Giovanni Fidenza, Legenda Maior

Alberto Gelmi (Vassar College)

Ed. by Jo Ann Cavallo, Columbia University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.6.1: Italian Writing and Culture, 453-present.
Vol. editors: Carla Bregman (Independent Scholar - North America), Jo Ann Cavallo (Columbia University)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1300

Places

Italy (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Historical

Resources

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Whether composed in in 1257, as Jay M. Hammond suggests, or in 1260, as most scholars believe, the biography of Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), the founder of the Franciscan order, was an early assignment for Bonaventure of Bagnoregio (1217? - 1274) during his tenure as Minister General of the Minorites. Others had already penned successful and widely circulating accounts, most notably Thomas of Celano and Julian of Speyer, both of whom were important sources for Bonaventure. But it was the

Legenda Maior

that became the official hagiography after 1266, following a decree issued at the General Chapter of Paris that dismissed and banned all previous biographies. The text was one of two works by Bonaventure that recorded St. Francis’s achievements: the other one, the brief

Legenda Minor

,…

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1609 words

Citation: Gelmi, Alberto. "Legenda Maior". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 September 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=39147, accessed 18 April 2024.]

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