, being in Assisi for the consecration of the Franciscan Basilica, +the funeral service was conducted by the Pope and cardinals. Such a +gathering of church dignitaries, Assisan nobles, priors and people had +certainly never been seen in the humble convent of San Damiano; their +presence, though honouring the saint, filled the hearts of the nuns +with sorrow for they knew they had come to take the body of St. Clare +to Assisi. With tears they consented to its being placed in safety in +San Giorgio, but only on the condition that they might eventually be +allowed to live near her tomb in some humble shelter. San Damiano +without her, alive or dead, meant little to them, and they were ready +to abandon a home of so many memories to go where they and their +successors could guard her body to the end of time. Devotion to her +memory and belief in her sanctity was not solely confined to them; +when the friars rose to intone the service of the dead, Pope Innocent +signified that there should be silence, and to the wonder of all +ordered high mass to be sung and the funeral service to be changed +into one of triumph, in honour of her who he believed was already with +the Virgins in heaven. It was a kind of canonisation, but could not be +regarded as valid without the usual preliminaries being performed, and +the cardinals, more cautious and less enthusiastic than His Holiness, +persuaded him to wait and in the meanwhile allow the ordinary service +to proceed. To this he consented, and then amidst music and singing +the Pope led the people up the hill where years before another saint +had been borne to the same church of San Giorgio, and as on that day a +funeral ceremony became a triumphal procession. + +Innocent IV, died soon after, and it was Alexander IV, who in +September 1255, two years after her death, canonized St. Clare in a +Bull replete with magnificent eulogy in which there is a constant play +upon her name: "Clara claris praeclara meritis, magnae in coelo +claritate gloriae, ac in terra miraculorum sublimum clare gaudet ... O +admiranda Clarae beatae claritas." Another two years were allowed to +elapse before they began to erect a building to her memory; besides +the readiness shown by every town to honour their saints, the Assisans +had especial cause to remember St. Clare, as she had twice saved them +from the Saracen army of Frederic II. Willingly the magistrates and +nobles, besides many strangers who had heard of the saint's renown, +contributed money for the new building, and Fra Filippo Campello the +minorite was chosen as the architect. Fine as his new work proved to +be it was rather the copy of a masterpiece than the inspiration of a +great architect, which makes it more probable that he was only +employed in completing the church of San Francesco from the designs of +that first mysterious architect, and not, as some have said, its sole +builder. + +The canons of San Rufino offered the church and hospital of San +Giorgio which belonged to them. A more fitting site for the church to +be raised in honour of St. Clare could not have been chosen, for it +was here that St. Francis had learnt to read and write as a child +under the guidance of the parish priest; here he preached his first +sermon, and later touched the heart of Clare by his words during the +lenten services; and here both of them were laid in their stone urns +until their last resting places were ready. So around the little old +parish church with its many memories, and within sight of the Scifi +palace, arose "as if by magic" the new temple with its tall and +slender campanile. The hospital enlarged and improved became the +convent, and the church was used by the nuns as a choir, the rest of +the large building, which they could only see through iron gratings, +being for the use of the congregation. With its alternate layers of +pink and cream-coloured stone, wheel window and finely modelled door, +the church fits well into its sunny piazza, and is a beautiful ending +to the eastern side of Assisi. But in building it Fra Filippo forgot +the crumbling nature of the soil, and failed to overcome the +difficulty of position as had been done so admirably at San Francesco, +so that in 1351 it became necessary to prop up the sides by strong +flying buttresses, which, while serving as an imposing arched entrance +to the side of the church, sadly detract from the feeling of solidity +of the main building. A darker stone with no rosy tints was used for +the convent, which makes it look very grim and old as it rises out of +a soft and silvery setting of olive trees on the hillside, with +orchards near of peaches and almonds. There is a great charm in the +brown, weather-beaten convent, though a certain sadness when we +remember, in looking at its tiny windows like holes in the wall +through which only narrow vistas of the beautiful valley can be seen, +how changed must be the lives of these cloistered nuns from those of +the Poor Ladies of San Damiano in the time of St. Clare. They are now +an order of the orthodox type, an order given to prayer and not to +labour, and seeing no human face from the outside world except through +an iron grating. So early as 1267 their connection with the franciscan +brotherhood ceased; the brethren no longer heard their confessions or +begged for them through the land as St. Francis had decreed; they +lived under the patronage of the Pope, who declared their convent to +be under the especial jurisdiction of the Holy See, and on the feast +of St. Francis called upon the nuns to send a pound of wax candles in +sign of tribute. As the Pope had often in olden times become master of +Assisi so now he obtained the rule over her monastic institutions, +gaining the temporal allegiance of the religious, as he had gained +that of the citizens. + + [Illustration: SANTA CHIARA] + +Upon entering the church of Santa Chiara out of the sunshine, we are +struck with a sense of the coldness of its scant ornamentation, a want +of colour, and a general idea that artists in first directing their +steps to San Francesco had not had time to give much thought to the +church of the gentle saint. Giottino is said by Vasari to have painted +frescoes here, and they may be those ruined bits of colour in the +right transept where it is only possible to distinguish a few heads or +parts of figures here and there in what seems to be a procession, +perhaps the Translation of St. Clare from San Damiano to San Giorgio. +It is said that their present condition of ruin is due to the German +bishop Spader who, fearing that the nuns might see too much of the +world through the narrow grating because of the number of people who +came to see the frescoes, had them whitewashed in the seventeenth +century. The people came less, the nuns were safer, but Giottino's (?) +frescoes are lost to us and we do not bless the memory of the German +bishop of Assisi. The frescoes of the ceiling he did not touch, and +we have in them some interesting work of an artist of the fourteenth +century whose name is unknown, but who undoubtedly followed the +Giottesque traditions, though not with the fidelity or the genius of +the artist who painted the legend of St. Nicholas in San Francesco. In +decorating the four spandrels he has been influenced by the allegories +of Giotto, and the angels are grouped round the principal figures in +much the same manner; they kneel, some with hands crossed upon their +breasts, but they are silent worshippers with not a single instrument +among them. The saints who stand in the midst of the angels in Gothic +tabernacles are the Madonna with a charming Infant Jesus who grasps +her mantle, and St. Clare; St. Cecilia crowned with roses, and St. +Lucy; St. Agnes holding a lamb, and St. Rose of Viterbo; St. +Catherine, and St. Margaret with a book in her hand. The artist has +used such soft harmonious colours and bordered his frescoes with such +pretty medallions of saints' heads and designs of foliage that one +wishes he had been given the whole church to decorate and thus saved +it from its present desolate appearance. + +The large crucifix behind the altar, a characteristic work of that +time, has been ascribed to Margaritone, Giunta Pisano, or Cimabue. It +was painted, as the inscription says, by the order of the abbess +Benedicta, who succeeded St. Clare and was the first to rule in the +new convent, but the artist did not sign his name. The chapel of St. +Agnes contains a Madonna which Herr Thode with far-seeing eyes +recognises through all its layers of modern paint as Cimabue's work. +There is also a much retouched, but rather charming picture of St. +Clare, painted according to its inscription in 1283. She stands in her +heavy brown dress and mantle, a thick cord round her waist, and on +either side are scenes from her life. The small triptych of the +Crucifixion on a gold ground is an interesting work by the artist of +the four frescoes of the ceiling, and a nearer view of some of the +peculiarities of his style is obtained. It is impossible to mistake +the long slender necks, the curiously shaped ears with the upper part +very long, the narrow eyes, straight noses and small mouths, sometimes +drooping slightly at the corners, which he gives his figures. He is +another of those nameless painters who came to Assisi in the wake of +the great Florentine. + +The visitor would leave Santa Chiara with a feeling of disappointment +were it not for the chapel of San Giorgio, the original place so often +mentioned in connection with St. Francis and now open to the public. +The crucifix of the tenth century, so famous for having bowed its head +to St. Francis in the church of San Damiano bidding him to repair the +ruined churches of Assisi, is to be removed from the parlour, where it +is temporarily kept, and placed behind the altar. The chapel, with a +groined roof, is square, small and of perfect form, and ornamented +with several frescoes. On the left wall is a delightful St. George +fighting the dragon in the presence of a tall princess, her face +showing very white against her red hair. There is a naive scene of the +Magi, whose sleeves are as long and whose hands are as spidery as +those of the princess; and above is an Annunciation. Behind the +curtain in the fresco a small child is standing who is evidently the +donor, but some people believe he represents the Infant Jesus, which +certainly would account for the surprised attitude of the Virgin. This +wall was painted in the sixteenth century by some artist of the Gubbio +school, but his name we have been unable to discover. Quite a +different character marks the frescoes upon the next wall, which would +seem to be the work of an Umbrian scholar of Simone Martini, or at +least by one more influenced by the Sienese than the Florentine +masters. There is a softness and an ivory tone in the paintings of the +saints, a languid look in their eyes, a sweetness about the mouth +peculiar to the Umbrian followers of Simone, who like him succeed less +well with male than with female saints. Here the Madonna, seated on a +Gothic throne against a crimson dais, with a broad forehead and blue +eyes, her soft veil falling in graceful folds about her slender neck, +is unusually charming. The St. George with his shield is perhaps less +disappointing than St. Francis, but then Simone fails to quite express +the nature of the Seraphic Preacher. We turn to St. Clare of the oval +face and clear brown eyes, and feel that the painter had a subject +which appealed to him, even to the brown habit and black veil which +makes the face seem more delicate and fair. Above are the Crucifixion, +Entombment and Resurrection, suggesting in the strained attitudes of +the figures a follower of Pietro Lorenzetti. Some remains of frescoes +upon the next wall resemble those in the nave of the Lower Church, and +probably also belong to the second half of the thirteenth century. +Indeed the architecture of the chapel bears a striking resemblance to +San Francesco, so that although this is the original building of San +Giorgio which existed long before the Franciscan Basilica, it was in +all probability remodelled by Fra Campello, who may have given it the +pretty groined roof. + +But above all the works of art and all the views of church or convent, +the pious pilgrim treasures the privilege of being able to gaze upon +the body of the saint in the crypt below the high altar reached by a +broad flight of marble stairs. St. Clare had been buried so far out of +sight and reach that her tomb was only found in the year 1850, after +much search had been made. Five bishops, with Cardinal Pecci, now +Pope Leo XIII, and the magistrates of the town, were present at the +opening of the sepulchre; the iron bars which bound it were filed +asunder, and the body of the saint was found lying clad in her brown +habit as if buried but a little while since; the wild thyme which her +companions had sprinkled round her six hundred years ago, withered as +it was, still sent up a sweet fragrance, while a few green and tender +leaves are said to have been clinging to her veil. So great was the +joy at discovering this precious relic that a procession was organised +"with pomp impossible to describe." + + [Illustration: SANTA CHIARA FROM NEAR THE PORTA MOJANO] + +On the Sunday at dawn every bell commenced to ring calling the people +to high mass, and never, says a proud chronicler, were so many bishops +and such a crowd seen as upon that day. At the elevation of the Host +the bells pealed forth again announcing the solemn moment to the +neighbouring villages; soon after the procession was formed of lay +confraternities, priests and friars, and little children dressed as +angels strewed the way with flowers. The peasants, with tears raining +down their cheeks, pressed near the coffin, and had to be kept back by +some of the Austrian soldiers then quartered in Assisi. First they +went to the Cathedral, then to San Francesco, "the body of St. Clare +thus going to salute the body of her great master. Oh admirable +disposition of God." It was evening before they returned to the church +of Santa Chiara, where the nuns anxiously awaited them at the entrance +of their cloister to place the body of their foundress in the chapel +of San Giorgio until a sanctuary should be built beneath the high +altar. It was soon finished, ornamented with Egyptian alabaster and +Italian marbles, and the body of St. Clare was laid there to be +venerated by the faithful. + +As pilgrims stand before a grating in the dimly lighted crypt the +gentle rustle of a nun's dress is heard; slowly invisible hands draw +the curtain aside, and St. Clare is seen lying in a glass case upon a +satin bed, her face clearly outlined against her black and white +veils, whilst her brown habit is drawn in straight folds about her +body. She clasps the book of her Rule in one hand, and in the other +holds a lily with small diamonds shining on the stamens. The silence +is unbroken save for the gentle clicking of the rosary beads slipping +through the fingers of the invisible nun who keeps watch, and as she +lets the curtain down again and blows out the lights there is a +feeling that we have intruded upon the calm sleep of the "Seraphic +Mother." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[101] As the hated enemies of the Baglioni the Fiumi are often +mentioned in the chronicles of Matarazzo, and they played an important +part in the history of their native city. They were Counts of +Sterpeto, and the village of that name on the hill to the west of +Assisi above the banks of the Chiaggio still belongs to the family. + +[102] One of the first of the franciscans was Rufino, a nephew of +Count Favorino's, whose holiness was such that in speaking of him to +the other brethren St. Francis would call him St. Rufino. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +_Other Buildings in the Town_ + + The Cathedral of San Rufino. Roman Assisi. The Palazzo Pubblico. + The Chiesa Nuova. S. Paolo. Sta. Maria Maggiore. S. Quirico. S. + Appolinare. S. Pietro. The Confraternities (Chiesa dei + Pellegrini, etc.). The Castle. + + +Assisi is the only town we know of in Italy where the interest does +not centre round its cathedral and a certain sadness is felt, which +perhaps is not difficult to explain; St. Francis holds all in his +spell now just as he held the people long ago, so that the saints who +first preached Christianity to the Assisans, were martyred and brought +honour to the city, are almost forgotten and their churches deserted. +The citizens, though proud of their Duomo, with its beautiful brown +facade, hardly appear to love it, and we have often thought that they +too feel the sense of gloom and isolation in the small piazza, which +makes it a place ill-fitted to linger in for long. Men come and go so +silently, women fill their pitchers at the fountain but only the +splashing of water is heard, and they quickly disappear down a street; +even the houses have no life, for while the windows are open no one +looks out, and the total absence of flowers gives them a further look +of desolation. This part of the town was already old in mediaeval +times, and the far away mystery of an age which has few records still +lives around the cathedral and its bell tower. San Rufino stands in +the very centre of Roman Assisi and its history begins very soon +after the Roman era, one might say was contemporary with it, as the +saint whose name it bears, was martyred in the reign of Diocletian. +All the details of his death, together with the charming legend about +the building of the cathedral, come down to us in a hymn by St. Peter +Damian, who, although writing in 1052 of things which it is true +happened long before, had very likely learnt the traditions about it +from the Assisans while he lived in his mountain hermitage near +Gubbio. The story goes back to the time when the Roman consul of +Assisi received orders to stamp out the fast-spreading roots of +Christianity, and began his work by putting to death St. Rufino, the +pastor of the tiny flock. The soldiers hurried the Bishop down to the +river Chiaggio and, after torturing him in horrible fashion, flung him +into the water with a heavy stone round his neck. Some say that the +Emperor Diocletian came in person to see his orders carried out. That +night the Assisan Christians stole down to the valley to rescue the +body of their Bishop and place it in safety within the castle of +Costano, which still stands in the fields close to the river but +almost hidden by the peasant houses built around it. Here, in a marble +sarcophagus he rested, cared for and protected by each succeeding +generation of Christians who had learned from tradition to love his +memory, and secretly they visited the castle in the plain to pray by +the tomb of the martyred saint. Their vigilance continued until the +fifth century, when the Christians had already begun to burn the Pagan +temples and build churches of their own. Christianity, indeed, spread +so rapidly throughout Umbria that other towns cultivated a love for +relics, and fearing that the body of St. Rufino might be stolen from +the castle in the open country, the Assisans took the first +opportunity of bringing it within the town. In the year 412 Bishop +Basileo, with his clergy and congregation met at Costano, to seek +through prayer some inspiration so that they might know where to take +the body of their saint. As they knelt by his tomb an old man of +venerable aspect suddenly appeared among them, and spoke these words +in the Lord's name: "Take," he said, "two heifers which have not felt +the yoke, and harness them to a car whereon you shall lay the body of +St. Rufino. Follow the road taken by the heifers and where they stop, +there, in his honour shall ye build a church." These words were +faithfully obeyed: the heifers, knowing what they were to do, turned +towards Assisi, and brought the relics, through what is now the Porta +S. Pietro, to that portion of the old town known as the "Good Mother" +because the goddess Ceres is said to be buried there. The heifers then +turned slowly round, faced the Bishop and his people, and refused to +move. For some obscure reason the place did not please the Assisans, +and they began to build a church further up the hill; but every +morning they found the walls, which had been erected during the +preceding day, pulled down, until discouraged, they submitted to the +augury, and returned to the spot chosen by the heifers. Before long, +over the tomb of the Roman goddess, arose the first Christian church +of Assisi, dedicated to San Rufino. + + [Illustration: CAMPANILE OF SAN RUFINO] + +A few years ago the late Canon Elisei who has written many interesting +pamphlets on the cathedral, obtained permission from the government to +clear away the rubble beneath the present church; masses of Roman +inscriptions and pieces of sculpture were brought to light, together +with part of the primitive church of Bishop Basileo, and the whole of +what is known as the Chiesa Ugonia, from the Bishop of that name who +built it in 1028. With lighted torches the visitor can descend to the +primitive basilica and realise what a peaceful spot had been chosen +for this early place of worship, while picturing the Christians as +they knelt round the body of their Bishop, the light falling dimly +upon them through the narrow Lombard windows. The six columns, with +their varied capitals rising straight from the ground without the +support of bases, give a somewhat funereal aspect, recalling a crypt +rather than a church. The few vestiges of frescoes in the apse--St. +Mark and his lion, and St. Costanso, Bishop of Perugia--are said to +be, with the paintings in S. Celso at Verona, the oldest in Italy +after those in the catacombs at Rome. Ruins of other frescoes, perhaps +of the same date, can be traced above the door of the first basilica, +together with some stone-work in low relief of vine leaves and grapes, +but it is difficult to see them without going behind a column built in +total disregard of this lower building. The Roman sarcophagus is still +in the apse where the altar once stood, but open and neglected, for +the body of St. Rufino now lies beneath the altar of the present +cathedral. It is ornamented in rough high relief with the story of +Endymion; Diana steps from her chariot towards the sleeping shepherd, +Pomona has her arms full of fruit and flowers, and there are nymphs +and little gods of love and sleep. "It appeared to us," remarks one +prudish chronicler of the church, "the first time we beheld it, that +it was indecent to have present before the eyes of the faithful so +unseemly a fable; our scruples we however laid aside in remembering +that Holy Church is endowed with the power of purging from temples, +altars and urns, all pagan abominations, and from superstition to turn +them to the true service of God." No such scruples existed during the +early times, and there is an amusing story of how the people wishing +to place the marble sarcophagus, which had been left at Costano five +centuries before, in the Chiesa Ugonia, were prevented by the Bishop +who admired it, and had given orders that it should be brought to his +palace at Sta. Maria Maggiore. A great tumult arose in the town, but +although the people came to blows and the fight was serious on both +sides, no blood was shed. A further miracle took place when the +Bishop, determined to have his way, sent sixty men down to Costano who +were unable to move the sarcophagus which remained as though rooted in +the earth; and the event was the more remarkable as seven men +afterwards brought it at a run up the hill to the church of San +Rufino, where it remains to this day. + +Already two basilicas had been built in honour of the saint, but the +Assisans dissatisfied with their size and magnificence, in the year +1134 called in the most famous architect of the day, Maestro Giovanni +of Gubbio, who before his death in 1210 had all but completed the +present cathedral and campanile. It is a great surprise when, emerging +from the narrow street leading from the Piazza Minerva thinking to +have seen all that is loveliest in Assisi, we suddenly catch sight of +the cathedral and its bell-tower. The rough brown stone which Maestro +Giovanni has so beautifully worked into delicately rounded columns, +cornices, rose-windows and doors with fantastic beasts, sometimes +looks as dark as a capucin's habit, but there are moments in the late +afternoon when all the warmth of the sun's rays sinks into it, +radiating hues of golden orange which as suddenly deepen to dark brown +again as the light dies away behind the Perugian hills. + +All three doors are fine with their quaint ornaments of birds and +beasts and flowers, but upon the central one Giovanni expended all his +art. It is framed in by a double pattern of water-lilies and leaves, +of human faces, beasts, penguins and other birds with a colour in +their wings like tarnished gold. The red marble lions which guard the +entrance, with long arched necks and symmetrical curls, a human figure +between their paws, may belong to an even earlier period, and perhaps +were taken by Giovanni da Gubbio from the Chiesa Ugonia to decorate +his facade, together with the etruscan-looking figures of God the +Father, the Virgin and St. Rufino in the lunette above. Just below the +windows a long row of animals, such pre-historic beasts as may have +walked upon Subasio when no man was there to interrupt their passage, +seem to move in endless procession, and look down with faces one has +seen in dreams. + + [Illustration: DOOR OF SAN RUFINO] + +The interior of the cathedral is a disappointment; at first we accuse +the great Maestro Giovanni for this painful collection of truncated +lines and inharmonious shapes, until we find how utterly his work was +ruined in the sixteenth century by Galeazzo Alessi of Perugia. To +understand what the church was five centuries before Alessi came, it +is necessary to climb the campanile (only those who are attracted by +ricketty ladders and dizzy heights are advised to make the trial), and +when nearly half way up step out on to Alessi's roof, whence we can +view the havoc he has made. But he could not spoil Giovanni's +rose-windows, and through one of them we see the castle on its green +hill and the town below, cut into sections as though we were looking +at the Umbrian world through a kaleidoscope. + +The outside of San Rufino is so lovely that we should be inclined to +advise none to enter, and thus spoil the impression it makes, were it +not for the triptych by Niccolo da Foligno, "the first painter in whom +the emotional, now passionate and violent, now mystic and estatic, +temperament of St. Francis' countrymen was revealed."[103] Here we +find a dreamy Madonna with flaxen hair, surrounded by tiny angels even +fairer than herself in crimson and golden garments folded about their +hips. The lunettes above are studded with patches of jewel-colour, +angels spreading their pointed wings upwards as they seem to be wafted +to and fro by a breeze. Four tall and serious saints stand round the +Virgin like columns; to the right St. Peter Damian busily writing in a +book, and St. Marcello, an Assisan martyr of the fourth century who +might pass for a typical Italian priest of the present day. On the +left is St. Rufino in the act of giving his pastoral blessing, and +St. Esuberanzio, another of Assisi's early martyrs, holding a missal. +They stand in a meadow thickly overgrown with flowers drawn with all +Niccolo's firm outline and love of detail. Fine as the picture is, it +cannot compare with the charming predella where the artist has worked +with the delicacy of a miniature painter. It represents the martyrdom +of St. Rufino; in the first small compartment the Roman soldiers on +horseback, their lances held high in the air, followed by a group of +prying boys, watch the Bishop's tortures as the flames shoot up around +him; and in the distance are two small hill-towns with the towers of +Costano in the plain. Then follows the scene where two young Assisan +Christians have come down to the Chiaggio to rescue the body of their +saint from the river. He lies stiffly in their arms, attired in his +episcopal vestments, and the water has sucked the long folds of his +cope below its surface. The last represents the procession of citizens +led by Bishop Basileo bringing St. Rufino's body from Costano, and is +one of the most exquisite bits of Umbrian painting. Niccolo has placed +the scene in early morning, the air is keen among the mountains, the +sun has just reached Assisi, seen against the white slopes of Subasio, +and turns its houses to a rosy hue, while the tiny wood in the plain +is still in deepest shadow. The white-robed acolytes mount the hill in +the sunlight followed by the people and the heifers which ought, +Niccolo has forgotten, according to the legend, to have led the way. +The picture is signed Opus Nicholai De Fuligneo MCCCCLX. + +The only other fine things in the cathedral are the stalls of intarsia +work of carved wood, by Giovanni di Pier Giacomo da San Severino +(1520), a pupil of the man who executed the far finer stalls in San +Francesco. In the chapel of the Madonna del Pianto is a curious +wooden statue of the Pieta, how old and whether of the Italian or +French school it is difficult to say. A tablet records that in 1494 +because of the great dissensions in the town this Madonna was seen to +weep, for which she has been much honoured, as is shown by the +innumerable ex-votos hung by the faithful round her altar. + + [Illustration: THE DOME AND APSE OF SAN RUFINO FROM THE CANON'S + GARDEN] + +The marble statue of St. Francis is by the French artist, M. Dupre (a +replica in bronze stands in the Piazza), while that of St. Clare is by +his daughter, who both generously gave their work to Assisi in 1882. +The statue of St. Rufino is by another Frenchman, M. Lemoyne. + +The proudest possession of San Rufino is the font in which St. +Francis, St. Clare, St. Agnes and Frederick II, were baptised, and the +stone is shown upon which the angel knelt, who in the disguise of a +pilgrim assisted at the baptism of Assisi's saint. Often did Francis +come to San Rufino to preach when the small church of S. Giorgio could +no longer hold the crowds who flocked to hear him, and the hut where +the saint spent his nights in prayer and meditation before he preached +in the cathedral is now a chapel. This was the place of the miracle +when his companions at Rivo-Torto saw him descend towards them in a +chariot of fire (see p. 238). In the time of the saint it was the +cottage of a market-gardener and still stands amidst a vineyard, one +of the prettiest and sunniest spots in the town, where vines, onions, +wild flowers and cherry trees grow in happy confusion, and birds and +peasants sing all day long. + +The charm of the Cathedral is best realised after witnessing one of +its many ceremonies, when the canons in crimson and purple, +processions of scarlet clothed boys swinging censers, and the Bishop +seated beneath a canopy of yellow damask his cope drawn stiffly to the +ground by a fussing acolyte, recall some of the magnificence of the +middle ages. The young priests bow low before the Bishop on their way +to the altar, return to their seats and bow again; incense fills the +church; the organ peals half drown the tenor's song, and through it +all, from the stalls, drone the voices of the canons reciting their +office. It is a gorgeous service but without a congregation, for even +the beggars have not stolen in; and Niccolo's Madonna looks out upon +the scene with big soft eyes which seem to follow us into the darkest +corners of the aisles. + + +ROMAN ASSISI. + +Assisi is so much a place of one idea--of one interest--around which +everything has grown, that it is difficult to remember that a fairly +important town existed in Roman times, and that the Roman buildings, +still to be seen are, in the opinion of Mr Freeman, worth a visit even +if the church of San Francesco had never arisen. Some pleasant hours +may be passed finding the sites of pagan monuments, the remains of +ancient walls, and tracing the outline of the original town. In every +case we see how Roman Assisi has, in a very marked way, become part of +Mediaeval Assisi, palaces having been erected upon the foundations of +Roman houses and Christian churches upon the sites of ancient temples. +The Temple of Hercules stood at the bend of Via S. Quirico (now Via +Garibaldi) where it turns up to the ancient palace of the Scifi; while +the Porta Mojano, near which old walls and part of an aqueduct can be +seen, took its name from a temple of Janus which stood between it and +the Vescovado. Standing a little off the Piazza Nuova, in a part of +the town known as the "Gorga," are the remains of the amphitheatre. It +would be difficult to find much of the original edifice, but houses +having been built exactly on the ancient site its shape has been +preserved, and this strange medley of old and new was thought worthy +of a doric entrance gate by Galeazzo Alessi. Much the same thing has +happened with many of the castles in the country near Assisi, where +the peasant houses are grouped round them in such a way that only by +penetrating into the midst of a tangled mass of dwellings can the +vestige of a tower be here and there discerned to remind us of its +former state. Assisi, though of no military importance at that time, +aspired to become a little Roman town even more perfect than her +neighbours on the hills. The broad and strongly built drain which +extends from near the Porta Perlici beneath the Piazza Nuova to the +garden behind San Rufino, is said to have been used to carry off the +water from the amphitheatre after the mimic sea-fights which in Roman +times were so popular. A use was found for all things, and in time of +war a Roman drain proved a most efficient means of escape, especially +when the Baglioni were raiding the town and putting to death all they +met upon their road. + +Some small remains of a Roman theatre are to be seen near the +cathedral but so buried amidst a wild garden that it is difficult to +form any just idea of its extent. The most splendid piece of masonry, +a Roman cistern, lies beneath the campanile of the cathedral and can +be easily looked into by the light of a torch, the sacristan even +suggests a descent into its dark depths by means of a rickety ladder. +An inscription recording the proud fact that Assisi possessed an +amphitheatre has been removed to the cathedral where it is placed +above the side entrance to the left. Other large portions of Roman +walls are to be found at the back of a shop in the Via Portica and +also in the Via San Paolo; both are marked upon the map. In those days +the town seems to have been identical with what we now call old +Assisi, namely the quarter round San Rufino extending to the portion +round San Francescuccio where are noticed the arched Lombard windows. + +But by far the most interesting record of this early age is the Temple +of Minerva, which in spite of the damage done when it was turned into +a church, and the way in which the mediaeval buildings are crowded +round it, yet remains one of the most beautiful of ancient monuments. +The raising of the Piazza makes it difficult to realise, without going +below ground, how imposing the temple must have been when its steps +led straight down to the Forum. This can be reached by descending from +the Piazza into the "scavi," or excavations, where stands the great +altar with drains for the blood of the victims; the long inscription +giving the name of the donor of the Temple runs: + +GAL. TETTIENVS PARDALAS ET TETTIENA GALENE TETTRASTILVM SVA PECVNIA +FECERVNT, ITEM SIMVLACRA CASTORIS ET POLLVCIS. MVNICIPIBVS +ASISINATIBVS DONO DEDER. ET DEDICATIONE EPVLVM DECVRIONIBVS SING. XV. +SEVIR. XIII. PLEBI X. DEDERVNT. S.C.L.D. + +It is well known that Goethe went to Assisi solely to see the Temple, +and surprised the citizens by going straight down the hill again +without stopping to visit San Francesco. He wished to keep unimpaired +the impression this perfect piece of classical architecture had made +upon his mind, and we cannot refrain from translating his enthusiastic +description of it for these pages. + +"From Palladio and Volkmann I had gathered that a beautiful temple of +Minerva, of the time of Augustus, was still standing and perfectly +preserved. Asking a good-looking youth where Maria della Minerva was, +he led me up through the city which stands on a hill. At length we +reached the oldest part of the town, and I beheld the noble building +standing before me, the first complete monument of ancient days that I +had seen. A modest temple as befitted so small a town, yet so perfect, +so finely conceived, that its beauty would strike one anywhere. But +above all its position! Since reading in Vitruvius and Palladio how +cities ought to be built and temples and other public edifices +situated, I have a great respect for these things.... The temple +stands half way up the mountain, just where two hills meet together, +on a piazza which to this day is called the Piazza.... In old times +there were probably no houses opposite to prevent the view. Abolish +them in imagination, and one would look towards the south over a most +fertile land, whilst the sanctuary of Minerva would be visible from +everywhere. Probably the plan of the streets dates from long ago as +they follow the conformation and sinuosities of the mountain. The +temple is not in the centre of the Piazza, but is so placed that a +striking, though fore-shortened, view of it is obtained by the +traveller coming from Rome. Not only should the building itself be +drawn but also its fine position. I could not gaze my full of the +facade; how harmonious and genial is the conception of the artist.... +Unwillingly I tore myself away, and determined to draw the attention +of all architects to it so that correct drawings may be made; for once +again have I been convinced that tradition is untrustworthy. Palladio, +on whom I relied, gives us, it is true, a picture of this temple, but +he cannot have seen it, as he actually places pedestals on the level +whereby the columns are thrown up too high, and we have an ugly +Palmyrian monstrosity instead of what is a tranquil, charming object, +satisfying to both the eye and the understanding. It is impossible to +describe the deep impression I received from the contemplation of this +edifice, and it will produce everlasting fruit."[104] + + +S. PAOLO[105] + +A little off the Piazza della Minerva is the old Benedictine church +dedicated to St. Paolo, erected in 1074, when it probably stood alone +with its monastery and not, as now, wedged in with other houses. +Built in the very heart of Roman Assisi, its foundations rest upon +solid walls of travertine, where a secret passage reaches to the +castle. In this part of the town there are several underground +passages spreading out in various directions, reminding us of the +insecurity of life in the early times when Pagan consuls persecuted +the weaker Christian sect. Just within the doorway of the church, now +alas thickly coated with whitewash, is an ionic column belonging to +some building of importance which must have stood within the Forum. +Few people visit S. Paolo as it is only mentioned in local +guide-books, and the passing stranger is generally told that there is +nothing to see which is borne out by the modesty of its exterior; but +no lover of the early Umbrian school who has the time to spare should +fail to step in, if only for a moment, as on a wall to the left of the +entrance is a large fresco by Matteo da Gualdo. He has signed the date +in the corner--1475--though not his name, but it would be difficult to +mistake so characteristic a work of this delightful painter. The +Virgin, tall and stately, is accompanied by St. Lucy, who holds her +eyes upon a dish and is clothed in a richly coloured orange gown +falling in heavy folds about her; on the other side is St. Ansano, the +patron of the Sienese, looking in his elegant green jacket, trimmed +with fur, more like a courtier than a holy martyr. He holds his lungs +in one hand, because he is a patron of people suffering from +consumption, but why we know not, as there was nothing in the way he +met his death in the river Arbia by the order of Diocletian to explain +the presence of this strange symbol. He stands in Matteo's fresco very +daintily by the Madonna's side, pointing her out to the small donor +who is seen kneeling in a doorway. The colour is deep, perhaps a +little crude, and if the figures may seem somewhat stiff and their +draperies angular, all such defects are amply redeemed by the small +angels on the arch above, who composedly gaze down upon the Madonna as +they sing and play to her. + + +PALAZZO PUBBLICO OR PALAZZO COMMUNALE + +In the beginning of the thirteenth century the civil affairs of Assisi +had assumed such large proportions that it was found impossible to +transact business in unsheltered quarters of the piazza as had +hitherto been done, and the citizens determined to build a Palazzo +Pubblico. Other towns were rising to municipal importance, notably +Perugia whose palace for her priors proved a beautiful example of a +gothic building, while Assisi was directing all efforts to adorn her +churches. A house was bought belonging to the same Benedictine abbot +of Mount Subasio, who had given the humble dwellings to St. Francis, +and on its site they erected the present municipal palace, which was +enlarged in 1275 and again in the fifteenth century, but it always +remained a humble building with little pretensions to fine +architecture. Here the priors and the consuls ruled the citizens in +the absence of a despot, while in the palace of the Capitano del +Popolo (now the residence of the Carabinieri), whose tower dates from +1276, the council of the citizens met to check the tyranny of the +governing faction. These municipal magnates lived upon opposite sides +of the Piazza, and acted as a drag upon each other in civil matters. +The many small towns, villages and castles which were beneath the yoke +of Assisi in mediaeval times have been represented by a modern artist +in the entrance hall of the Palazzo Pubblico, and are a happy record +of her days of conquest and prosperity, which are duly remembered by +the citizens. There is also a picture by Sermei of St. Francis +blessing Assisi from the plain which, painted in the sixteenth +century, is interesting as a likeness of the town at that time. There +is also a picture of Elias hung upon the wall, intended as a portrait +and not as an object for popular devotion. An effort has been made to +adapt one of the rooms as a gallery of Umbrian art, and a few frescoes +taken from walls and convents and transferred to canvas are preserved +here, giving some idea, notwithstanding their ruined condition, of the +liberal way in which Umbrian artists distributed their work in every +corner of the town. The gateway of S. Giacomo exposed to constant sun, +wind and rain, was yet thought a fitting place for Fiorenzo di Lorenzo +to paint a fresco of a beautiful Madonna. It now looks sadly out of +place in this room of the Municipio with a little paper ticket on the +corner of the canvas marking it as No. 17. The half figures of angels, +No. 23 and No. 24, by Matteo da Gualdo, were taken from the +Confraternity of S. Crispino together with No. 21. From the Chiesa dei +Pellegrini came No. 5, the Madonna and Saints by Ottaviano Nelli of +Gubbio; while No. 6, a Madonna, with angels holding a red damask +curtain behind her, was found at the fountain of Mojano and is +attributed to Tiberio d'Assisi. That mysterious painter L'Ingegno +d'Assisi may be the author of No. 12. Vasari recounts how he learnt +his art in the workshop of Perugino in company with Raphael, and even +helped his master in the Cambio frescoes. His real name was Andrea +Aloisi, the nickname of Ingegno arising from the fact that he was +looked up to by his fellow citizens as a very remarkable man, for not +only could he paint beautiful Madonnas but he was a distinguished +Procurator, Arbitrator, Syndic and Camerlingo Apostolico. But to try +and trace his work is like following a will-o'-the-wisp, for no sooner +do we hear of a fresco by him than it eventually turns out to be by +Fiorenzo di Lorenzo or by Adone Doni, and this fresco in the Municipio +is the only one in Assisi which may be by him. If it is, Tiberio +d'Assisi would seem to have been his master and not Perugino. + +In the same room is a small but interesting painting in fresco (No. +87), the figure of a winged Mercury, which was excavated a few years +ago in the Casa Rocchi, via Cristofani. In another room is the head of +a saint which some believe to be also of Roman times, but a good +authority attributes it to a late follower of Raphael. The saint's +head is seen against a shadowy blue landscape, and like all Umbrian +things has an indescribable charm, a feeling that the artist loved the +valleys in spring-time, and tried to convey some of the soft colour of +the young corn and budding trees into the picture he was painting. + + +THE CHIESA NUOVA + +A little below the Piazza della Minerva is the Chiesa Nuova, built at +the expense of Philip III, of Spain in 1615 by the Assisan artist +Giorgetti and finished in seven years. Few people come to Assisi +without visiting it, for although containing nothing of artistic +value, it stands upon the site of the Casa Bernardone, and recalls +many incidents of St. Francis' life. The small door is shown through +which Madonna Pica passed when the angel disguised as a pilgrim told +her that her son was to be born in a stable, and we see part of the +cell where St. Francis endured such cruel imprisonment from his +father, until his mother in the absence of Messer Pietro let him out +to return to his haunts at San Damiano and the Carceri.[106] Other +places preserve more of the charm of the saint than the Chiesa Nuova. + +Two buildings in the town are intimately connected with St. Francis, +his father's shop in the Via Portica the entrance of which the +sculptor of St. Bernardino's door at the franciscan convent has +adorned with a beautiful pattern of flowers, shields and cupids; and +the house of Bernard of Quintavalle which is reached from this street +by the Via S. Gregorio. It is now the Palazzo Sbaraglini and has no +doubt been much enlarged since the thirteenth century, but the little +old door above a flight of steps bears the unmistakable stamp of age; +it leads into a long vaulted room, now a chapel, which there seems +every reason to believe was the one where Bernard, the rich noble, +invited St. Francis to stay with him at a time when he doubted his +sanctity. The story is too long to quote and extracts would only spoil +it, but the pilgrim to Assisi should read it as related in that +franciscan testament, the _Fioretti_ (chap. iii.). Popular devotion +has happily not tampered with this corner of the town as it has with +the house of the Bernardone. + + [Illustration: CAMPANILE OF STA. MARIA MAGGIORE] + + +STA. MARIA MAGGIORE + +This romanesque church stands above a Roman building whose columns and +mosaic floor can easily be seen from the garden behind the apse, and +for many centuries it was the cathedral of Assisi as is testified by +its close proximity to the Bishop's palace. But there is now little to +remind us of any pretensions to splendour which it may once have +possessed, only vestiges of the frescoes destroyed by the great +earthquake of 1832 can be seen on its walls, and an Annunciation in a +cupboard of the sacristy--in such strange places do we find an ancient +fresco in Assisi. The church was already an old building in the +twelfth century, for we hear of its being restored and enlarged after +a fire by Giovanni da Gubbio, and finished later by the help of St. +Francis who is said to have rebuilt the apse. One gladly hurries out +of it into the little piazza which, though the humblest looking in +Assisi, is very famous for the scenes it has witnessed. Here St. +Francis renounced the world in the presence of his angry father, and +received protection from Bishop Guido; (see p. 235). Many years later +the dying saint was brought to rest at the Bishop's palace near the +church, and edified those who guarded the gates by singing so gaily in +the midst of terrible suffering. Then again when a quarrel arose +between Guido and the Podesta of Assisi, two friars came up with a +message of peace from St. Francis, then on his deathbed at the +Portiuncula, who had heard with grief of the dissension. The story, +and it is a true one we may be sure, has been faithfully recorded by +Brother Leo, who tells us how "when all were assembled together in the +piazza by the Bishop's palace the two brethren rose up and said: "The +blessed Francis in his illness has composed a canticle to the Lord +concerning His creatures, to the praise of the Lord Himself and for +the edification of the people." It was the verse beginning "Praised be +my Lord for all those who pardon one another for His love's sake," +which he had added to his Hymn to the Sun (see p. 79). All listened +intently to the message which so touched the heart of the Podesta that +he flung himself at the Bishop's feet and promised to make amends for +his offence for the love of Christ and the Blessed Francis. The Bishop +lifting him from the ground spoke words of forgiveness and peace, and +then "with great kindness and love they embraced and kissed one +another."" + + [Illustration: EAST FRONT OF SAN FRANCESCO] + + +CONVENTS OF S. QUIRICO AND S. APPOLINARE + +Every church and convent wall in Assisi was once adorned by frescoes, +and even now, when time and ill-usage have done their best to ruin +them, it is still possible to come upon delightful specimens of +Umbrian art. But they are so stowed away in out of the way corners +that one hardly likes to pass a door, however poor and uninviting, +without glancing in to see what treasure may be hidden away behind it. + +Curiosity was amply rewarded one day while visiting the convent of S. +Quirico which we pass on the way from Sta. Maria Maggiore to S. +Pietro, attracted there by the small fresco of the Virgin and St. Anne +by Matteo da Gualdo over the door. The whitewashed parlour contained +nothing of interest, not even a nun peered through the iron grating, +but a murmur from the attendant about frescoes drew us to a window +where, above the brown-tiled roof under a rough pent ledge, exposed to +rain and wind, was a fresco of Christ rising from the tomb, and four +small angels. It is not perhaps one of Matteo da Gualdo's most +pleasing compositions and might be passed unnoticed in a gallery, but +the thought of the wealth of Umbrian art, when masters left their +paintings over gateways upon city walls, and above a roof where even +the nuns can scarcely see it as they walk in the cloister below, give +it a peculiarly Assisan charm which we cannot easily forget. A few +steps further on, down the Borgo San Pietro, is the large convent of +S. Appolinare, remarkable for its pretty campanile of brick, and a +wheel window above the door. It once possessed many frescoes of the +fourteenth and fifteenth century, but now it is not worth while to +seek admittance for they are much destroyed; some have been ruthlessly +cut in two by lowering the ceiling of the rooms, and only here and +there, where the whitewash has peeled off, faces of Madonnas and +saints look out like ghosts imprisoned in a convent wall. + + +S. PIETRO + +The church of S. Pietro stands upon a grass piazza surrounded by +mulberry trees, with a broad outlook upon the valley. The central +door, supported by two lions, has a twisted design of water-plants and +birds which formerly were coloured, but now only show here and there +traces of green stalks on a dark red background. A finely carved +inscription above it records that in the year 1218 the cistercian +Abbot Rustico built the facade, but its proud historians believe the +church itself to have existed in the second century, thus claiming for +it the honour of being the first church erected in Assisi. The present +building cannot be older than 1253 when it was rebuilt after a great +fire, and consecrated by Innocent IV. The interior is finely +proportioned, and the remains of ancient frescoes discovered upon the +walls show the zeal of the Assisans in making all their churches, as +well as San Francesco, as beautiful as they could. + + [Illustration: CHURCH OF S. PIETRO] + +In the small chapel to the left of the high altar are four stencilled +medallions of a hunter with his dogs chasing a stag, besides +symmetrical patterns like those of the nave of the Lower Church of San +Francesco. Over the altar is a signed picture by Matteo da Gualdo (he +was at Assisi in 1458, but the date here is partly effaced), of a +Madonna with a choir of angels, and upon either side St. Peter and the +Assisan martyr St. Vittorino. By standing on the altar steps a fresco +of the Annunciation of the fifteenth century may be seen on the wall +of the sacristy, discovered beneath the usual layer of whitewash some +fifty years ago. The angel's profile, the hair turned back in waves +from the face over the shoulders, is clearly outlined, and shows pale +against the golden light of his wings. But the real treasures of this +church, according to a pious author, are the bones of St. Vittorino, +an Assisan Christian who was the second Bishop of Assisi, and died a +martyr's death in the third century. In 1642 these relics were +deposited in a more suitable marble urn than the one that had +contained them before, during a grand ceremony presided over by a +Baglioni, Bishop of Perugia. Other bones and ashes of some Roman +martyrs were afterwards added which were taken from the cemetery at +Rome by the Abbot of San Pietro "to further enrich his church." + + +THE CONFRATERNITIES + +An enduring mark of St. Francis' influence is seen in the number of +confraternities established in Assisi which, if they have lost many of +their primitive customs, still retain a hold upon the people and are +the great feature of the town. Hardly a day passes without seeing +members either preparing for a service in one of their chapels, or +following a church procession, or carrying the dead along the cypress +walk from Porta S. Giacomo to the cemetery. Clothed in long grey +hooded cloaks, holding lanterns and candles and singing their mediaeval +hymns, these citizens of the nineteenth century belong to Assisi of +the past as much as all her frescoes and early buildings. Their origin +goes back to the middle of the thirteenth century when, out of the +great devotional movement due to St. Francis, arose that strange body +of penitents the Flagellants, who are said to have first appeared in +Perugia, and thence spread throughout Italy.[107] "The movement," says +Dr Creighton, "passed away; but it left its dress as a distinctive +badge to the confraternities of mercy which are familiar to the +traveller in the streets of many cities of Italy." Assisi was among +the first to witness the hordes of fanatics who roamed from town to +town increasing as they passed like a swarm of locusts through the +land, and often at night going forth into the streets clothed in white +garments to dance a dance of the dead, clanging bones together as they +sang. It was inevitable that their passage through Assisi should have +its results, and many brotherhoods were founded; those who had no +chapels of their own met in S. Pietro or S. Maria delle Rose, where +they performed their penances, sometimes, as in the case of the +Battuti (Flagellants), beating themselves as they sang the wild, +love-inspired hymns of Jacopone da Todi, the franciscan poet of +Umbria. Since those days their fervour has taken a more practical +form, and very simple are their services. + + [Illustration: CONFRATERNITY OF SAN FRANCESCUCCIO IN VIA GARIBALDI] + +The members of _San Francescuccio_, or _Delle Stimate_, ever to and +fro upon some errand of mercy, belong to the most important +confraternity, and own one of the most picturesque chapels in the +towns. When its doors are open during early Mass or Benediction the +sound of prayer and chanting comes across the quiet road, and in the +blaze of candle-light is seen the great Crucifixion of Ottaviano Nelli +(?) in the lunette of the wall above the altar. At other times, the +chapel being so sunk below the level of the road with no windows to +light it, both fresco and the charming groined roof, blue as that of +San Francesco, can with difficulty be seen. The pent roof outside +overshadows some Umbrian frescoes by Matteo da Gualdo recording the +famous miracle of the roses which flowered for St. Francis in the +snow, and which he offered to the Virgin at the Altar of the +Portiuncula. On the wall to the right are some ruined frescoes in +terra-verde by a scholar of Matteo. + +Another confraternity in this street is _San Crispino_, which once +possessed a picture by Niccolo Alunno, but that has long since +disappeared, and only faint patches of colour remain above its +gateway. There are many other confraternities, but as they do not all +possess pictures of interest, we only mention three others; and first +of these, the _Oratory of St. Anthony the Abbot_, or _Chiesa dei +Pellegrini_, which every visitor to Assisi ought to visit.[108] After +the Church of San Francesco it is by far the most important sight of +the town; a Lombard facade, a Roman temple, or a mediaeval castle, +delightful and beautiful as they are, may be seen elsewhere, but we +know nothing with such individual charm as the little chapel of St. +Anthony, in the Via Superba. So often a hundred vicissitudes arrested +the adornment of a building during those troubled times of the middle +ages, but here we find a small and perfectly proportioned oratory +decorated with frescoes upon the ceiling and upon every wall, by two +Umbrian masters who have sought to make it a complete and perfect +sanctuary of Umbrian art. + +Built in 1431 by the piety of the brotherhood of St. Anthony the +Abbot, it served as a private chapel to the adjoining hospital, where +pilgrims coming to pray at the shrine of St. Francis found food and +shelter for three days. The liberal donations given by Guidantonio, +Duke of Urbino and sometime Lord of Assisi, whose devotion to the +saint was great, may have enabled the confraternity to adorn it with +its many frescoes. Outside, in the arched niche above the door, are +the patrons of the chapel, St. Anthony and St. James of Campostello, +that great saint of pilgrims, with a frieze of small angels above them +playing upon various instruments, also by Matteo da Gualdo. To him we +owe the fair Madonna over the altar who gazes so dreamily before her, +and sits so straight upon her throne. Angels gather round bending +towards their instruments with earnest faces; Matteo's angels can +never only calmly pray, they must sing or else play on tambourines, +viole d'amore, cymbals and organs. Less pleasing are the large figures +of St. James and St. Anthony, while in contrast to them are the +slender winged figures on either side bearing tall candelabra, and +moving forward with such stately step, their white garments sweeping +in long folds behind them, their fair curls just ruffled by the air. +Surely Matteo must have been thinking of a group of babies at play in +the cornfields, or under the hedges near his own Umbrian town, when he +painted that frieze of laughing children, with little caps fitting so +closely round their heads, who are tossing the branches of red and +white roses up into the air. Each one is different, and all are full +of graceful movement. They divide the frescoes below from that of the +Annunciation, which recalls the manner of Boccatis da Camerino, the +master of Matteo. He paints a swallow, the bird of returning spring, +perched outside the Virgin's bedroom, to symbolise the promise of +redemption, and a lion cub meant to represent the lion of Judah walks +leisurely towards the Madonna. + +Matteo da Gualdo, as the inscription tells, worked here in 1468, and +Pier Antonio da Foligno, known as Mezzastris, came in 1482 to paint +the rest of the chapel, and upon the right wall he related the most +famous of St. James' miracles in a naive and delightful manner. The +legends tell how in the time of Pope Calixtus II, a certain German +with his wife and son on their way to the saint's Spanish shrine of +Campostello lodged at Tolosa, where their host's daughter fell in love +with the fair young German. But he, being a cautious youth, resisted +every advance of the Spanish maiden, who sought to avenge herself by +hiding a silver drinking cup belonging to her father in his wallet. +The theft was discovered, and the judge of Tolosa condemned the young +pilgrim to be hanged. Pier Antonio has painted the scene when the +father and mother, after visiting Campostello, return to take a last +look at the place where their son was executed and find him well: "O +my mother! O my father!" he says, "do not lament for me, as I have +never been in better cheer, the blessed Apostle James is at my side, +sustaining me and filling me with celestial joy and comfort." In the +fresco near the altar the story is continued; the judge, stout and +imposing as one of Benozzo Gozzoli's Florentine merchants, is seated +at a table in crimson and ermine robes surrounded by his friends, when +the pilgrim and his wife arrive and beg him to release their son. +Somewhat bored at being interrupted at his banquet he mocks them, +saying: "What meanest thou, good woman? Thou art beside thyself. If +thy son lives so do these fowls before me." No sooner had he spoken +than, to the astonishment of all, the cock and hen stood up on the +dish and the cock began to crow, as we see in Mezzastris' fresco. On +the opposite wall are miracles of St. Anthony. In the fresco near the +door he is sitting in the porch of the church surrounded by his +companion hermits; they are watching the arrival of camels which, in +answer to the saint's prayer, have brought a supply of food neatly +corded on their backs. The artist has pictured the desert with sandy +mountains, little flowers growing in the burning sand and thick grass +in the wood by the convent. In the second fresco St. Anthony, beneath +a portico of lapis lazzuli and green serpentine, is distributing the +food brought by the friendly camels, to the beggars, who appear as +suddenly upon the scene as the beggars do in an Assisan street. + +The four figures in the ceiling, Pope Leo III, St. Bonaventure, St. +Isidor of Seville and St. Augustine, and the angels with shield-shaped +wings, are also by Mezzastris. A graceful piece of his work is the +Christ above the door, in a glory of angels who form a wreath around +Him with their wings like sheaves of yellow wheat. Delightful, but +very different from Matteo's, are the cupid-angels flying across the +sky on clouds, and the two seated playing with a shield upon which is +painted the pilgrim's scallop-shell. + + [Illustration: MONTE FRUMENTARIO IN THE VIA PRINCIPE DI NAPOLI] + +The figure of St. James near the door is of small interest, being a +much restored work of a pupil of Perugino; but in the dark corner on +the other side is, says Mr Berenson, a youthful work of Fiorenzo di +Lorenzo. It is the young St. Ansano holding his lungs suspended +daintily from one finger as in the fresco of S. Paolo, and looking so +charming in his page's dress, his fair curls falling about his +shoulders. He stands at the entrance of a cave with pointed rocks +above, and saxifrage and ferns delicately drawn are growing in their +crevices. Would that Mezzastris had given his pupil a larger space of +wall to work on, so that we might have had more saints and landscapes +like these. We leave the chapel with regret, giving one last look at +Matteo's Madonna and his frieze of child-angels, and then go out into +the long broad Via Principe di Napole. Its fine palaces, once the +abode of some of the richest nobles of the town, have now been turned +into schools and hospitals, and our thoughts once more revert to the +past days of prosperity and magnificence as we walk along this grand +but silent street where the grass grows unmolested between the stones. +A little way further on to the right is the fine _loggia_ of the +_Monte Frumentario_ which in olden times was an agricultural Monte di +Pieta, where the peasants who had no other possessions than the +produce of the fields would come to pawn their grain in time of need. +The door is finely sculptured, and the delicate chiselling of the +capitals of the pillars of the _loggia_ mark it as a work of the +fourteenth century. Not far from the Chiesa dei Pellegrini, but to the +left, stands one of the oldest Assisan houses which does not seem to +have suffered much alteration since it was built. It was the lodge of +the Comacine guild of workers, who have left their sign of the rose +between the compass over the entrance, and two pieces of sculpture, +showing that those to whom the house belonged were people who worked +at some trade. It does not appear to have been a dwelling-house, but +only a place where the members of the guild, employed in building the +different civil and religious buildings for the Assisans, could meet +together to discuss their interests, draw out their plans and execute +different pieces of their work. They probably did not build the house, +but perhaps in the year 1485, which is the date above the door, +adapted for their use one already standing.[109] It is always pointed +out as the _Casa di Metastasio_, but his paternal dwelling is a less +interesting house, standing at the angle of Via S. Giacomo and Via S. +Croce, which can be reached from the Comacine Lodge by the steep +by-street of S. Andrea. Metastasio, though the Trapassi were Assisans, +had little to do with the town as his family were engaged in trade at +Rome, where he was born in 1698. There he was found improvising songs +to a crowd of wondering people by the celebrated Vincenzo Gravina, who +adopted and educated him. When set to music, Metastasio's poetry +brought all Rome to his feet and earned him the title of Caesarean poet +from the Emperor Charles VI; he ended his life at the court of Vienna +as the favourite of Maria Theresa, honoured by all the great musicians +of the day. Truly he has little to do with Assisi, yet he must be +added to the list of her numerous illustrious citizens. + + [Illustration: HOUSE OF THE COMACINE BUILDERS IN THE VIA PRINCIPE DI + NAPOLE] + +Following the street by the Casa di Metastasio, we get into +delightful lanes above the town and reach another little +confraternity, the oldest of all, _San Rufinuccio_.[110] Its small +chapel, built of alternate layers of pink and white Subasian stone, is +a very characteristic example of an Umbrian way-side sanctuary, always +open in the olden days for the peasants to come into for rest and +prayer. It is worth a visit, not only because the way there is +beautiful, but also for the grand Crucifixion painted above the altar +by the decorator of St. Nicholas' Chapel in San Francesco. It is a +strong and splendid composition, which even much repainting has been +unable to destroy. Unfortunately the scenes at the sides can only just +be seen. Below, the half-length Madonna and angels by another artist +recall the Annunciation of S. Pietro, in the marked outline of their +pale faces and the rainbow colour of clothes and wings. + +Turning off from the Via Nuova to the left we mount still higher +through the olive groves along a path possessing no name, but which is +the nicest way to the heights above the town. We come in a few minutes +to the confraternity of _San Lorenzo_, standing somewhat below the +level of the castle. It has nothing of interest inside, but behind the +wooden covering of the gateway at the side is a fresco by an unknown +Umbrian artist, an Assisan perhaps, who above the Virgin's throne +signs himself "Chola Pictor." He paints the faces of his saints with a +smooth surface, betraying the influence of Simone Martini which he +felt together with many of his fellow Umbrian artists. The Virgin's +throne is full of wonderful ornaments; unfortunately the fresco has +suffered from a large crack across the wall. Very quaint is a group of +hooded members of the confraternity at her feet, and there is a +charming figure of St. Rufino, young, with an oval face and brown +eyes, but to be seen only from the top of a ladder as he is painted in +a corner of the arch. It has been suggested to remove this much-ruined +painting to the safer custody of the Municipio, but we hope this will +not occur, for, taken away from its gateway on the hillside, where the +redstarts build their nests and the evening sun lights up the colour +in the Virgin's face, its interest and charm would be lost. + + +THE CASTLE OR "LA ROCCA D'ASSISI" + +Within her city walls Assisi possesses nothing wilder or more +beautiful than the undulating slopes which rise from the city up to +the Castle, where wild orchises grow among the grass, and the hedges +of acacia wind around the hill. The town lies so directly below, that +by stepping to the edge and looking across the white acacias, we can +only see a mass of brown roofs all purple at sundown, the tops of +towers and the battlements of gateways. Then there are places where +the grassy hillocks stand up so high that they hide the town +altogether, and we seem to be looking out upon the broad vista of the +valley from an isolated peak. At all times it is beautiful; but choose +a stormy day in springtime, when the clouds are driving upwards from +the plain only lately covered with mist, and the nearer hills are dark +their cities catching the late evening sunshine as it breaks through +the storm, while wind-swept Subasio looks bleak in the white light +showing here and there patches of palest green. And behind us, +cresting the hill, so near the town yet seen absolutely alone and +clear against the sky, rise the tower and the vast walls of the Rocca +d'Assisi, looking, not like a ruin crumbling beneath the constant +driving of wind and rain, but as though torn down in war-time, grand +in its destruction. It stands upon the site of an ancient burial +ground, where in remote times the Umbrian augurs came to watch for +omens from the heights of a tower that is said to have crowned the +summit. The legend of this building gave rise to the belief that a +castle stood here in very early times which was taken by Totila when +he besieged Assisi. But it is more probable that when Charlemagne +rebuilt the town in 733 after it had been destroyed by his army, he +also erected a castle to enable the Papal emissaries to keep the +people in subjection; or perhaps the citizens themselves may have +wished to protect themselves more securely from passing armies (see p. +16). It ended by becoming, much to the displeasure of the people the +residence of whoever held Assisi for the time, and in the twelfth +century they experienced the despotic rule of Conrad of Suabia, who +lived here with his young charge, Frederic II. When, by the superior +power of the Pope, Conrad was driven out of Umbria, the citizens did +their best to destroy the walls which had harboured a tyrant, and to +avoid further tyranny they obtained an edict forbidding the erection +of another fortress. But promises such as these were vain indeed, for +when, in 1367, escaping from the hated yoke of the Perugians Assisi +welcomed Cardinal Albornoz in the Pope's name as her ruler, she lent a +willing ear to his plans for rebuilding the castle. The people were +well satisfied as they watched the improvements he made in the town, +and two centuries had so dimmed the remembrances of Conrad's tyranny, +that they gladly assisted him, little deeming that they were giving +away their liberty. Albornoz, not slow to perceive what a valuable +possession it would prove to the rulers of Assisi, spared neither +money nor efforts to make it large and strong. By his orders the +castle keep, which we see to this day, called the "maschio," and the +squarely-set walls enclosing it were erected, and in a very few years +the Rocca again rose proudly on its hill, warning the Umbrian people +of its newly-found importance, and enticing passing _condottieri_ to +lay siege to a town that offered so fine a prize. Albornoz also +rebuilt most of the city walls which had been so battered during the +Perugian wars; we can trace them from gateway to gateway encircling +the city, and it is curious to see how in the upper portion near San +Rufino large open spaces exist, as if in those active days when the +Assisans had hopes of becoming powerful, they purposely set the walls +far back to provide for a large and flourishing town. The feeling of +arrested growth is one of the most mournful spectacles, and we half +wonder if the great castle dominating the heights was not in part the +cause of it. There was war enough at the time, inevitable among the +restless factions of a people groping towards freedom and power, but +here above the town was placed a fresh cause of dissension and +struggle against perpetual bondage through varied tyrannies. + +Albornoz, in planning out the city walls, discovered that the part +between Porta Cappuccini and Porta Perlici, where the hill descends +towards the ravine, needed protection, so he built the strong fortress +of San Antonio known as the Rocca Minore. It had a separate governor +or Castellano, and though of minor importance, proved very efficient +in repelling the attacks of besieging armies. The principal tower, +though somewhat ruined, still looks very fine within its square +enclosure of massive walls, now covered in places with heavy curtains +of ivy, the home of countless birds. A pious Castellano in the +fifteenth century left a fresco of the Crucifixion in the chapel with +his portrait at the foot of the Cross, and as we look at it through +the wooden gateway we are reminded of what otherwise from the deserted +look of the place it is easy to forget, that people once lived and +prayed at the Rocca as well as fought. + + [Illustration: LOOKING ACROSS THE ASSISAN ROOFS TOWARDS THE EAST] + +Cardinal Albornoz left the castle in charge of two Assisan captains, +but from 1376 an uninterrupted line of governors received their +salaries from whoever was master of Assisi at the time. Always chosen +from other towns their privileges were quite distinct from those of +the civil governors; but in the fifteenth century, owing to the +weakness of the Priors, who failed to keep order among the lawless +nobles of the town, their power increased. The Papal Legate then gave +into the hands of the Castellano authority to issue edicts which the +Priors had to obey, and in 1515 he was invested with the title of +Podesta and Pretor of Assisi. But none of these governors seems to +have misused their power over the town, probably because their rule +was of too short a duration to carry out any ambitious scheme. And +when the despot for the time being of Assisi came to stay, he took up +his quarters in the castle, ruling governors, magistrates and people +alike. In the time of the despot Broglia di Trino, we hear of the +Priors wearily toiling up the steep ascent to place before him the +acts they had passed in the municipal palace. He received them always +in the open air, holding his councils either in the first enclosure by +the well, or in the second by the castle keep, where many important +conclusions were arrived at, and plans for the city's dominion laid +out. + +So perfect is the harmony of the castle from wherever it is seen, that +it is difficult to realise how many hands have formed it, how many +times its walls have been battered down and rebuilt at different +periods by popes, cardinals, and passing _condottieri_, who have +nearly all left their arms upon its walls as a record of their +munificence. After Albornoz had built the principal mass of +fortifications little was done until 1458, when Jacopo Piccinino, the +son of the great general, entered Assisi as master, and obtained +immediate possession of the Rocca. His reign was short, but with the +quick eye of a soldier he soon discovered the weakness of the western +slope, and seeing that it might be carried by assault from Porta San +Giacomo, he laid the foundations of a polygonal tower and a long wall +connecting it with the main building. The Comacine builders +established in Assisi were employed and left their sign, the rose +between the compass and the mason's square, upon its lower walls. But +long before the work was half completed Piccinino sold the city to the +Pope, and it was AEneas Piccolomini, Pius II, who, when he visited +Assisi in 1459, ordered it to be brought to a termination; within a +year the wall was raised to its full height, the tower received its +battlements and the arms of the Piccolomini were placed above those of +Piccinino. The covered gallery, running along the top of the wall from +the castle, still leads the visitor to the giddy heights of the tower +whence he obtains truly a bird's-eye view of all the country round, +from Spoleto to Perugia, across range upon range of hills towards +Tuscany, and from Bettona to the wild tract of mountainous country +leading to Nocera, Gualdo and Gubbio. + +To recount the full history of the castle needs a book to itself, and +would include not only the history of Assisi but almost of all +Umbria.[111] The possession of the Rocco Maggiore entailed that of the +Rocca Minore and gave undisputed sway over Assisi, so that the +desperate efforts made to hold it can be understood. During the +intervals when Papal authority was relaxed, we find the names of many +famous people whose armies fought for this much contested prize. +Biordo Michelotti, Count Guido of Montefeltro, the two Piccininos, +Francesco Sforza and Gian Galeazzo Visconti, were in succession its +owners. Cosmo de' Medici obtained it from Pope Eugenius IV, in payment +of a bad debt, and a Florentine governor ruled over it for a year. It +even, together with the town of Assisi, became the property of +Lucrezia Borgia, who received it from Alexander VI, as part of her +dower on her marriage with Giovanni Sforza, Lord of Pesaro. Sometimes +it happened that a private citizen of Perugia conceived the ambitious +scheme of making himself master of the castle, and by fraud the +Castellano would be enticed outside the gates and murdered with his +family. But it always ended by Perugia, fearing the wrath of the Pope, +or not liking one of their own citizens to gain so much power, sending +an army to dislodge the tyrant, who soon lost his head. Sometimes +criminals were kept imprisoned in the castle; we can still see the +room in the keep where they scratched their names upon the wall, with +many references to their horror of the place, and a roughly traced +heart pierced with an arrow. Ordinary malefactors were shut up in a +dark cell on the stairs. When their crimes merited death they were +executed on the Piazza della Minerva, or if time pressed, the +Castellano hanged them from the battlements of the fortress or threw +them out of a window into the ravine below. The governors had a +difficult and not a very peaceful time, for they had not only to guard +against outside foes, but occasionally against a faction who attempted +to get possession of the castle, and great on those occasions was the +fight outside its walls. It was in vain that they took every +precaution for the general safety, that a night guard walked up and +down the Assisan streets playing his castanets to warn off all +evil-doers, or that men-at-arms watched incessantly from the castle +battlements. In the sixteenth century the castle became a prey to the +rival families of the Nepis and the Fiumi who divided Assisi between +them. First it fell into the hands of Jacopo Fiumi and the Pope, +Alexander VI, furious when he heard of this citizen's audacious act, +wrote that "by love or by force" he would have his fortress back +again; but Jacopo remained impervious to threats or promises and held +out for another year, until the Priors fearing the anger of the Pope +came to an agreement with him. Some thirty years later the Nepis +obtained possession of it by treachery and violence, and it required +all the astuteness of Malatesta Baglione, who was fighting for Clement +VII, to dislodge them, while the Pope branded them and their adherents +as "sons of iniquity" for having dared to wrest from the Papacy the +castle of Assisi. + + [Illustration: VIEW OF SAN FRANCESCO FROM BENEATH THE CASTLE WALLS] + +But the days of the great military importance of the Rocca were fast +drawing to a close; Assisi, no longer oppressed by the nobles, +harassed by the armies of Perugia, or alarmed by the coming of the +despots whose power was on the wane all over Italy, lost her character +of individuality as a fighting and turbulent city, and sank beneath +the wise and beneficent government of the Papacy. With the arrival of +Paul III, in 1535, the final blow was given to mediaeval usages of war +and scheming in Umbria. The great Farnese Pope was building his +fortress at Perugia to finally crush that hitherto indomitable people, +and fearing the Assisans might yet give trouble in the future to his +legates as they had so often done in the past, he gave orders that the +fortress should be repaired, and a bastion suitable for the more +modern methods of warfare be built to the right of the castle keep. +This is now the best preserved portion of the building. For some time +a Castellano still remained in command of the castle but his title was +purely a nominal one, and his chief duty seems to have consisted in +guarding prisoners. Its political need having disappeared the popes +thought less of their Assisan fortress, the one lately erected at +Perugia being more efficient as a safeguard of their interests, and +gradually its walls showed signs of decay, but no papal legates were +sent to see to their repair. So terribly did it suffer during the +years that followed the reign of Paul III, that in 1726 we read of the +governor of the city sending an earnest supplication to the Pope that +"this strong and ancient castle of Assisi, which had always been the +chief fortress of Umbria, should be saved from ruin." The Pope, he +tells us in another letter, had already sent Count Aureli, the +military governor of Umbria, to inspect it, who declared it was "one +of the strongest and most splendid fortresses of the ecclesiastical +states, and as fine as any he had seen in France or in Flanders, when +as head page he had accompanied Louis XIV." In the same document there +is mention also of beautiful paintings in the chief rooms, and of a +miraculous Crucifixion in the chapel, but these decorations, needless +to say, have long since disappeared. Entreaties were vainly sent to +Rome; the castle was so utterly abandoned that its gates stood open +for all to roam in and out as they pleased, pulling down the ancient +arms of the popes, and vying with the storms to complete its ruin and +destruction. Such was its strength that it endured the ill-treatment +of seasons and of men, and people now alive remember in their youth to +have seen it still roofed in and possessing much of its former +magnificence. A little money might have restored it to its pristine +state, but during those years of struggle for the Unity of Italy the +general fever of excitement invaded the quiet town, and as if +remembering all the tyrants their castle walls had harboured, and the +skirmishes their ancestors had fought beneath them, the citizens +continued its destruction with renewed vigour. It was no uncommon +thing to see cartloads of stones being taken down the hill for the +construction of some modern dwelling, or boys amusing themselves by +throwing down portions of the walls, and trying who could succeed in +making great blocks of masonry reach the bed of the torrent below. +Luckily the government gave it over to the commune of Assisi in 1883 +and they did something towards its repair, though within certain +limits, for a large sum would have been necessary to complete its +restoration. + +But it still remains a very wonderful corner of Assisi, and delightful +hours may be passed sitting in the castle keep and looking out of the +large windows upon a land so strangely peaceful, with little cities +gathered on the hills or lying by some river in the plain. We see the +battered walls around us bearing traces of ancient warfare, and wonder +at the power which made the mediaeval turmoil so suddenly subside. In +vain we scan the valley for the coming of a warlike cardinal with +glittering horsemen in his rear, or look for Gian Paolo Baglione +riding hastily through the town upon his swift black charger. The +communal armies met for the last time by the Tiber many centuries ago; +popes, emperors, _condottieri_ and saints have passed like pageants +across Umbria, and as if touched by a magician's wand have as suddenly +vanished, leaving her cities with only the memories of an active and +glorious past. Thus Assisi, with the rest of the smaller towns, +gradually sank as a prosperous and governing city though decidedly not +as a place of pilgrimage and prayer, into that deep sleep from which +she has never again awakened. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[103] Bernhard Berenson, "Central Italian painters of the +Renaissance," p. 86. + +[104] Goethe's Werke, _Italiaenische Reise_, I., vol. 27, pp. 184, _et +seq._, J. G. Cotta, 1829. + +[105] The key is obtained from the Canonico Modestini's house, No. 27a +Via S. Paolo. + +[106] The legend that St. Francis was born in a stable only dates from +the fifteenth century and arose out of the desire of the franciscans +to make his life resemble that of Christ. The site of this stable, +which is now a chapel, is of no interest whatever. + +[107] See _Story of Perugia_ (mediaeval series), p. 211, for the legend +of their origin in that town. + +[108] The chapel is also called the _Chiesa di S. Caterina_ because +the members of that confraternity have charge of it. It is often open, +but should it be closed, there is always some one about ready to +obtain the key from the house in the same street Via Superba, now Via +Principe di Napoli, No. 12, opposite Palazzo Bernabei. + +[109] See Signor Alfonso Brizi's _Loggia dei Maestri Comacini in +Assisi_, No. 1, April 185, of the _Atti dell' Accademia Properziana +del Subasio in Assisi_. + +[110] Both the key of _San Rufinuccio_ and _San Lorenzo_ can be +obtained through the sacristan of the Cathedral. + +[111] This work has been admirably done by Signor Alfonso Brizi. In +his _Rocca d'Assisi_, published in 1898, he has given a very +interesting account of its many rulers and vicissitudes, and a full +description of the building, together with all the documents relating +to it. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +_Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. The Feast of the Pardon of St. +Francis or "il Perdono d'Assisi"_ + + +The sanctuary of the Portiuncula has, in its present surroundings, +rightly been called a jewel within a casket--a casket indeed too large +for so small a gem. But the great Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli +was the best the Umbrians could procure for the object they loved best +after their Basilica in the town, and the famous architects of the day +were called in to build it.[112] A smaller shelter would have served +the purpose in earlier times but the ever increasing flow of pilgrims +who came in thousands for the "Perdono" rendered it necessary to think +about a church large enough to contain them; and it was the dominican +Pope Pius V, who enabled the work to be commenced in 1569, giving +large sums to the vast enterprise. Jacopo Barozio da Vignola gave the +ground-plan, leaving the execution of it, at his death in 1573, to be +carried out by the well-known Perugian architect and sculptor, Giulio +Danti, and his fellow-citizen Galeazzo Alessi, who designed the fine +cupola and arches. The church was built in the doric style, divided +into nave and aisles with numberless side chapels; and certainly they +succeeded in giving it a great feeling of space and loftiness, which +if less charming than the mysterious gloom of other churches yet seems +to belong better to the open and sunlit Umbrian plain, where it rises +as a beacon to the people for many miles round. The earthquake in +1832, which laid the villages near Ponte San Giovanni in almost total +ruin, shook down the nave and choir of the Angeli creating havoc +impossible to describe. By supreme good fortune, shall we say by a +miracle, the cupola of Danti and Alessi remained intact above the +Portiuncula, which otherwise would have been utterly destroyed. In +rebuilding the church, Poletti, the Roman architect employed, deviated +slightly from Vignola's original plan, and further he erected a more +elaborate and far less elegant facade than the first one, but baroque +as it is we may be thankful that the niches for statues of the saints +have remained empty. There have been other earthquakes since that of +1832, and when they occurred a pyramid of faggots was carefully piled +upon the Portiuncula for protection in case a miracle might not +intervene a second time to save it from destruction. + +The friars took an active part in the work, building the campanile and +carving the handsome pulpit and the cupboards in the sacristy. The +marble altar was given in 1782 by Mehemet Ali, the ruler of Egypt, and +many noble Italian families contributed towards the erection of the +chapels containing decadent paintings which it would be useless to +describe or to look at. One priceless treasure ornaments the chapel of +San Giuseppe (in the left transept), a work of Andrea della Robbia in +terra-cotta of blue and white which is like a portion of the sky seen +through the cool branches of a vine on a glaring summer's day. Andrea +is truly the sculptor of the franciscans, for there are but few of his +works where an incident from St. Francis' life is not introduced, and +with what feeling they are realised. On one side of the beautiful +Madonna who bends to receive her crown from the hands of the Saviour, +is represented with great dignity and simplicity St. Francis receiving +the Stigmata, on the other St. Jerome and his lion. Beneath is a +predella divided into three compartments, the Annunciation, Christ in +the manger, and the Adoration of the Magi; and Andrea has framed in +the whole with a slightly raised garland of apples, fir-cones and +Japanese medlars, which suits the delicacy of the workmanship of the +small scenes better than a heavier wreath of fruit and leaves. In the +Capella delle Reliquie (in the right transept) is a Crucifixion +painted on panel by Giunta Pisano (?) with medallion half figures of +the Virgin and St. John; below are kneeling angels by an Umbrian +artist, whose work contrasts most strangely with the ancient painting +belonging to the dark years before Giotto. + +In a preceding chapter we lamented the efforts that have been made to +decorate the Portiuncula, now alas no longer the shrine among the oak +trees; not only in earlier centuries did Umbrian artists cover its +rough stones in many parts with frescoes, but the German artist +Overbeck has added another superfluous decoration to the facade, +severely, but justly criticised by M. Taine, and a German lady has +painted the Annunciation on the apse. A very small picture by Sano di +Pietro of the Madonna and Child hangs above, a very charming example +of the master's work. Very little remains of Pietro Perugino's +Crucifixion, and what there is has been well covered over with modern +paint. The choir of the monks built outside the Portiuncula having +been removed in the eighteenth century half of Perugino's fresco was +destroyed, leaving only the groups of people at the foot of the Cross, +amongst whom we recognise St. Francis. + +A naive legend is recalled to us by the stone slab let into the wall +close to the side entrance, recording the spot where Pietro Cataneo, +the first vicar of the Order during the life of the saint, is buried. +He was as holy as the rest of those first enthusiasts, and after death +so many miracles were wrought at his tomb that the peace of the friars +was disturbed. The case becoming serious they had recourse to St. +Francis who, seeing the danger that their lonely abode would become a +place of pilgrimage, addressed an admonition to Pietro Cataneo, saying +that as he had ever been obedient in life so must he be in death and +cease to perform such marvellous miracles. After this when peasants +came to pray for some favour at his tomb no answer was vouchsafed, so +that gradually their faith in his intercession ceased and peace again +reigned at the Portiuncula. + +The extent of the present church is so immense that the site of all +the scattered huts of the brethren and the little orchard so carefully +tended by the saint, are contained within its walls. Over what was the +infirmary where St. Francis died St. Bonaventure built a chapel which +Lo Spagna decorated with portraits (?) of the first franciscans, now +seen very dimly like shadows on its walls by the flickering light of +the tapers. Out of the half gloom stands strongly outlined in a niche +above the altar, a beautiful terra-cotta statue of St. Francis by +Andrea della Robbia. The hood is thrown back, the head slightly +raised, and in the sad but calm expression of the exquisitely modelled +face Andrea conveys a truer feeling of the suffering Poverello than +all the so-called portraits. One of these, said to be painted on the +lid of the saint's coffin by Giunta Pisano, hangs outside the chapel, +but it looks more like a bad copy of Cimabue's St. Francis in the +Lower Church, and we would fain leave with the remembrance unspoilt +of Andrea's fine conception. Passing through the sacristy containing a +head of Christ by an unknown follower of Perugino and a small Guido +Reni (?), we reach the chapel of St. Charles Borromeo where an ancient +and much restored portrait of St. Francis, said to be painted on part +of his bed, hangs above the altar; it is in every way less interesting +than the one in the sacristy of the Lower Church. From here an open +colonnade leads past a little plot of ground, which in the days of the +Little Brethren was the orchard of the convent. One day as the saint +left his cell he stopped a moment to speak with the friar who attended +to the land, "begging him not to cultivate only vegetables, but to +leave a little portion for those plants which in due time would bring +forth brother flowers, for the love of Him who is called 'flower of +the field and lily of the valley.'" Accordingly a "fair little garden" +was made, and often while St. Francis caressingly touched the flowers, +his spirit seemed to those who watched him to be no longer upon earth +but to have already reached its home. On the other side, carefully +preserved within wire netting, is the famous Garden of Roses, and +standing in the midst, like ruins of some temple, are the four pillars +which in olden times supported a roof above the Portiuncula. In the +days when St. Francis had his hut close by, this cultivated garden was +only a wilderness of brambles in the forest, and the legend tells how +the saint being assailed by terrible temptation as he knelt at prayer +through the watches of the night, ran out into the snow and rolled +naked among the brambles and thorns to quiet the fierce battle within +his soul. The moonlight suddenly broke through the clouds shining upon +clusters of white and red roses, their leaves stained with the saint's +blood which had fallen upon the brambles and produced these thornless +flowers, while celestial spirits filled the air with hymns of praise. +Throwing a silken garment over him and flooding his pathway with +heavenly radiance, the angel led him to the Portiuncula where the +Madonna and Child appeared to him in a vision. The legend has been +often illustrated, Overbeck's fresco on the facade of the chapel +records it yet again where St. Francis is represented as offering to +the Virgin the roses he had gathered. + + [Illustration: THE GARDEN OF THE ROSES AT STA. MARIA DEGLI ANGELI] + +A few steps beyond the Garden of the Roses lies the Chapel of the +Roses built by St. Bonaventure over the hut of St. Francis, which was +afterwards enlarged by St. Bernardine. The place where he spent his +few moments of repose and so many hours of prayer, can be seen through +the grating on a level with the chapel floor, and resembles more the +lair of a wild animal than an ordinary abode of man; but such places +were dear to him, and he rejoiced in having the open forest outside +his cell into which he wandered at all times of the day and night, and +where the brethren, ever curious to watch their beloved and holy +master, could see him on moonlight nights holding sweet converse with +heavenly spirits. The choir of the chapel is frescoed by Lo Spagna who +repeated again the figures of the first franciscans, adding those of +St. Bonaventure, St. Bernardine of Siena, St. Louis of Toulouse, and +St. Anthony of Padua on the left wall, and St. Clare and St. Elisabeth +of Hungary on the right wall. The fresco on the ceiling is said to be +by Pinturricchio. The paintings in the nave by Tiberio d'Assisi are +faintly coloured and a poor example of Umbrian art; only the last +scene is interesting, where St. Francis publishes the indulgence in +the presence of the seven bishops, as it gives an accurate +representation of the Portiuncula in the fifteenth century with +Niccolo da Foligno's fresco still upon the facade. It tells the legend +of the "Perdono" which even to the present day plays so important a +part in the religious life of Assisi, bringing crowds every year to +the Portiuncula for whom the Angeli was finally built. Disentangling +the story from the legend by no means diminishes its charm, while we +get a very striking historical scene showing us St. Francis in yet +another light. Once when the saint was praying at the Portiuncula, +Christ and his Mother appeared to him to ask what favour he desired, +for it would be granted by reason of his great faith. The salvation of +souls being ever the burden of his prayers he begged for a plenary +indulgence, to be earned by all who should enter the Portiuncula on a +special day. "What thou askest, O Francis," replied Christ, "is very +great; but thou art worthy of still greater favours. I grant thy +prayer; but go and find my Vicar, the Sovereign Pontiff Honorius III, +at Perugia, and ask him in my name for this indulgence." Early next +morning St. Francis, accompanied by Peter Cataneo and Angelo da Rieti, +started along the road to Perugia where Innocent III, had but lately +died and the pious Honorius been immediately elected as his successor. +It was in the early summer of 1216 that the little band of friars were +led into the presence of the Pope in the old Canonica, but not for the +first time did St. Francis find himself in the presence of Rome's +sovereign, gaining his cause now as before through the great love that +made his words and actions seem inspired. At first the Pope murmured +at the immensity of the favour asked but finally, his heart being +touched by the fervour of the saint, he said: "For how many years do +you desire this indulgence. Perchance for one or two, or will you that +I grant it to you for seven?" The Pope had still to learn the depths +of love in the saint's heart who stood before him pleading so +earnestly for the souls of men, not during his life only, but during +centuries to come. "O Messer il Papa," cried St. Francis in accents +almost of despair, "why speakest thou of years and of time? I ask thee +not for years, but I ask thee for souls." "It is not the custom of the +Roman Curia," answered the Pope, "to grant such an indulgence." + +"Your Holiness," said the saint, "it is not I who ask for it, but He +who has sent me, the Lord Jesus Christ." + +The Pope conquered by these words and driven by a sudden impulse said, +"We accord thee the indulgence." The Cardinals who had remained silent +now began to murmur and reminded the Pope, like cautious guardians of +the Papal interests, that this plenary indulgence would greatly +interfere with those granted for pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and for +visiting the tombs of the Blessed Apostles. + +"We have given and granted it to him," answered Honorius. "What has +been done we cannot undo, but we will modify it so that the indulgence +will be but for one full day." And motioning the saint to approach he +said: "From henceforth we grant that whoso comes to and enters this +church, being sincerely repentant and having received absolution, +shall be absolved from all punishment and all faults, and we will that +this indulgence be valid every year in perpetuity, but for one day +only from the first vesper of the one day until the first vesper of +the next." Hardly had the Pope ceased speaking when St. Francis +radiant with joy turned to depart. + +"_O semplicione quo vadis?_ O simple child without guile, whither +goest thou? Whither goest thou without the document ratifying so great +a favour?" quoth the Pope. + +"If this indulgence," answered the saint, "is the work of God, I have +no need of any document, let the chart be the Blessed Virgin Mary, the +notary Christ and my witnesses the angels." + +Round this historical interview the legend makers wove the pretty +story of the roses which flowered in mid-winter among the snow, +relating that after the concession of the indulgence in the summer of +1216 occurred this rose miracle, and Christ in a vision bade the saint +go to Rome in order that the day might be fixed for the gaining of the +indulgence, and to convince Honorius of the truth of his revelation he +was to carry some of the roses with him. But having already obtained +the Pope's sanction at Perugia, it was unlikely that the saint would +wait another year before proclaiming the glad tidings to all the +country-side, and we may be sure that no sooner had he returned to the +Portiuncula from Perugia than he made speedy preparations for the +arrival of a great concourse of people. On the afternoon of the first +of August the plain about the Portiuncula was filled with pilgrims +from far and near, and many friars hastened from distant parts to +listen to their master's wonderful message. He mounted the wooden +pulpit which had been erected beneath an oak tree close to the chapel, +followed by the seven Umbrian bishops who were to ratify his +proclamation of the indulgence. St. Francis discoursed most eloquently +to the assembled multitude and then in the fullness of his joy cried +out to them, "I desire to send you all to Paradise," and announced the +great favour he had obtained for them from the Holy Pontiff. When the +bishops heard him proclaim the indulgence as "perpetual" they murmured +among themselves, and finally exclaimed that he had misunderstood the +words of the Pope, and that they intended to do only what was right +and ratify the indulgence for ten years. Full of righteous feeling the +bishop of Assisi stepped forward to correct the error into which the +saint had fallen, but to the astonishment of his companions he +declared the indulgence to have been granted for all time. Then the +others murmured still more, saying he had done this because he was an +Assisan and wished to bring great honour to his diocese; so the bishop +of Perugia, determining to set the mistake right, began to speak, but +he found himself forced by a supernatural power to proclaim the +indulgence in the very words of St. Francis. The same thing happened +to the other five bishops, and St. Francis then saw his dearest wishes +realised. + +Daily the fame of the Portiuncula increased, and the year 1219 +witnessed another immense gathering of people, but this time it was +the meeting of the five thousand franciscan friars who came from +distant parts to attend the Easter Chapter held by St. Francis in the +plain. One of the most vivid and interesting chapters (the xiii) in +the _Fioretti_, pictures for us "the camp and army of the knights of +God," all busily employed in holy converse about the affairs of the +Order. It relates how "in that camp were shelters, roofed with lattice +and mat, arranged in separate groups according to the diverse +provinces whence came the friars; therefore was this Chapter called +the Chapter of the Lattices or of the Mats; their bed was the bare +earth, though some had a little straw, their pillows were stones or +billets of wood. For which reason the devotion of those who heard or +saw them was so great, and so great was the fame of their sanctity, +that from the court of the Pope who was then at Perugia, and from +other towns in the vale of Spoleto, came many counts, barons and +knights, and other men of gentle birth, and much people, and cardinals +and bishops and abbots with many other clerics, to see so holy and +great a congregation and so humble, the like had never yet been in the +world of so many saintly men assembled together: and principally they +came to see the head and most holy father of all these holy +men...."[113] + + [Illustration: THE FONTE MARCELLA BY GALEAZZO ALESSI] + + +THE PARDON OF ST. FRANCIS OR "IL PERDONO D'ASSISI." + +We cannot study the story of any Umbrian town without experiencing the +feeling that it belongs to the past and was built in an age, which can +only dimly be realised in the pages of old chronicles, by a people who +were ever hurrying to battle, bent on glory and conquest for their +cities. The character of the inhabitants has changed, and though the +wonderful little cities they built upon the hills remain much as in +mediaeval times, they have a peaceful and quiet loveliness of their own +which could not have existed in those days of fevered struggle and +unrest. The word Assisi brings up, even to those who have seen the +town but for a day, a host of sunlit memories; of way-side shrines +with fading frescoes, whence Umbrian Madonnas smile down upon the +worshippers; of ravines and forest trees; of vineyards where the +peasants greeted you; of convent and Basilica glowing golden and +crimson in the sudden changes from afternoon to sun-down, as they lie +bathed in the last rays of light upon the hill above the darkness of +the valley. All these things and many more pass through our minds, but +the picture would be incomplete if we fail to recall two days in +August when the undying power of St. Francis once more reaches across +the centuries, arousing the people to a sudden return to mediaeval +times of expiation, prayer and strong belief in the power of a great +saint's intercession. + + [Illustration: AN ASSISAN GARDEN IN VIA GARIBALDI] + +The very mention of a feast savours in Italy of delightful things, of +songs, of crowds of happy-looking people bent on the pleasures of a +holiday as well as on praying for the good of their souls, and as a +feast at Assisi sounded fairer than any other, we determined to become +for the moment pilgrims and seek with them for the "Pardon of St. +Francis." So as the days drew near to August we stood once more on the +terrace of the Hotel Subasio, and as we felt the cool air of the early +morning coming from the mountains, long days of interminable heat at +Florence were forgotten, and Assisi, with her gardens full of +sweet-scented summer flowers, her streets resounding only with the +plash of the water of many fountains, seemed to us indeed to possess +more beauty, variety and brilliancy of colour than we had realised +before. Never had the nights been so still as in that late July, when +the peasants had gathered in their harvest and were waiting for the +time of vintage; only the shrill notes of the crickets answered each +other occasionally along the valley, and the frogs croaked on the +margin of the rills below the town. But soon this calmness ceased as +the country roused itself for the annual spell of madness; there were +voices in the vineyards during the night, bonfires in the plains, and +a general tremor of excitement filled men and animals, setting the +thin Assisan cocks crowing at unearthly hours in the morning. A night +of sounds and wakefulness preceded a day when the people of all the +cities and villages near appeared to have arrived in Assisi, not for +the feast--for it was only the 29th of July--but for the fair. We +followed them to the Piazza della Minerva, no longer the quiet place +of former visits when only a few citizens sat sipping their cups of +coffee, or talked together as they walked leisurely up and down. +Temples, buildings and frescoes were forgotten as we watched the +peasants gather round the booths to purchase articles of apparel and +household wares, bargaining in shrill voices to the delight of +purchaser, seller and onlooker. All the people of the country seemed +to be here, and the Umbrian sellers had decked their stalls with a +dazzling mass of coloured stuffs as attractive to us as to the +Umbrian women. We bought large kerchiefs with red roses on a yellow +ground to wear over our heads at the feast, and enormous hats with +flapping brims, which the peasants, always interested in a neighbour's +purchase, helped us to choose, saying, "take this one for no rain will +come through it, and you need never use an umbrella." So a sun-bonnet +was bought for rain and we went away convinced that no more delightful +shopping could be done than during a fair day at Assisi, when a +passing farmer and his family were ready to help us to choose the +goods and to bargain, and moreover comforted us in the end by the +assurance that in their opinion the money had been well spent. Later +we strolled up to the Piazza Nuova, where an immense fair of oxen was +being held, transforming another sleepy corner of the town into a +busy, bustling thoroughfare. They were quiet beasts enough and we +walked in among them stroking their soft noses as we watched the +groups of excited peasants performing the various rites of selling and +buying. When an ox was sold the broker joined the hands of vendor and +purchaser by dint of much pulling, and then shook them up and down, +shouting all the while, until our joints ached at the sight of this +energetic signing of a treaty. The bargaining causes enormous +amusement, the discussion on either side bringing a current of eager +talk through the crowd; only the oxen were thoroughly weary of the +whole affair as they gazed pensively at their owners. They were large +milk-white creatures, the whole place was one white shimmering mass +seen against the old walls of the town and the blocks of Roman +masonry, calling up idle fancies of Clitumnus down in the valley just +in sight, whose fields had given pasture to the oxen of the gods. + +The whole of that day Assisi was full of Umbrian men and women greatly +concerned in buying and selling; but on the next the streets began to +fill with people from distant parts of Italy, whose only thought was +for St. Francis. At a very early hour of the 30th we were roused by +the sound of many voices in the distance; going out on the terrace we +saw a crowd of pilgrims coming across the plain, and others moving +with slow steps up the hill. When near the Porta S. Francesco they +knelt outside in the road and sang their hymn of praise before +entering the Seraphic City. From dawn to evening a steady stream of +pilgrims passed into the town, and the chanting, rising and falling +like a fitful summer breeze, was the only sound to be heard throughout +the day. Such different groups of people knelt together in the church, +with nothing in common but the love for the franciscan saint whose +name was for ever on their lips. They came from distant corners of +Southern Italy generally in carts drawn by mules or oxen, for few +could afford the luxury of coming by train. The Neapolitan women and +those from the Abruzzi wore spotlessly white head-kerchiefs which fell +round their shoulders like a nun's coif, a white blouse and generally +a brilliant red or yellow skirt gathered thickly round the hips; the +men were even more picturesque, with their waistcoats and +knickerbockers of scarlet cloth, their white shirt sleeves showing, +and their stockings bound round with leathern thongs. Some of the +women from the Basilicata wore wonderful necklaces of old workmanship, +and gold embroidered bands laid across their linen blouses, while long +pins with huge knobs of beaten silver fastened their headgear of black +and white cloth. There were two women from the mountains of the +Basilicata who wore thick cloth turbans, and blue braid plaited in and +out of their hair at one side, giving them a coquettish air; they +suffered beneath the burden of their thick stuff dresses made with +straight short jackets and skirts and big loose sleeves. Their felt +boots were ill-fitted for Umbrian roads, and altogether they were +attired for a winter climate and not for a burning August day in mid +Italy. "Ah, it is cool among our mountains," they said with a sigh +gazing wearily down at the plain which sent up hot vapours to mingle +with the dust. Many of them had been three weeks on their journey and +they look upon it as a great holiday, an event in their lives which +cannot be often repeated for they are poor and depend for their +livelihood upon the produce of their fields; but even the poorest +brings enough to have a mass said at the Portiuncula and to drop some +coppers on the altar steps. A few wandered through the Upper Church +looking at Giotto's frescoes, but unable to read the story for +themselves turned to us for an explanation when we happened to be +there. They patted our faces, saying _carina_ by way of thanks, but +realised little or nothing about the saint they had come so far to +honour, only being certain that his intercession was all powerful. +Several peasants sat in turn upon the beautiful Papal throne in the +choir, both as a cure and as a preventive against possible ailments, +and thinking there was some legend as to its miraculous qualities we +asked them to tell us about it. They looked up surprised and very +simply said, "It stands in the church of San Francesco," this was +enough in their eyes to explain all miracles and wonders. A favourite +occupation was kneeling by the entrance door of the Lower Church and +listening for mysterious sounds which are said to come from the small +column fixed in the ground. "What are you doing," we asked, cruelly +disturbing the devotion of an old man in our desire for information. +"I am listening to the voice of St. Francis," he answered, telling us +that we might hear it too, but as he was in no hurry to cede his place +to others we had no chance of verifying his strange assertion. The +priests had a double function to perform, for while hearing +confessions they held a long rod in their hands with which they tapped +the heads of the peasants passing down the church; it was a blessing, +which by the ignorant might be mistaken for some mysterious kind of +fishing in invisible waters. At first the northern mind was surprised +at the familiar way the pilgrims used the churches as their home, many +being too poor to afford a lodging in the town. Especially at the +Angeli we saw the strange uses side altars were put to; a family, +having heard several masses and duly performed all their spiritual +duties, would settle themselves comfortably on the broad steps of an +altar, unfasten their bundles and proceed to breakfast off large +hunches of bread and a mug of water; what remained of the water was +employed in washing their feet. One man who had tramped for many days +along dusty roads and wished to change his clothes, conceived the +novel idea of retiring into a confessional box for the purpose. His +wife handed him in the clean things and presently he drew aside the +curtain, and emerged in spotless festive apparel with his travelling +suit tied up in a large red handkerchief. + + [Illustration: WOMEN FROM THE BASILICATA] + +Late in the evening of the 30th we happened to be at the Angeli when a +new batch of pilgrims arrived, and for a long time we watched them +reverently approach the Portiuncula on their knees, singing all the +time the pilgrim's hymn with the ever-recurring refrain, "Evviva Maria +e Chi la creo," which resounded through the church in long drawn nasal +notes ending in a kind of stifled cry. There was something soothing in +the plaintive, monotonous cadence as it reached us at the Garden of +the Roses, where we had gone to breathe the cool air which blows +across the open colonnade even on the hottest of summer days. We were +listening to Father Bernardine's peaceful talk about St. Francis and +the cicala which sang to him in the fig tree, and the lamb which +followed the brethren to office, when suddenly we were startled by +shrieks and screams in the church. "It is nothing, only the +Neapolitans," said Father Bernardine, smiling at our distress. But +unable longer to bear what sounded like the moanings of the wind which +always fills one with uneasy feelings, half of fear, half of +expectation that something unusual is going to happen, we hurried once +again into the church. There a sight met our eyes which we shall never +forget. Lying full length on the ground, their faces prone upon the +pavement, were women crawling slowly, so slowly that the torture +seemed interminable, from the entrance of the great church to the +Portiuncula, and as they crawled they licked the floor with their +tongues leaving behind them a mark like the trail of a slug. As we +watched these poor penitents dragging themselves along, unconscious of +aught around them and only overwhelmed by the consciousness that they +must make atonement for past sins, a terrible sense of compassion, +misery and disgust came over us. Who could restrain their tears, +though they may have been tears of anger that people should be allowed +to practise such ignoble acts of self-abasement. One girl especially +called forth all our sympathy. She came running in out of the +sunlight, and after standing for a moment at the entrance with her +eager face uplifted towards the holy shrine, her eyes alight with the +strange look of one bent upon some great resolve, she threw herself +down full length upon the ground and commenced the terrible penance +which she had come all the way from the Abruzzi mountains to +perform.[114] She was very slight and her black skirt fell round her +like a veil, showing the delicate outline of her figure against the +marble pavement. Resting her naked feet against the knees of a man +kneeling behind her, she pushed herself forward with the movement of a +caterpillar. Another man tapped his pilgrim's staff sharply on the +floor in front of her face to direct her towards the chapel, whilst +her mother ever now and then bent down to smooth away the tangle of +dark hair which fell round the girl like a shroud. Though prematurely +aged by toil and suffering, the elder woman had a beautiful face, +reminding one of a Mater Dolorosa as with bitter tears she assisted at +her daughter's deep humiliation. Just as this sad little group neared +the Portiuncula the girl stopped as though her strength were +exhausted, when the mother, choked by sobs, lifted the heavy masses of +her daughter's hair and tried to raise her from the ground. The +pilgrims pressed round singing "Evviva Maria e Chi la creo" until the +sound became deafening, while the men struck the ground almost angrily +with their sticks, and at last the girl still licking the ground +crawled forward once again. When she reached the altar of the +Portiuncula she stretched out one hand and touched the iron gates, and +then like a worm rearing itself in the air and turning from side to +side, she dragged herself on to her knees. As consciousness returned +and the Southern blood coursed again like fire through her veins, she +started to her feet and with wild cries entreated San Francesco to +hear her, beating the gates with her hands and swaying from side to +side. The cry of a wounded animal might recall to one's memory the +prayer of that young girl, storming heaven with notes of passionate +entreaty wrung from a soul in great mental agony. Other penitents came +up to take her place almost pushing her out of the chapel. We last saw +her fast asleep on the steps of a side altar curled up like a tired +dog, but on her face was an expression of great calm as though she had +indeed found the peace sought in so repulsive and terrible a manner. +Silently we left the church and turned towards Assisi, breathing with +joy the pure air and looking long at the hills lying so calm and clear +around us. Next day, the 31st of July, there was an excited feeling in +the town, not among the Umbrians, for they take the annual feast of +the "Perdono" quietly enough, but among the pilgrims, who having now +arrived in hundreds and paid their first visit to the franciscan +churches of the hill and of the plain, stood about in the lower piazza +of San Francesco waiting with evident impatience for the opening of +the feast of the afternoon. We caught their feeling of expectation and +found it impossible to do aught else than watch the people from the +balcony, and then we went down and wandered about among them. There +were such tired groups of women under the _loggie_ of the piazza, +leaning back in the shadow of the arches with their shawls drawn +across their faces to shut out the glare of the August sun. A crowd of +girls rested on the little patch of grass near the church, some +eating their bread, others sleepily watching the constant passage of +people in and out of the church; for long spaces they sat silent, +listlessly waiting, then suddenly one among them would rise and sing a +southern song, sounding so strange in Umbria. Her companions, casting +off the desire to sleep, joined in the chorus until the song was ended +and they once more became silent watchers. The shadows began to deepen +round the church, the feeling of expectation increased, and the hours +of waiting seemed long to the crowd and to us, when about four o'clock +the dense mass of people in front of the church divided. A procession +of priests in yellow copes filed out of the Basilica, one among them +carrying the autograph benediction of St. Francis (see p. 210), and +went to the little chapel near the Chiesa Nuova built over the stable +where the saint is said to have been born. Here the holy relic is +raised for the faithful to venerate, and the procession returns to San +Francesco. It is a small but important ceremony, the prelude to the +granting of the indulgence. We had reached the chapel before the +procession, through side streets, but soon returned to the lower +church for the crowd was intolerable, and we had been warned that once +the blessing had been given a mad rush might be made to reach San +Francesco and that sometimes people were trampled under foot. Out of +the burning heat we entered the cool dark church where Umbrian +peasants had already taken their places, as spectators, but not as +actors in the feast. Seated on low benches against the wall they +formed wondrous groups of colour, like clumps of cyclamen and +primroses we have seen flowering in a wood upon an Italian roadside. +The gates across the church had been shut, and were guarded by +gendarmes; we had arrived too late. But presently Fra Luigi appeared +at the gate of St. Martin's chapel, and hurriedly we followed him down +the dark, narrow passage leading to the sacristy; we had only just +time to run across the church and take our places outside the chapel +of St. Mary Magdalen, when the great crowd surged into the church. The +excitement became intense, and the pilgrims who had followed in the +procession as docile as lambs now could restrain themselves no longer, +and hustled the priests forward, pressing them against the iron gates +in their efforts to approach the altar. There was a moment of tension +as the whole of the iron screen bent beneath the weight of the crowd +when the gendarmes half opened the gate to allow the priests to pass +through. With the relic swaying above their heads, they slipped in +from among the pilgrims, who, finding the gates once more barred +against them, began to moan and shout with deafening fury. The organ +pealed forth mad music, the incense rose in clouds around the altar, +and eager faces peered through the gates, which were battered with +angry fists as the people pushed against each other so that the whole +crowd rocked from side to side. Through it all stood the quiet figure +of the priest, raising the relic high above the heads of the people +whose voices were for the moment hushed, as the words of benediction +were pronounced. Rapidly crossing the church, followed by his +attendants, he entered the sacristy and shut the door, while four +gendarmes stationed themselves at the corners of the altar to prevent +people from mounting the steps, and others went to unbar the gates. +There was a great creaking of bolts and hinges and in a moment the +pilgrims rushed forward, afraid of losing even a single moment of the +precious hours of indulgence, and cries of "San Francesco" almost +drowned the sound of hurrying footsteps. Families caught each other by +the arms and swept wildly round the altar, often knocking people down +in their wild career, old women gathered up their skirts and ran, the +Abruzzesi in their scarlet jackets, whom we had seen so calmly walking +down the streets, stepped eagerly forward with outstretched arms and +clasped hands calling loudly on the saint. Round they went in a +perpetual circle, first past the altar, then through the Maddalena +chapel out into the Piazza, and back again without a single pause. +Each time they entered the church they gained a new plenary +indulgence. From the walls the frescoed saints leant towards us, and +never had they seemed so full of peace and beauty, as on that day of +hurry and strange excitement. We saw them through a mist of dust, but +they were more real to us than the fanatics streaming past in mad +career, and we greeted them as friends. Then as the sun went down in a +crimson sky behind the Perugian hills, a great stillness fell upon the +people, the gaining of indulgences for that day had ceased, and +quietly those who had no shelters went into the country lanes to pass +the night, or rested beneath a gateway of the town. Already Assisi was +returning to her long spell of silence, for next morning at dawn the +pilgrims would be on their road to Sta. Maria degli Angeli for the +early morning mass. + + [Illustration: SAN FRANCESCO AND THE LOWER PIAZZA] + +Rashly we left the quietness of the town to join the crowd again down +in the plain late the next afternoon when the feast was nearly over. +The press of people was felt more at the Angeli than at San Francesco, +as they gained the indulgence by simply walking round the church and +through the Portiuncula without going outside. It was useless to +struggle, or to attempt to go the way we wanted, for we were simply +carried off our feet and borne round the church in breathless haste in +the temperature of a Turkish bath. There were moments of suspense when +we doubted, as the crowd bore us swiftly forward, whether we should +pass the confessional boxes without being crushed against the sharp +corners. The cries of "Evviva Maria, Evviva San Francesco," became +deafening as we neared the Portiuncula, and the people surged through +the doors, throwing handfuls of coppers and silver coins upon the +altar steps, and even at the picture of the Madonna above the altar in +their extraordinary enthusiasm. How tired they looked, but in their +eyes was a fixed look showing the feelings which spurred them on to +gain as much grace as time would allow. They never paused, they never +rested. With a last glance back upon the people and the names of Mary +and Frances ringing in our ears we left the stifling atmosphere for +the burning, but pure air outside. + +How peaceful it all seemed in comparison to the scene we had just +witnessed. The Piazza was full of booths as on a market day, with rows +of coloured handkerchiefs, sea-green dresses such as the peasants +like, and endless toys and religious objects; old women sat under +large green umbrellas selling cakes, and cooks, in white aprons and +caps, stood by their pots and pans ready to serve you an excellent +meal. From under a tree a man sprang up as we passed with something of +the pilgrim's eagerness about him, saying, "See, I will sing you a +song and dance for you," shaking his companions from their sleep and +snatching up his accordion, he began a wild, warlike dance upon the +grass, while the others accompanied him with an endless chant. And so +the hours crept on, until once again as the sun went down the pilgrims +streamed quietly out of the church, but this time they gathered up +their bundles and walked to the ox waggons which were standing ready +in the road, and quite silently without delay they seated themselves, +fifteen or twenty in a cart, to start upon their long journey home. + +Never had the town been so deadly still as on the 2nd of August, when +the inhabitants had gone down the hill to the church of the Angeli +where they sought to obtain their indulgences now the pilgrims had +departed. Very quietly they knelt on the marble floor during the High +Mass, silently they prayed, and with slow reverent steps they passed +in and out of the Portiuncula until the Vesper hour, and the +beautiful, calm evening then found them gathered round the altar of +their saint. "Pray, ye poor people, chant and pray. If all be but a +dream to wake from this were loss for you indeed." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[112] St. Francis called the Portiuncula Santa Maria degli Angeli, but +now the name is more connected with the large church. See p. 97. + +[113] St. Dominic was present at this famous gathering, and the +_Fioretti_ gives a curious account of the way in which he watched the +doings of a brother saint, at first a little inclined to criticise his +methods, so different to his own, but finally being won over by the +franciscan doctrine of absolute poverty. + +[114] Those who know the teaching of St. Francis (see _Fioretti_, +chap. xiii.) will feel how the saint would have fought against this +device for the expiation of sins, invented by the priests of Southern +Italy. No Umbrian has ever sunk to such depths of self-abasement, and +during all the first days of the "Perdono" festival they keep aloof, +waiting till the pilgrims' departure before obtaining their +indulgences. + + + + +APPENDIX + + +To visitors who stay at Assisi for more than the usual hurried day, +the following notes of walks and excursions may be of some use. A few +of them have been already indicated by M. Paul Sabatier, in a paper +printed at Assisi, to explain the sixteenth century map of the town +found by him in the Palazzo Pubblico, of which a copy hangs in a room +in the Hotel Subasio. + +_In the Town._--The public garden on the slope of the hill above the +Via Metastasio is a delightful place. It was the ilex wood of the +Cappucine convent until the present garden was laid out in 1882 by +Sig. Alfonso Brizzi, when the friars' convent became a home for the +aged poor. + +_From Porta S. Giacomo._--(_a_) A new idea of Assisi is obtained by +following the mountain track from the Campo Santo round by the +quarries and below the Castle to Porta Perlici. Looking across the +ravine of the Tescio and up the valley of Gualdo and Nocera is a +vision of Umbrian country in its austerest mood. Even if the whole of +this walk cannot be taken we recommend all to follow the broad smooth +road leading to the Campo Santo for a little, as the view of San +Francesco and the valley beyond is very beautiful. (_b_) By taking the +Via di Fontanella (see map), straight down the hillside, the +picturesque bridge of S. Croce is reached in about twenty minutes. M. +Sabatier recommends the ascent of Col Caprile just opposite for the +fine view of Assisi, but those who do not care for an hour's climb +would do well, having seen the old bridge and its charming +surroundings, to retrace their steps, and after about two minutes turn +off to the right through the fields along a narrow footpath leading to +a bridge over the Tescio and a farmhouse. Following the right bank of +the torrent we reach the Ponte S. Vittorino (see map), and return to +the town by the old road skirting the walls of the franciscan convent +and emerging opposite the Porta S. Francesco. Want of space prevents +more being said than to urge all visitors to go this walk, which is +little known and will be found one of the loveliest they have ever +seen. Every step brings something new; banks of orchis and cyclamen, +glimpses of crimson and yellow rock in the brushwood by the hillside, +the soft blue distance of the valley beyond, and above all, +innumerable views of San Francesco, seen now with a bridge in the +foreground, now framed in by the curved and spreading branches of an +oak, and at every turn carrying our thoughts away to valleys of +Southern France and fortress-churches crowning the wooded hills (see +illustrations, pp. 215, 220). To realise the variety of scenery to be +found in Umbria we must come to Assisi and hunt out her hidden lanes +and byways. + +_From Porta Perlici._--(_a_) Out of this gate, turning to the left by +the city walls, is one of the roads leading to the Castle; the others +are clearly marked on the map. (_b_) The carriage road to Gualdo and +Nocera goes for some miles along the valley, but is not completed. + +_From Porta Cappucini._--(_a_) The Rocca Minore is reached by a grass +path going up the hill just inside the walls. A fine view of the +eastern slope of Assisi is obtained (see illustration, p. 10). (_b_) +The Carceri is about an hour's walk from this gate, donkeys are to be +had in the town for the excursion, or a small carriage drawn by a +horse and a pair of oxen can get there, but it is the least pleasant +way of going. + +_From Porta Nuova._--(_a_) A pleasant though not the shortest way back +to the town, is the one which skirts round the hill inside the +mediaeval walls from this gate to Porta Mojano, and then outside the +walls through the fields past the Portaccia to the carriage road just +below Porta S. Pietro. (_b_) The ascent of Monte Subasio occupies +about two hours and a half, though quick walkers will do it in less +time. There are several paths which anyone will indicate to the +traveller. The easiest, though the longest (about four hours), is the +one mentioned by M. Sabatier, the road to Gabbiano and Satriano, which +branches off to the left from the Foligno road not far from the Porta +Nuova. After walking along the Gabbiano road for an hour, a lane leads +up the hill for another hour to the ruined abbey of San Benedetto (p. +82). The path skirts the mountain to Sasso Rosso, three quarters of an +hour, the site of the fortress of the family of St. Clare, and then +one hour and a half brings us to the southern slope of Mount Subasio +called the Civitelle, where the craters of the extinct volcano are to +be seen. The highest point (1290 metres), is reached in another half +hour. The view is very fine; Nocera and Gualdo lie to the north, Monte +Amiata to the west, a range of snowy mountains to the south, Mount +Terminillo, the Sabine Appenines and the mountains of the Abruzzi, and +Mount Sibella to the east. The return to Assisi, without passing the +Carceri, takes two hours. (_c_) The road to San Damiano is marked on +the map; it is good but very steep, requiring oxen to draw the +carriage up the hill on the return. On foot it is only a quarter of an +hour from the gate. (_d_) A long day's drive will take the traveller +to Spello, Foligno and Montefalco, but it is a tiring excursion and +only a faint idea can be obtained of these beautiful Umbrian towns. It +is better, if possible, to give a day to each, and to see Bevagna, +with her two exquisite romanesque buildings, on the way to Montefalco. + +_From Porta Mojano._--(_a_) To follow the path taken by St. Francis, +when carried from the bishop's palace to the Portiuncula (p. 111), +just before his death, we must take the road leading from the gateway +to a small chapel, and turn to the right down a lane marked Valecchio +on the map. St. Francis either passed through Porta Mojano or the +Portaccia (now closed), but from here we follow in his footsteps +straight down the hill to the hamlet of Valecchio, set so charmingly +on a grass plot among the walnut trees, with part of its watch tower +still standing (p. 104). In the plain we come to cross roads; the one +on the left leads to San Damiano in about forty minutes, that to the +right to the leper hospital (now known as S. Agostino), whence St. +Francis blessed Assisi for the last time (p. 111). (_b_) From the gate +a few minutes brings us to a path crossing the fields to the left, to +the old church of S. Masseo built in 1081 by Lupone Count of Assisi to +serve as a chapel to the monastery, now the dwelling place of peasant +families. (_c_) From Porta Mojano a lane leads straight down to the +plain, and just before reaching the high road where it crosses the +railway at right angles, the chapel of S. Rufino d'Arce--the real +Rivo-Torto--is seen in the fields to the left (see pp. 93-95). By the +side of the lane close to the railway line is the chapel of Sta. Maria +Maddalena (see pp. 93-95). This is about half an hour's walk. + +_From Porta S. Francesco._--There are several drives. (_a_) Perugia. +(_b_) Bastia, the first station on the railway between Assisi and +Perugia, possessing a triptych by Niccolo da Foligno. A beautiful view +of the river Chiaggio is obtained at the bridge of Bastiola. (_c_) A +road from the Angeli branches off to Torre d'Andrea, where there is a +picture by a scholar of Pinturicchio. But more delightful is the +chapel of S. Simone a little further on, built right in the midst of +the cornfields, whose walls are covered with frescoes of the fifteenth +and sixteenth centuries. (_d_) A beautiful drive is to the Rocca di +Petrignano, a hill-set village above the Chiaggio. To fully recount +its story, the picturesqueness of its rock-cut streets and the charm +of the chapel upon the heights, whose walls are covered from floor to +roof with votive Madonnas and saints, would need a chapter to itself. +It has been enthusiastically described by M. Broussolle in his +_Pelerinages Ombriens_, but it may be well to remark that he calls the +Rocca di Petrignano, for some unknown reason, the Rocca d'Assisi. +(_e_) It is an hour and a half's walk to the church of S. Fortunato, +across the bridge of S. Vittorino, recommended by M. Sabatier in his +list of excursions. The way side chapel of S. Bartolo, with its +interesting apse is passed on the way. + +It would be well to get the Italian military map, Fo. 123 (either at +Seeber, Via Tornabuoni, Florence, or at D. Terese, Perugia), if the +pilgrim to Assisi wishes to explore the country round Assisi. + + + + +INDEX + + + A + + AGNES, Blessed, persecution of, 263; enters convent of San + Damiano, 264; assists at death-bed of St. Clare, 271. + + AGOSTINO DA SIENA, tomb by, 189. + + ALBI, Cathedral of, 129. + + ALBORNOZ, Cardinal, takes Assisi, 23; rebuilds castle, 24, 326; + builds chapel in San Francesco, 24, 193; builds portion of + colonnade of convent, 221; 327. + + ALESSI, Galeazzo, _note [80]_ 193; remodels San Rufino, 296; + designs cupola of the Angeli, 335. + + ALEXANDER IV, Pope, 207; canonizes St. Clare, 280. + + ---- VI, Pope, 330; 331. + + ALUNNO, _see_ Niccolo da Foligno. + + ANGELO, Brother, 72; 271. + + ANGELI, Padre, book by, _note [57]_ 106, 152. + + ANTHONY, St., of Padua, at Assisi, 140; 166; 192; 250. + + ANSANO, St., 304; 320. + + AREZZO, 20; 239. + + ARLES, Apparition of St. Francis at, 250. + + ARNO, 72; 250. + + ARNOLD, Matthew, quoted, 55. + + ASSISI, passim. + + AVIGNON, Popes at, 21; _note [89]_ 209. + + + B + + _Baglioni_, The, besiege and take Assisi, 33, 34, 210; feud with + the Fiumi, 33; _note [101]_ 259; downfall of, 36. + + ---- Gian Paolo, 34, 334. + + ---- Malatesta, 331. + + _Bagnora_, St. Bonaventure born at, _note [95]_ 229. + + _Basileo_, Bishop, builds first church of San Rufino, 292. + + _Bastia_, Benedictine convent at, 105, 262, 263. + + _Benedict_, St., repairs the Portiuncula, 99, 100. + + BENEDICTINES, Abbey of, on Mount Subasio, 82, 83; gifts of, to St. + Francis, 84, 103, 264. + + BERENSON, Bernhard, 171; quoted, 198, 199, 207, 208; 251; 257. + + BERNARD of Quintavalle, 48; 94; 114; 182; 273; house of, 308. + + BERNARDINE, St., of Siena, 206; 221; 340. + + BERNARDONE, Pietro, family of, _note [22]_ 41; quarrels with St. + Francis, 47, 235, 278, 309; house of, 307; shop of, 308. + + BEVAGNA, Roman battles near., 5; St. Francis preaches to the birds + at, 62, 244. + + BLASCO, Ferdinando, tomb of, 194. + + ---- Garzia, tomb of, 194. + + BOLOGNA, St. Francis preaches at, 56. + + BONAVENTURE, St., quoted, 69, 229-256; _note [76]_ 181; 206; 210; + 273; 274; 338. + + BONIFACE VIII, Pope, seeks counsel of Guido of Montefeltro, 223. + + BORGIA, Lucrezia, 330. + + BRIENNE, Gauthier de, 45; 232. + + BROGLIA di TRINO, 25; 83; 328. + + BRIZI, Alfonso, _note [109]_ 322; _note [111]_ 329. + + ----, Giuseppe, 197. + + BURCKHARDT, J., 164. + + + C + + CAMPELLO, Fra Filippo, aids in building San Francesco, 129; builds + Santa Chiara, 281. + + CARCERI, Hermitage of the, 27; 81; given to St. Francis by the + Benedictines, 84; road to, 84, 85; story of, 86-93. + + CARMICHAEL, W. Montgomery, 211. + + CASTLE, The, of Assisi (ROCCA D'ASSISI), building of, 11, 326; + Frederick II, stays at, 13, 326; destruction of, 14, 326; rebuilt + by Albornoz, 24, 326; story of, 325-334. + + CELANO, quoted, 42, 43, 44; _note [41]_ 69; his description of St. + Francis, 212; 229. + + ---- Knight of, 246. + + CHARLEMAGNE, Emperor, besieges Assisi, 11; rebuilds Assisi, 11, + 326. + + CHIAGGIO, River, 103; _note [101]_ 259; St. Rufino martyred in + the, 291. + + CIMABUE, Giovanni, 153; legends about, 154; Madonna by, in San + Francesco (Lower Church), 155; frescoes in San Francesco (Upper + Church), 156-160; Giotto adopted by, 169; Giotto completes works + of, at Assisi, 170; 228; 284. + + CHURCH OF SANTA CHIARA, sacked by Niccolo Piccinino, 28, 29; + building of, 281, 282; frescoes in, 283; portrait of St. Clare in, + 284; church of San Giorgio in, 285, 286; tomb of St. Clare found + in, 287; body of St. Clare in, 288. + + ---- SAN DAMIANO, Niccolo Piccinino stays at, 26; body of St. + Francis brought to, 119, 253, 267; St. Clare and her nuns live at, + 264, _et seq._; attacked by army of Frederick II, 267, 268; + Innocent IV, at, 274, 278; relics at, 274, 275; crucifix of, 276, + 277; choir of St. Clare at, 277; bought by the Marquess of Ripon, + 278; frescoes in, 278, 279; funeral service of St. Clare held at, + 279, 280; miraculous crucifix of, 274, 285. + + ---- SAN FRANCESCO, building of, 123, _et seq._; architect of, + 124, 125; convent of, 124; 133; 139; 221; 223; 227; resemblance to + cathedral of Albi, 129; St. Francis buried in, 133, 135; legend + about, 136; 144; 146; in the first years, 215, 216; campanile of, + 216; _note [92]_ 219; bells of, 219; feast of the "Perdono" in, + 351, 352, 357-359. + + ---- ---- LOWER CHURCH, The, 149, 150; pre-Giottesque frescoes in, + 151, 152, 153; Madonna by Cimabue in, 155; Giotto's frescoes of + the early life of Christ in, 171, _et seq._; Giotto's frescoes of + the miracles of St. Francis in, 174; Giotto's allegories in 177, + _et seq._; Chapel del Sacramento or of St. Nicholas in,185, _et + seq._; stained glass windows in, 189; 192; 193; 205; 206; 209; + frescoes by Giotto in chapel of St. Maria Maddalena in, 190, _et + seq._; chapel of St. Antonio da Padova in, 192; chapel of San + Stefano in, 192; chapel of St. Catherine or del Crocifisso in, + 193; chapel of St. Antonio in, 193; cemetery of, 195; tomb of + Ecuba in, 195; tomb of St. Francis in, 196, 197; chapel of St. + Martin in, 198; legend of St. Martin, frescoes by Simone Martini + in, 199, _et seq._; frescoes by Simone Martini in, 212, 215; + frescoes above the papal throne in, 206, 207; frescoes by Pietro + Lorenzetti in, 207, 208; chapel of St. Giovanno Battista in, 208; + sacristies in, 209, _et seq._; portrait of St Francis in, 211; + porch of, 220. + + ---- ---- UPPER CHURCH, The, _note [69]_ 152; 156; frescoes by + Cimabue in, 158-160; frescoes by contemporaries of Cimabue in, + 160, _et seq._; stained glass windows in, 164, _et seq._; papal + throne, pulpit and altar in, 166, 167; door of, 219; Giotto's + frescoes of the legend of St. Francis in, 229-250; frescoes by a + follower of Giotto in, 254-256; intarsia stalls in, 256. + + ---- SAN GIORGIO, St. Francis canonized in, 121; 273; body of St. + Clare brought to, 279, 280; church of Santa Chiara built over, + 281; frescoes in, 285. + + ---- SANTA MARIA degli ANGELI, building of, 335; rebuilt after + earthquake, 336; works of Andrea della Robbia in, 336, 338; works + of Giunta Pisano in, 337, 338; the Portiuncula in, 337 (_see_ + Portiuncula); fresco by Perugino in, 337; garden and chapel of the + Roses in, 339, 340; frescoes by Lo Spagna in, 338, 341; frescoes + by Tiberio d'Assisi at, 341; feast of the "Perdono" at, 353-355, + 359-361. + + ---- SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE, franciscan legend connected with, 235, + 308, 309, 310. + + ---- CHIESA NUOVA, 307; 308. + + ---- SAN PAOLO, 303; fresco by Matteo da Gualdo in, 304. + + CHURCH OF SAN PIETRO, 312; triptych by Matteo da Gualdo in, 313; + fresco in, 313. + + ---- PELLEGRINI, _see_ Confraternity. + + ---- SAN RUFINO (Cathedral), Frederick II, baptised in, 13; 289; + church beneath, 292; building of, 294; bell-tower of, 290, 294, + 301; doors of, 294, 295; interior of, 296; triptych by Niccolo da + Foligno in, 296, 297; connection with St. Francis, 238, 299. + + CLARE, St., parentage of, 258; description of, 259; founds order + of Poor Clares, 104, 262; delivers her sister Agnes from her + persecutors, 263; goes to live at San Damiano, 264; friendship + with St. Francis, 62, 77, 265; last farewell to St. Francis, 119, + 267; saves her convent and Assisi from the Saracens, 267, 268; her + struggle with the Papacy, 270, 271; death of, 272; miracle of the + bread by, 274, 275; canonization and funeral of, 280; church of, + 281; early picture of, 284; body of, 288. + + CLEMENT VII, Pope, 331. + + CLITUMNUS, river, 5; Propertius lived near, 8; 350. + + COMACINE builders, Guild of, 321; house of, in Assisi, 322. + + CONFRATERNITY of SAN CRISPINO, 316. + + ---- SAN FRANCESCUCCIO, 315; frescoes at, 316. + + ---- SAN LORENZO, fresco at, 323. + + ---- DEI PELLEGRINI, 316; frescoes by Matteo da Gualdo in, 317, + 318; frescoes by Mezzastris in, 318-320; fresco by Fiorenzo di + Lorenzo in, 320. + + ---- SAN RUFINUCCIO, frescoes in, 185, 323. + + CONRAD of SUABIA, 13; 326. + + CONVENT of SANTA CHIARA, 281; 282. + + ---- of SAN FRANCESCO, 124; 133; 139; 221; Guido of Montefeltro + lives in, 223; 227. + + CORROYER, E., quoted, 129. + + CORTONA, 117; 144. + + CORYTHUS, King of Cortona, 2. + + COSTANO, 291; 297. + + CHRISTINE, Queen of Sweden, 222. + + CROWE & CAVALCASELLE, Messrs, quoted, 162, 174, 176, 187; 171; + 251. + + + D + + DAMIANO, San, _see_ Church. + + DANTE, quoted, 14, 71, 168, 182, 184, 186, 224, 236, 250; portrait + of, by Giotto, 176, 182. + + DANTI, GIULIO, _note [80]_ 193; designs cupola of the Angeli, 335. + + DARDANUS, 2; 3; 4. + + DOMENICO da SAN SEVERINO, designs stalls for San Francesco, 256. + + DOMINIC, St., 17; _note [95]_ 229; _note [113]_ 345. + + DONI ADONE, 192; 307. + + + E + + ECUBA, Queen of Cyprus, tomb of, 195. + + EGIDIO, Brother, 48; 50; 94; 111; quoted, 117; _note [59]_ 118; + 132. + + ELIAS, Brother, 51; influence of, on the franciscan order, 122, + 130, 132; superintends building of San Francesco, 124, _et seq._; + character of, 137; hides body of St. Francis, 135; _note [81]_ + 196; account of, 137-146; _note [69]_ 152; 306. + + ELISEI, Canon, 292. + + ETRUSCANS, The, found Perugia, 4; 5. + + EUSEBIO di SAN GIORGIO, fresco by, 278. + + + F + + FIORENZO di LORENZO, 165; frescoes by, in Assisi, 306, 307, 320. + + FIORETTI, The, quoted, 49, 50, 59, 68, 88, 111, 137, 138, 266, + 345; charm of, 66. + + FIUMI, Jacopo, murders the Nepis, 32; 33; robs sacristy of San + Francesco, 210; despot of Assisi, 331. + + FIUMI, The, their rivalry with the Nepis, 31, 32; mother of St. + Clare belongs to family of, 259. + + FLAGELLANTS, The, _note [35]_ 60; 178; 314. + + FORTEBRACCIO, Braccio, 25. + + FRANCIS, St., birth of, 15; teaching of, 16, 18; childhood of, 41; + description of, by Celano, 42, 212; imprisoned at Perugia, 43; + conversion of, 44; dream of, at Spoleto, 45, 232; his symbol of + the Lady Poverty, 46, 53; succours the lepers, 46, 95; first + foundation of the Order, 48, 49; interview of, with Innocent III, + 52, 53; rule sanctioned by Innocent III, 54, 237; eloquent + preaching of, 55, 56, 57, 59; gives St. Clare the veil, 56, 105, + 262; founds Third Order, 60; preaches before the Sultan of Egypt, + 61, 240; sermon of, to the birds at Bevagna, 62, 244; love of + nature, 63, 64, 65; converts the wolf of Gubbio, 65; friendship + with Gregory IX (Bishop Ugolino), 69; preaches before Honorius + III, 71, 249; stays at La Vernia, 71, 72; receives the Stigmata at + La Vernia, 73, 74; farewell to La Vernia, 75; blindness of, 76, + 116; composes the Canticle to the Sun, 78; elects the Carceri as + his hermitage, 81-83; cell of, at the Carceri, 86; challenges the + nightingale to sing the praises of God at the Carceri, 87; dries + up the torrent, 88; causes a miraculous fountain to appear at the + Carceri, 91; prophecy of, to Otto IV, 96; goes to the Portiuncula + with his brethren, 97; visits the Portiuncula as a child, 102; + obtains the Portiuncula as a gift, 103, 104; hut of, _note [57]_ + 106, 340; blesses Assisi, 113; dictates his will, 114; death of, + 115, 116; funeral of, 119, 120; canonisation of, 121, 153; church + built in honour of, 123, _et seq._; secret burial of, 134-136; + influence of, on Elias, 138, 139; miracles of, 176, 239, 243, 254, + 255, 256; fresco of marriage with the Lady Poverty, 181; tomb of, + 196, 197; autograph of, 210, 211; portrait of, by Giunta Pisano, + 211; legends of, illustrated by Giotto and a follower, 229-256; + obtains San Damiano as a gift, 264; friendship of, with St Clare, + 265, 266; statue of, by Andrea della Robbia, 338; garden of, 339, + 340; roses flower in the snow for, 340; obtains the indulgence of + the Portiuncula, 342, 343; proclaims the indulgence, 344. + + FREDERICK I., Emperor, at Assisi, 13. + + ---- II, Emperor, at Assisi, 13; 61; befriends Elias, 142; 143; + 144; 217; army of, besieges Assisi, 267-269; 326. + + FRY, Roger, quoted, 156, 228, 243. + + FOLIGNO, 222; 278. + + ---- Niccolo da, _see_ Niccolo. + + + G + + GENTILE de MONTEFLORI, Cardinal, founds chapel in San Francesco, + 192, _note [82]_ 198; 205. + + GIACOMA da SETTESOLI, friendship of, with St. Francis, 114; tomb + of, 207. + + GIOTTINO, _note [78]_ 186; 283. + + GIOTTO, birth of, 108; adopted by Cimabue, 169; character of, 170, + 178; first early frescoes of, at Assisi, 171-177; poem of, on + poverty, 178; Allegories by, 181-184; frescoes by, in chapel of + Sta. Maria Maddalena, 188; genius of, 228; illustrates legend of + St. Francis, 229-250; characteristics of, 229, 232, 255; + architecture of, 231; contemporary opinion on, 244; follower of, + at Assisi, 185, 251. + + GIOVANNI da GUBBIO, builds San Rufino, 294; 309. + + GIUNTA PISANO, crucifix by, _note [69]_ 152; portraits by, of St. + Francis, 211, 284; 337; 338. + + GOETHE, Wolfgang von, description of the Temple of Minerva, 302, + 303. + + GOZZOLI, Benozzo, 245. + + GREGORY IX., Pope, friendship with St. Francis, 69; dream of, 121, + 254; canonises St. Francis, 121, 253; founds San Francesco, 123, + _note [69]_ 152; portrait of, 159; 219; wishes to give St. Clare + the Benedictine rule, 270. + + GUALDO, 12; 118; 329. + + ---- Matteo da, _see_ Matteo. + + GUALTIERI, Duke of Athens, portrait of, 208. + + GUELFUCCI, Bianca, 261; aids St. Clare in her flight, 262; enters + convent of San Damiano, 264. + + GUBBIO, wolf of, 65, 221; 291; 329. + + GUIDANTONIO da MONTEFELTRO, owns Assisi, 25, 317. + + GUIDO da MONTEFELTRO, a monk in San Francesco, 223; treacherous + counsel of, to Boniface VIII, 224. + + GRECCIO, feast of, 242. + + + H + + HONORIUS III., Pope, St. Francis preaches before, 70, 249; rule of + St. Francis sanctioned by, 114, 210; grants St. Francis the + indulgence of the Portiuncula, 342. + + + I + + IBALD, Rev. Father Bernardine, _note [56]_ 103. + + ILLUMINATUS, Brother, 141; 240. + + INGEGNO, L', 306; fresco by, 307. + + INNOCENT III., Pope, 13; power of, 14; court of, 15; 45; meeting + of, with St. Francis, 52, 53; dream of, 53, 236; confirms rule of + St. Francis, 54, 70; 237; 342. + + ---- IV., Pope, sanctions rule of St. Clare, 271; at funeral of + St. Clare, 279, 280. + + + J + + JACOPO TEDESCO, architect of San Francesco, 124; 125; 129; 156; + 216. + + JASIUS, 2; 3. + + JUNIPER, Brother, 111; 112; 271. + + + L + + LEO X., Pope, mitigates franciscan rule, 224. + + ---- XIII., Pope, 287. + + ---- Brother, 51; 72; quoted, 103, 104, 114, 131, 310; quarrel + with Elias, 132; receives autograph benediction from St. Francis, + 210. + + LIBERIUS, Pope, 98. + + LORENZETTI, Pietro, frescoes by, in San Francesco, 207, 208. + + LOUIS, St., of France, _note [30]_ 51; 210. + + + M + + MARGARITONE, 158; 284. + + MARTIN, St., chapel and legend of, in San Francesco, 198, _et + seq._ + + MARTINI, Simone, 198; friendship with Petrarch, 199; + characteristics of, 199; legend by, of St. Martin, 200, _et seq._; + other frescoes by, 212, 215. + + MARY MAGDALEN, St., legend and chapel of, 190, 191. + + MARZARIO, Professor, _note [62]_ 125. + + MASSEO, Brother, 59; 72; letter of, 74; 111. + + MATARAZZO, _note [12]_ 31; quoted, 33, 35; _note [101]_ 259. + + MATTEO da GUALDO, frescoes by, in Assisi, 304, 306, 311, 313, 317, + 318. + + METASTASIO, house of, at Assisi, 322. + + MICHELOTTI, Biordo, 25; 329. + + MILTON, John, 14; 241. + + MINERVA, The Temple of, its legend, 3; 301; description of, by + Goethe, 302, 303. + + MONTEFELTRO, _see_ Guido. + + MONTEFALCO, 221; 245. + + MONTE FRUMENTARIO, 321. + + + N + + NARNI, 13; 221. + + NEPIS, the family of, rivalry with the Fiumi, 31, 32, 330, 331. + + NICCOLO da FOLIGNO, triptych by, in San Rufino, 296, 297; 341. + + ---- da GUBBIO, carves doors for San Francesco, 220. + + NICHOLAS, St., chapel and legend of, 185, _et seq._ + + NOCERA, 12; 118; 329. + + + O + + ORSINI, Giovanni Gaetano, portrait of, 185; tomb of, 189. + + ---- Napoleone, 185. + + ---- The family of, _note [87]_ 208. + + ORTOLANA, Madonna, 259; 264. + + OTTO IV., Emperor, at Rivo-Torto, 96. + + OXFORD, 110. + + + P + + PACIFICO, Brother, vision of, 239. + + PALAZZO PUBBLICO, 32; 305; frescoes in, 306. + + ---- SBARAGLINI, 308. + + ---- SCIFI, 258; 260; 262; 281. + + PARENTI, Giovanni, 132; 133; 139; 140. + + PAUL III, Pope, 36; 331; 332. + + PERUGIA, 4; 9; wars with Assisi, 5, 19, 20, 21, 43; governs + Assisi, 22, 23; 29; 36; tries to steal body of St. Francis, 21; + _note [81]_ 196; St. Francis mocked in, 57; 221; 342. + + PERUGINO, Pietro, fresco by, 337. + + PIAZZA, di Sta. Maria Maggiore, encounter of St. Francis with his + father in, 235, 309; 310. + + ---- di San Francesco, 220. + + ---- della Minerva, 13; 31; 302; 330; 348. + + ---- Nuova, 300; 349. + + ---- di San Rufino, 289. + + PICA, Madonna, 41; 102; 119; 307. + + PICCININO, Niccolo, besieges Assisi, 25, 26; 27; 30; 126. + + ---- Jacopo, 329. + + PIETRO _Cataneo_, Brother, 48; 138; 342. + + PINTELLI, Baccio, 220. + + PINTURICCHIO, 337. + + PIUS II, Pope, 329. + + ---- V, Pope, 335. + + PORTIUNCULA, The, early connection with St. Francis, 47, 102; + repaired by St. Benedict, 99; given to St. Francis, 103; cradle of + franciscan order, 104; St. Clare comes to, 104, 273; St. Francis + dies at, 114, 115, 337; 338; indulgence of, 344; chapter of the + lattices at, 345; 353; 355; 359. + + PUZZARELLI, Simone, 123. + + PONTANO, Teobaldo, 191. + + PROPERTIUS, born at Assisi, 6; describes Assisi, 7, 8. + + + R + + RENAN, E., quoted, 149. + + RENI, Guido, 339. + + RIVO-TORTO, 93; leper hospitals at, 95; description of, 96 vision + of friars at, 238, 299. + + ROBBIA, Andrea della, his work in the Angeli, 336-338. + + ROCCA D'ASSISI, _see_ Castle. + + RUFINO D'ARCE, San, 94; St. Francis ministers to lepers at, 95. + + RUFINO, Brother, 68; _note [102]_ 260. + + ---- St., legend of, 291, 292, 293, 297; 299. + + RUMOHR, von, B., 251. + + RUSKIN, John, quoted, 155, 170, 232; 236. + + + S + + SABATIER, Paul, quoted, _note [26]_ 44, 63, 238, 258, 266, 271, + 274; _note [67]_ 138. + + SANSONE, Francesco, 219; 256. + + SCIFI, Chiara, _see_ St. Clare. + + ---- Count Favorino, 258; 259; 261; 263; 264. + + SCOTT, Leader, _note [62]_ 125. + + SEVERINO, _see_ Domenico. + + SFORZA, Alessandro, 27; 28. + + ---- Francesco, Duke of Milan, 25; 26; 328. + + SIXTUS IV, Pope, 219; statue of, 221; 257. + + SPAGNA, Lo, 207; 338; 341. + + SPOLETO, 44; 45. + + STANISLAUS, St., 207. + + SUBASIO, Mount, 84; 258; ways to 363. + + SYLVESTER, Brother, 239. + + + T + + TAINE, H., quoted, 1, 198. + + TESCIO River, 85; _note [52]_ 86; 124; 214. + + THODE, Henry, _note [62]_ 125; 158; 164; 165; _note [73]_ 171; + 206. + + THREE COMPANIONS, legend of, 96; 229; 242. + + TIBERIO D'ASSISI, frescoes at Assisi, 279, 306, 341. + + TOTILA, 9; 325. + + TREVELYAN, R. C., 7; 8. + + + U + + UGOLINO, Bishop of Ostia, _see_ Gregory IX. + + + V + + VASARI, Giorgio, quoted, 124, 153, 164, 170, 195, 244; 155, 156, 306. + + VERNIA, LA, 71; _note [45]_ 75; St. Francis receives the Stigmata + at, 72; 210; 211; 243; 250. + + VESPIGNANO, Giotto, born at, 168; 169. + + VITRY, Jacques de, 15; quoted, 17, 240. + + + + +TURNBULL AND SPEARS, PRINTERS. 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