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:sla8uv puB so>lBus Jo
210 OF SNAKES AND ANGELS

When it comes to the Franciscan story, the single event in the life
of Francis that has received the most attention by artists and
iconographers in the Middle Ages and Renaissance must surely be
the stigmatizatior' of St. Francis. From the early depiction of the event
by Bonaventura Berlinghieri of Lucca to the famous fresco by Giotto in
the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi to the magnificent Renaissance
tableau by Domenico Ghirlandaio, centuries of men and women have
become familiar with the mystery of Francis' stigmatization by
meditating upon and praying through the varied representations of
that event in which, according to the early Franciscan sources,
Francis is said to have received the wound-marks of Jesus'passion in
the autumn of 7224 while on the mountain of La Verna.
And yet, images - be they painted, carved, sculpted or fired into
glass - are the end-result of a complex and subtle interaction between
the imagination of their authors and the sources upon which they are
ostensibly based. In the case of the stigmatization of Francis, Ieaving
aside the announcement by Brother Elias of Cortona in his Encyclical
letter upon the death of Francis of this ruouitas miraculi of the
stigmata,2 it is Thomas of Celano, the papally-commissioned hagiographer
of the Franciscan Order, who was the first person to attempt to put
into narrative form an experience which neither he nor probably any
other friar witnessed themselves.s Celano's account will then be
taken up later and expanded upon, for example, by the author who
wrote the so-called Legend of the Three Companions, Bonaventure in
his Legenda maior and, considerably later, the author of ttre Actus
beati Francisci et socii eius (a Latin version of the later Italian text

2
Epistola encyclica de trarusitu S. Francisci a fr. Helia tunc ordinis uicario generali
ad omnes prouincias Ordinis missa, in Analecta Franciscarto X, pp. 523-528, esp. 526.
The same phrase will be taken up by Tnonas on CplaNo and used by him in Lhe Vita
prima (1Cel112).
3
Tuonaes on ColaNo, Vita prima S. Frarucisci, cc. 94-96 in Analecta Franciscana X,
pp.72-74. JulraN or Sppvpn (Vita S. Francisci, cc. 61-63, inAnalecta Franciscana cit., pp.
363-364) and HpNnI o'AtnaNcups (Legenda uersificata, XII, Iines 35-369, in Analecta
Franciscana cit., pp. 478-479) merely adapted Celano's account to their o\Mn
commissioned purposes. Nor should one forget the allusion to the wounds of the poor
Christ on the cross and the sealing (with his wounds) of those who would follow him in
poverty found in the Sacrum commercium (written perhaps between 1237-38); cfr.
Sacrum commercium saructi Francisci cum Domina paupertate, ed. S. BmrnANr, S. Maria
degli Angeli, 1990, ch. 6, p. L42l= Quaracchi edition, ch.211.
uodn +xo+ JarIJBa aI{} ul - aull aJaru B - uor+ezrleur8rls ar{? Jo uor}uour lsaJarJq or.Il .{1uo
sr oraq; 'wl-1il'dsa '771-9g 'dd'(.?L6I) Lg 'un)uo?slH LunuD)s,tcuorÈ unnlq)rv ur
'anbt7ttc uot??pq'runrorcos urnrr+ epuaEal '('pa) sl,uuttosssg 'J uI '0l-69 rosg aas /
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t L-6 V
7-69'dd''1rc
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'uorlerederd ur 111s sr
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'dse 1nq:ytZ-tgl'dd'Z reldeqc'1661 'auuoqros -^I srred ap g?rsra^run '.Cqd'ssrg
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oq+ '?srrd 'sa)Jnos oq? lnoqe sluoruruocJarrq 1(aJ e 8u»1eur dq ur8aq aur
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luapuadap dla8rel sr d"r1sr1"re s.lsrlre uB Jo lcnpord-puo aql 'd1a1erur11n
'1er{l pIBS aq lsnw lI 'puoces puv iuorlBluasaJdar s(}srpB uB
o+ur peoJ alÀ op ?ua^o aql ?noqe suorldurnsse ro suorTsoddnsa"rd ?Br{À\.
eaf,uarJadxo lensr^ Jno ol 8ur"rq '1re;o >lJo1v\ e Jo Ja^Jasqo Jo of,uarpne
sB (ol op +Br.{,/v\ 'ls"rl.{ 'sla^ol o,u? uo sql pue - uor}B}a"rdrelursrtu
pue EurpBorsrur ol uado aq arurl orues aql +B osle uec'Surleurtunlp pue
Surlledruoc dlurelrac alrr{1v\'suorleluesa"rde"r pcrqde"r8ouocr oql lBql
uorlualuoc dur sr sa8ed asaql ur a+Brlsuoruap o? oìH plno^\ I ler{lA,
'?uearu pue alrl pa>1ool a^eq lq8pr luo^a
srr{} +Bq,^À spuru u.^ao rno ur poruroJ a^Bq }Br{} suor+B}uasordar lensrn
oql sn uarr.r8 a^Br{ '1sr1"re oq+ Jo uorleur8eull aq} q8no"rql poro}Ig uar{^\
r{JIr{^\ 'slunoece a^r?BJJBU orl? aJB osar{f h'(?naro?i aq} sB u/v\ou>l
ttz STqCNV ONV S4XVNS iO
 212 OF SNEXZS AI/D ANGELS

3 Cel 2-13 (esp. 4-5);8 (4) Bonaventure's Legeruda maior,XIII, 1-g (esp.
t-3);e and (5) the highly elaborated account found in the Actus beati
Francisci et sociorum eius, IX (or its Italian version in the Fioretti).to
Furthermore, I am going to focus almost exclusively on the account of
t}ee Vita prima of Thomas of Celano (which, being the first, is the
foundational account) while adding a few details from other sources
when they add something critical to the overall picture.ll In doing so, I
will be placing a certain amount of emphasis on the details provided in
the account of the Actus beati Francisci et sociorum eius since, even
though a very late source, it bears the traces of a long and cherished
oral tradition among the friars who were present with him on La
Verna.1z For it ought to be kept in mind that Celano was not trying to
narrate all the events that occurred there. We know from other
sources, notably Leo, that there were indeed other events that did
occur there. Celano's intention was to describe with the language of
his classical training and hagiographical art what he believed might
have occurred during that mysterious event on that momentous day.
Later on, friars associated with those who had been with him on La
Verna will take it upon themselves - for their own reasons - to

which 3Soc is in part dependent, the Anonymous of Perugia (1240-4L): cfr. AP 46b,
p. 102.
8
Tsouas or Cnr.awo, Tractatus de miraculis b. Francisci, in Analecta Franciscana
cit.,cc.2-13, pp. 272-278, esp. cc. 4-5,pp.273-274.
e
Bouawxruaa, Legenda maior, in Analecta Franciscana cit., XIII, 1-g, pp. 61b-620,
esp. 1-3, pp. 615-617.Cfr. also the Legenda minor VI, in Analecta Fraruciscano cit., pp.
672-675.
r0
Actus beati Francisci et sociorum eius,W68-70, ed. J. Caueou,, M. Brcln,oltr and G.
Boccar,r, S. Maria degli Angeii, 1988, p.172; cfr. also the much expanded version of the
events found in the Third Corusideration of the Stigmata found, for exampl e, in I Fioretti
di san Frarucesco, ed. A. nsI,r,A ToRnp, Turin, 1921, pp.220-232.
1lFor an even closer examination of the development of the description of
the
stigmata in many of these same narrative accounts as well as the papal comments on
the matter, see the excellent article of J. Daunur,r , The Great Secret of Francis, in The
Stigmata of Francis of Assisi: New Studies, New Perspectiue.s, St. Bonaventure, NY,
2006, pp. 9-26. He is the first, it seems, to have noticed the allusions to the stigmata and
the Seraph inMira circa nos,the bull of canonization.
12
This is admittedly a rather perilous hermeneuticai strategy. One should not,
however, dismiss out-of-hand the details provided by the fourteenth-century account.
One cannot simply assume that every new detail that appears in a later narrative is
willy-nilly a fanciful elaboration added for polemical purposes. The historical validity of
new elements always needs to be tested against other evidence already accepted as
credible.
Surlsec 'runlep 8uq1o"r1uoc luel"rodurr ue sluasoJde"r "re11eur sil{l uo aeualrs s(ouBIoC
sa^arloq 'elcr1Je pauolluauaJoJE srr{ ur 'un.re1eq 'asec "raru"rog aql uI '(cosgJo 8ur1r"raa, aq1
rauB pappB q8noq1; nlnuDq) aql uo suor+BlouuE srq ur ooT saop "rou i1see3 ar.Il ocuaraJaJ
dllrcqdxe lou saop ouelaC 'd1snor"rn3 'T 'I^ UI JT pue t 'IIIX fitrut aq? ul qloq ase"rqd
orues laexa aq+ sasn 'cogg .;io Jor{}ne ar{? Jo peol aq} Surrvrollog 'aJnluarreuog '" sIcnJC
aElcuBS sruorlEllBxg unlsal BJJrJ ou€ru ureponb :69 'c 'LLtnJo'tJos utnul npuaaaT eq1
"
ur +srg srncco - +sBaJ slql ol lua^a ar{+Jo 8ur1ep
eleurrxo;dde aq? puE - ase.rqd a{J ,,
po1 Jo saslDrd ar{+ Jo 8ur7"r,tn
ar{1 Jo asneJ ar{l sI 'duorurlsal u1v\o s.oorl dq 'qrrq.tr uorlezrleul8lls aq? Jo IIE 1E uor?uaur
ou sI araql qEnoqlp 's1ua.ta 3o d8olouorr{r IBn+o€ aq} o? Josole aI}lII E aq 01 sluoos 67
IoC Z uI ua.tr.8 +unoece eq;'Z,I-TIZ'dd ''1rc ?narotl 7 ur'ayotu?try aq? uo uollpraprcuoC
puoras aq+ q .(po puno; sr oaT dq pecuarredxa dlpasoddns srsr.rc E Jo ?unocc€ uy gr
'aIrrUE oqlJoJIEI{ puocas or{1uI eleur8rls aq1
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'ntW.I) arnlua^Euog 'gZI 'd'gZgZ'y1'sn7ty ttq paqddns ore satueu aaJr{+ }sJg oVJ rr
'IsnIqC rp opuelro lunoO .(q 1ua.ta uorlezrleru8rls aq1 o1 por"rad arurl
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sr
tr',, ssoJc oq+ Jo uorlellBxg aq? Jo ?sBod aq? punorB ro uo " 'pJI{J -
er'+I
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aroJoq srsrrc srr{? sacBld alouLu!§ anns luolzoraprcuoc oql qEnoq}N
'+S Jo Dln?rDqc oql paIIBc 1v\ou sI ?BL{1v\ uo paulB?uoc
er'slcuerd
urFI roJ Sursselq snoruBJ B Jo 8ur+rr,/\{. aql q8norr{1 osea o} podlaq
srJuBJd r{JIrI1!\ srsrJJ IeuosradJo puH ouros q}I^\ srcuBrd paqJeoJddB
,(11ua"redde ooT 'org 'r*I+ sH? .8ur"rnp lurod auros +e 'puocag -
,oa1 sreq?org dlqelou
7r'olBurrunlll puB ola8uv'oasseN lsolu
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o? (uorldunssy ar{l Jo lseoJ ar{? Jo {ep aql) gI }sn8nv ruo4
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-
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ro dlnf alBI ur aurll oruos ?B '?s.rl{ -
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- dgarrq d-rarr - azrteuturns uBJ a^\ 'BuJa^ eT uo oceld lool dlqeqo"rd
1Br.{1 stuo^a oq} Jo so^r?BrrBu ledrcur"rd aql ?unocJB olur o{B+ a./v\ JI
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ot{} ?noqB uor}BruJoJur r{1I^\ }ua^a snoluaruoru ?Br{1 ozrlBnlxoluoc
g,IZ STqCNV ONV S4XVNS CO
214 OF SN,qXES AffD ANGELS

Francis either picks up (or is given) a « volume where the Holy

Gospels were written, » opens it and begins meditating upon the
passion of Christ.18

doubt upon the veracity of the association of the feast with the stigmatization.I am not
entirely persuaded. Celano mentions neither the presence of Leo (or any other
companions) nor even the writing of the chartula; and yet both issues are considered
crucial for understanding the events that occurred on La Verna. Its absence in Celano is
perhaps curious but not necessarily critical to his understanding of the event. The
hagiographer does report an opening of the Gospels in the pericope that precedes the
stigmatization account (see text in next note). What is crucial for Celano is not the feast
day association but rather, as we will see, the text that Francis may have been
meditating on. Interestingly, the Instrumentum de stigmatibus beati Francisci, a
document incorporated into t},e Chronica XXIV generalium but reporting a testimony
from 1281 (written in 1282'), testifies that the event coincided exactly with the feast: " In
mane ergo diei Exaltationis sanctae Crucis summo diluculo exiens cellam in
vehementissimo fervore spiritus ad locum quendam orationi solitum properabam " (4tr'
III, Quaracchi, 1897, p 643). It seems that there was a debate of some importance at
this time about the relationship of the stigmatization event to the Feast of the
Exaltation of the Cross.
18
lcel 92: " So one day he approached the sacred altar which had been built in the
hermitage where he was staying and, taking up the volume where the Holy Gospels
were written (" ssgspto codice, in qua sacra Evangelia errant conscripta "), he placed it
reverently upon the altar. Then he prostrated himself .. . asking . .. that God . . . be pleased
to show him his will. He prayed earnestly that at the first opening of the book he would
be shown what was best for him to do. ...He took the book from the altar and opened it.
... " Celano then goes on to write that, in the manner of other saints, he opened the book
(libri apertione) three times and each time his eyes alighted on an account of the
suffering and passion of Jesus Christ or texts alluding to such. Celano is obviously
placing Francis's actions within the wider context of the prayer of other Christian
saints. This will be key. Similarly but with slight differences, Bonaventure (LMj XIII, 2)
has Francis take the book from the altar and had his companion (Leo) open it three
times. The Legend of the Three Companions, predating Bonaventure, has no opening of
any book, no altar and no companions being present. Critically, the formulations used in
these sources make it difficult to determine precisely what it was that Francis actually
opened. Was it a Bible? Was it a missal containing the readings of the liturgy? Was it a
book containing the Gospels? Was it the Gospels from the liturgical year? Given the fact
that Celano has this book located near an altar in the hermitage, it seems reasonable to
conclude that the book was either a missal with the readings for the liturgy (including
the liturgical feasts of the year) or possibly even the famous evangeliary which Francis
had had compiled at some point for his meditation, containing the scriptural readings
from the liturgical year and now found at the back of Francis' breviary. On this latter
issue see: L. Gallaur, L'éuangéliaire de saint Frangois d'Assise, in Collectanea
Francescano, 53 (1983), pp. 5-22. Note, however, that at least in this collection, the text
for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross is John 12, 31-36 (p. 18, no.22l). The text of
John 3, 1-16 was used /n inuentione sa,ncte crucis (p. 17, no. 205), traditionally
 'alBBIn^ oq+ uro4 ore ur+Erl ur polrt arn+drrcs tuo4 slxa? ."
IIV o?.rod oeur arod.roa
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'uorldrrcsap s.ouEIaC '(+seg aql ul requraldag gI +nq) ?sa^A ar{} ur de141 t uo pa+Erqalao
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srr{ Ja^o lno parlJ?aJ?s ara^\ o,la.1, 'dn pasreJ aJo^\ ,s8ur^t slri Jo o,t .J, .ssoJa
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,(1p91q314 pue eldurrs dl8uruunls qloq sr arar{ uor?ua?uT dru ,rnoN
'luoruqcredgo ecard aurBs or{1Jo aprs ,,(1pug
{ceq oql uo Sury-r.tr eq1
pue :Dru?rDqc ar{? Jo aprs luo4 ar{? uo Surlr"rrvr eq1 i.(poq sII q eleur8rls
ar{} Jo aJuereodde aq1 pue qderos oq} Jo uorsh lecrlsdru aq1 lsso"r3
aq+ Jo uorle+lBxg aql Jo lseod ar{? (punore ro) uo +srrr{C 3o uorssed
aq+ uo uorle?rporu B pue sladsop aq? uro4 s?xol Surureluoe {ooq
BJo.Suruedo aq1 :?ua^a sp{lJo s+uaruoru lerluasso aql deca"r o+ ,snqJ
' (DIn?rDl"l, aq? Jo uorssassod
paurBlar oqr!\) oa1 dq aul? ralEl B lB pappE ara^\ 's1ua.ta arues
osaq1Jo aruos uo Furluoururoc '>1ur pa"r ur suor?elouuv .oa7 raUlorg
o7 ?utssa7B, pallec-os aq? pue peaq snorrelsdru B Jo q+noru oq? uro4
SurF"rerua neJ snoueJ ar{l sareJ}
uar{? pue g sraqrun_NJ ruo4 uorBy
go eede"rd snorueJ or1+ salrrlvr aq aprs (os"/a a rc) >IJBq aql uo ,r{}xls puv -
' apIS (.opar.ro) 1uo"ry
slr uo po7 Jo sastord aqJ solrrly\ pue (plnlrnqc pauorluorua"roge eq1)
?uorur{credgo acard B JoJ s>ISB srcuBJd 'uorsr^ srq? Ja+JB dlpoqs ,q}JI.{ -
ur'" dpoq umo [srq] ur snsaf Jo s{reru-puerq aql Eur"reeq »
oq o+ Jlosulq sarBlrop oq qrq./y\ uI (zI'g) suBr+BIBc aql o? rollaT
s(lned ruo4 pa.^aoJJoq 'asJnoc Jo 'sl proly\ or{J 'Bleru8rls aq} :snsaf
pagrcnrC aq+ Jo s{reru-punoÀ\ aq} go .(poq srq uo ecuereadde aq1
ur 8ur11nsar pue rurq a^oqe Sur;e,toq qde;ag B Jo uorsr^ B sB ouEIaO
dq pelcrdap 'lrodsuerl learlsdur Jo pupl B se paqrrcsap aq +soq uec
sdeq"red ?BrI^a ser{ aq '"rede"rd punogo-rd go por.rad srql Sur"rnp ,qlrnog -
9IZ STTCNV ONV S4XVNS CO
 216 oF SNAKES A,^/D ANGELS

servant of the Most High saw these things, he was filied with the greatest
awe, but could not decide what this vision meant for him. Moreover, he
greatly rejoiced and was much delighted by the kind and gracious look
that he saw the seraph gave him. The seraph,s beauty was beyond
comprehension, but the fact that the Seraph was fixed to the cross and
the bitter suffering of that passion thoroughly frightened him.
consequentiy he got up both sad and happy as joy and sorrow took their
turns in his heart. Concerned over the matter, he kept thinking about
what this vision could mean and his 'spirit was anxious'to discern a
sensible meaning from the vision. While he was unable to perceive
anything clearly understandable from the vision, the strangenàss of it
very much perplexed his heart. Signs of the nails began to appear on his
hands and feet, just as he had seen them a little while earlier on the
crucified man hovering over him.20

Celano's account pivots on the description of what F.rancis saw (or,

to be more accurate, experienced) in this moment of intense prayer.
one must keep in mind that celano is trying to put language on
someone else's spiritual, even mystical, experience, rendering what is
essentially ineffable into understandable human terms and images.
He then describes what Francis saw in this vision as « a man having
six wings like a Seraph ,: two of his wings were above his head, two
covered his feet and two covered his body. Then, as the vision
disappeared, marks that apparently looked like nails began to appear
on his hands, his feet and his right side. After the vision. however,
F rancis decided not only to hide these wounds as best as he could
but
also - or so we are told by later commentators like Bonaventure in the

20
lcel 94: " Faciente ipso moram in eremitorio, quod a loco in quo positum est
Alverna nominatur, duobus annis antequam animam redderet caelo, vidit in visione Dei
virum unum' quasi Seraphim sex alas habentem, stantem supra se, manibus extensis
ac pedibus coniunctis, cruci affixum. Duae alae supra caput eievabantur, duae ad
volandum extendebantur, duae denique totum velabant corpus. Cumque ista videret
beatus servus Altissimi, admiratione permaxima replebatur, sed quid sibi vellet haec
visio advertere nesciebat. Gaudebat quoque plurimum et vehementius laetabatur in
benigno et gratioso respectu, quo a Seraphim conspici se videbat, cuius pulchritudo
inaestimabilis erat nimis, sed omnino ipsum cruces affixio et passionis illius acerbitas
deterrebat. Sicque surrexit, ut ita dicatur, tristis et laetus, et gaudium atque moeror
suas in ipso alternabant vices. Cogitabat sollicitus, quid posset haec visio designare,
et
ad capiendum ex ea intelligentiae sensum 'anxiabatur' plurimum 'spiritus' eius.
Cumque liquido ex ea intellectu aliquid non perciperet et multum eius cordi visionis
huius novitas insideret, coeperunt in manibus eius et pedibus apparere signa clavorum,
quemadmodum paulo ante virum supra se viderat crucifrxum ,.
III snrrouoH oours dlprcadsa ErJnC ueruog ar{+ dq paloruo"rd Suraq IESSIU u€ra}eT
Jo^\au aql Jo (dlerl ur pa?Bp?no dl8ursea"rcur acurs) d.reuorlael IBuorlip€J1sit{} uaaq o^Er{
plnolÀ xapo) ar{+ rar{}aq.^, o} sE dlurelraeun IEar sr arar{1 'ledsop dep lseag aq? sE gT-I
'g uqof peq a^Br{ plno,^. d.rnluec qlq8la aq? asurs asn ur sarJeuor}cal lsoru seoJaq,&\ Jod
'psodsrp sI{ }E per{ a.\Eq }r{81ru srcuerd (d"reuorlral pue) IBSSTU qclq^\.^Àoul ua^a }ou op
a,Lr 'acuelsur Ja??BI ar{} uI '1nq i(;1ess[u B Jo d"rer1a.3ue.t a u€ lr se.r\) BuJa^ ErI uo o? ssacJe
per{ o^Br{ lq8lur srcueJd xapoc Jo purl l€q,^, uorsraa.rd q?rna ,l.t'oul lou a.^a op dluo Jou Jod
'GIas+I lseal aql q?r^\ aprf,uror paapur prp oruarrodxa eqlgr; dep 1eq1uo Surlelrpau uaaq
arreq 1q3[u srcuErd ?BrI? lxa+ 1adsoO aq] apnlruar r{?I^\,4{\oul 01 sn roJ lln)rJJlp sI }I ,e
'+ua^a aq1 uodn uorJcogaJ
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uar{.^A 'lunocc€ s(ouBIaC Jo sarJnos ar{? Jo uorleueldxa d"reluarualduroc 'slcadsa"r
aruos ur '<1nq
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aql uI uarrr8 " a8essaru B » osIE se.&\ aJaq? lBql IEa^aJ o? srJuBJg palduord qcrq.r,r
eald e - eleru8rls or{+ Jo d"relsdur oql sJar{1o q1r,/v\ oJeqs o? stouerd 1aE o1 8urd.r1 se,ra.
oqzrr 'eu"ran BT uo luasa"rd uoruedruoc Jar{}ouB 'o1eururn111 sr 1r 'lunoccE s(aJnJua^Euog
u1 'qde;rag aql Jo « orJnoo{{B la orsr^ » ar{? o? sraJal ar{ aJaq.^ DITJDry) ar{? Jo aprs osJa^
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arnlua^Euog lBr{? alqrssod alrnb sr ?I '(, 'IIIX ltttt) " uraq? Jo >ieads o? pa}?rurrad 1ou
a"re aldoad lEq? (" euBeJe ») laJJas os aJa.^ ssoJJ aqJ uo r[rq o1 8ur:readde .{1sno1azr-reru
,qde;eg parces leqlJo, (. eFbola ellT ") ,sacuera?1n asoql,leql'uaql'a.r.ar1aq plnoqs a711
'pa^II aq se 3uo1 se ,uos"rad.(ue o1 asoicsrp re^eu plno^\ aq qJiq^\ s8urq1 auros rurq plo?,
peq o1 pa"reedde peq oq^\ auo aq? 1eq1 Surppe 'Ie1ap ur uorsr^ oql pa?unoca"r aq '"reaJ
q)nlu q1urr.
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sr da{ lBr{I su'aror{^\aslo punoJ dlpnlce sr - osn o} asoqc d1a1e"raqr1ap
aq so8erur ar{l dlercadse pue a8en8uel (sBruoqI pear ol 1troq
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- dlasole d"ral lxal s(ouBIoC Jo seruoqf pear o+ sn uodn luaqrunrur
sI +I 'acuar.radxa srq+ Jo ?rEar{ aq? o}ur a}Br}auod o+ arB a^\ JJ
z{o)uorJadxe eql q IuF{ o? uo^r8 ,.e8esseru BJo ?ua}uoJ ar{? uo ?uolrs
urBruar ol - plnlrDuc aq+ o1 suorlrppB slq ul ooT puB ro'tDlil ppuaaaT
LIZ STqCNV ONV S4XVNS ,qO
 218 OF SNAKES,AffD ANGELS

evocative one - that is of interest to us here. The main part of this

Gospel reads as follows:

[Jesus said to Nicodemus]:

13No one has gone
up to heaven except the one who came down from
there * the Son of Man [who is in heaven]. laFor just as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the desert, so must the son of Man be lifted up, lsthat all
who believe may have eternal life in him. 16For God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but
may have eternal 1ife.25

For our purposes here (though the whole text would be important
for understanding the totality of the experience of Francis), it is the
earlier part of the text - the particular image used by the Evangelist -
that concerns us, where verse 14 reads: « I'or just as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the desert, so too must the Son of Man be lifted up ,.
What is crucial to appreciate is that behind this vivid and striking
image used by the Fourth Evangelist in the Gospel of John stands the
Old Testament text of Numbers 21, 4-9 which describes the travails
experienced by Moses in leading the Israelites out of Egypt through
the wilderness of Sinai.26 That account reads:

(which changed the Gospel reading to John 12, 31-36). This latter reading retains the
motif of exaltation but in a rather different context: o Now has judgment come upon this
world; now will this world's prince be driven out; and I - once I am lifted up from the
earth - will draw all to myself. (This statement indicated the sort of death he had to
die) " [w. 31-33]. At this stage of my research, it is a question which admits of no
definitive answer. On these thorny problems, see L. vaN ToNcpnnN, Exaltation of the
Cross: Toward the Origins of the Feast of the Cross and the Meaning of the Cross in
Early Medieual Liturgy, Louvain, 2000 (Liturgia Condenda, 11), pp. 62-66, pp. 68-73;
and pp. 115-118. We will see, however, that the real issue is less which text might have
been read by Francis and on which day as it is which text (and its associated imagery)
Celano believed might have been formative in Francis'prayer on La Verna. And for him,
that text would probably have been John 3, 13-17.
25
John 3, 13-17 in the Vulgate: . Et nemo ascendit in caelum, nisi qui descendit de
caelo, Filius hominis, qui est in caelo. Et sicut Moyses exaltavit serpentem in deserto,
ita exaltari oportet Filium hominis: ut omnis qui credit in ipsum, non pereat, sed habeat
vitam aeternam. Sic enim Deus dilexit mundum, ut Filiium suum unigenitum daret: ut
omnis qui credit in eum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam aeternam. Non enim misit Deus
Filium suum in mundum, ut iudicet mundum, sed ut salvetur mundus per ipsum ,.
26It is interesting to note that, whereas
the text of Numbers 2L, 4-g was not an
explicit part of the iiturgy of the Triumph of the Cross in the Middle Ages, it is now the
first reading in the modern lectionary of this feast in the Roman Church - preciseiy
 'uJnq sa?rq asoq,^. saleusJo,(1rpa; arrres ar{J
o1 JaJoJ IIB « azuoJq » pue « uazeJq » '« l{d€Jes » 'aJUoH '(IBlaIu aq? aleaJ, o} pasn ssaJoJd
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"radns ?Basneu tuer EJ?sou Erurue :aenbe ?uns uou 'srued lsaag eaurpnlrlos ur JnruaJaJour
1n 'oldd8av ap sou r1srxnpo JnC, :?rE 'uas,{otr11 ?a tunog EJ}uoJ anbsnlncol :srroqel
cE srJaurlr unpdod Idaoc oJapaEl lg 'ulopg urBJJo? ?uaJrurnrJrc 1n 'run.rqnu oJBtu
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16
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are sa{Bus drog '.ro sluadras r.ldBrBS asoq+ 'eldoed aq1
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6IZ STqCNV ONV SSjIVNS ,4O
 220 OF SNAKES A}/D ANGELS

pharaohs in order to project stability, health, well-being and salvation

to the people.2e
Indeed, the prevalence of such snakes in Egypt and their
multi-layered significance as symbols of both harm and healing,
blessing and curse, are well known. Thus, it is not all that surprising
that, in a marvelous example of sympathetic magic, Moses is
instructed to fashion and lift up in the sight of the Hebrews a saraph
serpent as the symbol - in the very moment of their despair - of their
eventual deliverance. 3o
More important, however, is the fact that, in Hebrew, the English
words « saraPh » and « seraPh " would be exactly the same word: tlì0.3t
Indeed, this identification of saraph and seraph is clearly seen in two
other texts that are found in the book of the prophet Isaiah. The first
text is Isaiah 14, 29. Although the actual content of the passage is
rather obscure, requiring an appreciation of the context of the
prophetic allusion and his use of symbolic language to understand the
image, the identification of saraphs/seraphs with snakes is quite clear:

'e Cfr., for example, M. Lunxon, The God.s and. Symbols of Ancient Egypt: An
Illustrated Dictionary, London, 1980, p. 125; and R. H. Wrr,xrusoN, ?àe Complete Gods
and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, London, 2003,pp.226-227 .
'o Cfr., for example, the illuminating pages of J. D. CuRRro, Ancient Egypt and the
Old Testament, Grand Rapids, 1997, pp. 746-49, passim: " Reacting to the last
grumbling incident before the Hebrews reached the Promised Land, God sent them
hannèha§tm ha§Ééraphìm (fiery serpents) upon them because of their unfaithfulness.
T}ae néha§tm bit many of the Hebrews and some died. Yahweh then ordered Moses to
fashion a Éaraph and set it on a standard or pole in the middle of the Israelite camp. So
Moses crafted a néha§ néhò§et (bronze serpent), and whoever had been bitten needed
only to look at the image to be healed. ...Clearly, the biblical writer employed Egyptian
background material and motifs when recording the Numbers 21 incident. ...But ...
[w]hy the Egyptian symboi of a bronze serpent? First of aII, this episode is an example of
sympathetic magic, that is, controlling an adversary through manipulation of a
replication. Moses and the Israelites attempted to change curse into blessing by
manipulating an image of the very thing bringing the curse. ... In summary, the
construction of the bronze serpent signified blessing and curse. Those Hebrews who
were bitten by the fiery serpents needed only to look to the bronze serpent and they
would be healed. That was the blessing. However, the brass image also symbolized the
destruction of Egypt ... and of those who wished to return to Egypt and her ways. That
was the curse ". On the issue of syrnpathetic magic, Currid is quotingT.E. Fnornonn,Life
in the Wilderness,inDialog,lT (1978),p.267 .
31
One must recall that there are no written vowels in Hebrew. I would like to thank
Prof. Michael Calabria (St. Bonaventure lJniversity) for his generous assistance with
the Hebrew language.
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sluad"res 8up(U s?aouuoc oslB [or{^\] "' snloporallgo sEurlurvr ra+EI aq? w punoJ sr
lelpred
JBlrrurs y 'soruB?sur asar{1Jo qloq ur "radu q+rÀr IoIIeJed sr d2dg lLu qdptpg osnecaq
.&\ar^ ur o>Ieus € ser{ laqdord aq+ leq? dlurelraaun ou sr aJor{J » :?ue^olal aJB saleus qlua
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ze
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prolr aq? sosn eSessed rBlnarlrBd .I.{+ 'puoaas puv .1q3ru roJ o/\,\?
puB o^rl'e,roqe o/r1 :s8ur^\ xrs sBr{ 1I ,+rBJ uI.62,71 qereSl q plp
^tolaq (dBS
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aql urBSB ocuo 'lsrl{ 'aJar.{ aarlou o? slrBlop o1vi} aJB aJor{.L
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'+JoIB pora^oq ,(eq1 om1 q?r^\ puB ,1aag ilaq1 palra^ deql
orvrl qlmr ,saceJ
rlar{1 palra^ ,(aq1 orvrl qlrm :s8ur^r xrs pBq ruaql Jo qsBa ia,roqe pouor?Bls
aJo^\ urqde"reg. 'e1dure1 aq1 3uq1g luetureS slr{ ,euo.rq1
Jo urerl aql q?I^{
dgol pue r{8lq e uo poleas proT ar{? 1v\Bs I ,po1p qerzzl8rly reed aq1u1,
:g-I 'g rIBr€sJ lar{dord oqlJo looq aq} uI a8essed
rarlrBo uE ur sJBoddE osIB IIBIAp Surleureseg aruBs slql ,^oN
.sp.roirr roq+o
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qde"res B sI lI :uor?drrcsap aql o? pappe uoaq ,llou seq luarualo /v\au auo
1ng 'qderas/qderes B sB pagquapl snq? sr Burrdsgo s(luodras or{J
79'r{detes 8up(U
B oq IFqs 1In4 s+l'rappe uB aruoe ?ooJ s,lued.ras or{?Jo roJ :uo{orq
ilrÀ\ lno
sr nod alolus qclqrlr por or{l 1eq1 no,( Jo auo 1ou 'erlsrllqd
o ,1ou acrofag
IZZ STqCNV ONY SE}MNS .{O
222 OF SNAKES AND ANGELS

These associations are clear and unmistakable in the Hebrew.

However, were they as evident in the Latin? A comparison of the
Vulgate translation of the account in Numbers 21,4-9 would reveal
that the Latin vocabulary does not convey the same resonances and
assonances with the Hebrew and English vocabulary, as would be
evident to scholars today. The question is: would anyone have
appreciated the association of the seraphic language of Isaiah 14, 29
and 6, 1-3 with the saraphs/seraphs of Numbers 21, 4-9 (and, by
extension, with John 3, 13-17)? This is the most diffrcult and the most
pivotal question; and it is one that requires a defrnitive response - one
that unfortunately cannot yet be given. However, for the response to
be in the affirmative, such a person would either had to have known
Hebrew or, more probably, had to have known Latin works that were
aware of the resonances.s6 We have seen that the connection between
the allusion to Moses in the Gospel of John and his actions in the Book
of Numbers was a fairly standard association.37 At this stage of our
research, we can only state that the conjunction of the saraphs/seraphs
in the desert of the Book of Numbers, the allusion to the lifting up of
the saraph/seraph on the pole in John and the use of the image of the
saraph/seraph in the first narrative account of the stigmatization in
t}ae Vita prima, is simply too evocative to be ignored. Indeed, as we
will see, it goes a long way toward explaining what Celano was trying
to describe might have happened to F rancis in this most intense
moment of prayer.
Given these saraphic images and their unexpected associations with
fiery snakes that have wings, are we thus to assume that Celano is

Isaiah 6 represents the attendants of Yahweh as seraphim with six wings, and
elsewhere the prophet speaks of éaraph me opép (a frery flyrng one). By definition, a
saraph is a serpent, and for Isaiah it may have wings, as is the case with the seraphim
of Isaiah 6 ". Currid is quoting an article by K.R. Jomes, Winged Serpents in Isaiah's
InauguralVision,inJournal of Biblical Literature 86 (1967), p.411.
36
An obvious source would have been Isidore of Seville's Etyrnologies. However, his
comments in Part VII, c. y , 24-25 (" De angelis), on the meaning of the word Seraphim,
do not attest to these resonances: " Seraphin quoque similiter rnuititudo est angelorum,
qui ex Hebraeo in Latinum ardentes ve1 incendentes interpretantur. Qui idcirco
ardentes vocantur, quia inter eos et Deum nulli angeli consistunt; et ideo quanto
vicinius coram eo consistunt, tanto magis luminis ciaritate divini inflammantur. Unde
et ipsi velant faciem et pedes sedentis in throno Dei; et idcirco cetera angelorum turba
videre Dei essentiam plene non valent, quoniam Cherubin eam tegit ".
37
Cfr. above, note 26.
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lo ruouorsr^ JSod irutuog snueru urna "redns +sa B+oEJ 1e isr"rqualdes srlaeqcq4l rJcuES
run+sal pe anbsn srur8"rm aETJEW oElcuES sruorldrunsse olsal e rla8ueqcJe srlaeqcrl l
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'rag sr"rleru 'srurs"Iln
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ooT .Bura^ BT uo sluo^o aql Ja+Je D?nupqc or{} Jo uorssossod paureS
pBr{ oq acuo 'paapul 'sgg6l aq? q atul} ouros 1e dlqeqo"rd lsoru ual}rr1y\
uooq Surrreq 'olBI olmb sr 'nou>1 ervr '1xa1 sH.L atug 01 leut8rro qde,reg
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oq 'dpoq srq uodn eleur8rls s<lsrrqC Jo uorssa.rdrur aql pue qde;ag
or{1 Jo a8esseur pue uorsr^ n.{+ Ja?JV 'rurq uodn s8.4. puer{ s,pJoT aql
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passalfl ar{lJo rouoq ur'laeqcrtr4l lulesJo lsead reqrualdas oq? II?un,("re141
ur8rrn dloq aq1 ;o uorldrunssv aql Jo +seod arll uro4 Buro^ ET lunoJ l
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dervr "rreq+ Jo +no oE o1 uroos sror{1ne rno Jo IIB '.poopul JIasurF{ o} }do>I
eq 'slunocce IIB dq 'qcrqrvr go Surueaur pue s+ualuoJ ar{? - aauar"radxa
lecrlsdru B - acuar-radxa uB pBrI srruBrd :1ou ,(1qeqo"rd +soIN allasurq
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euearu ol pesoddns
uorleellr?uapl sI{? sI ?Br{^À 'puoaas puy eruo4 aruoc ,("raEerur crqde"res
aq? q?y!\ Buro^ ET uo uorsr^ ar{? Jo luoluoc ar{l Jo uor+BcrJrluopl
or{+ saop oJaq^\ '+stl{ 'suorlsenb ror{+JnJ o^\} {sB lsnru a711
'r(1e"rr1ua 1o1q rar{ler "' a{Bus
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EZZ STqCNV ONV Sq)IVNS .TO
224 OF SNNXNS AND ANGELS

apparently folded it over (into fours) and carried it around with him,
possibly draped over the cord of his habit, almost as a kind of
talisman, for it contained upon it a precious blessing written explicitly
for him by his beloved Francis.se Furthermore, we now know that
these Leonine explications - there are three of them on the backside of
the parchment - \Mere added rather late in his life. For whereas the
outside (that is to say, the front side of the chartula contarning The
Praises of God) has been virtually obliterated from years of wear and
tear (having become the outer side of the document), the uerso (or back
side) containing the blessing, the Tau and the mysterious head are all
still in relatively good shape. And it is on this side, in three open areas
on the page - on the very top of the parchment, in an area across the
middte of the page, and then at the very bottom - that Leo wrote in red
ink his three explications. The fact that these are in much better
shape than anything else on tlne uerso side of ttre chartula shows that
they must have been added to the document, probably not before L260:
in short, some time closer to his own death, between 1260 and1271.40
Therefore, Leo's use of the term'seraphim'is late. However, while
not totally excluding that the use of the image of the seraph might
have originated with him (or another companion who had been with
Francis on La Verna), a much simpler and more credible explanation
is certainly available to us: namely, that it comes from Thomas of
Celano himself, author of the first narrative account in the Vita prima.
All other authors who wrote on the matter - Julian of Speyer, Henri
d'Avranches, the author of the Three Companiorzs, Bonaventure, even
Leo himself - simply take over the imagery used by the official
hagiographer in this frrst foundational account. It becomes, in other

3e
Se" the description of this in: A. Banroli Lalrcpr.r , Gli autografi di frate Francesco e
di frate Leone, Turnhout, 2000 (Corpus Christianorum. Autographa Medii Aevi, 5), pp.
30-44, esp. 30. The description of the chartulo by J.V. FrruINc in From Bonauenture to
Bellini: An Essay in Franciscan Exegesis, Princeton, L982, pp. 99-106 is based on its
depiction by the artist Bellini.
n0
Cfr. my comments on the possible connection between Leo's testimony and
Bonaventure's account of the stigmatization, above, note 22. One wonders what the
motivation for these explications might have been. Was it simply for posterity's sake
that Leo felt that he needed to explain what he knew about the parchment? Or was he
trving to convey information to someone in particular? Is it possibie that it had some
connection to Bonaventure's visit to the area around 1260 in order to gather information
from the surviving companions? It would be interesting and perhaps revelatory to know
the context for the added rubrics.
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"
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EZZ S1flCNV ONV SDIVNS ,4O
226 OF SNAKES ,4}/D ANGELS

in other words, must have surmised that what Francis on

Celano,
La Verna was meditating upon was the cross of Christ depicted so
powerfully, for example, in the text of the Gospel of John 3 or possibly
even - though less graphically - in the text of the Gospel of John 12.
Indeed, Celano is less concerned with the day upon which this might
have occurred as he is about the text and the prayer which might have
prompted the ecstatic experience. Hence, it seems to me, the absence
of a specific time-reference in 1 Cel 92-94. Given our close examination
thusfar of the content of the first texts that deal with the stigmatization
of Francis,I would summarizetlne development of events in the following
manner: (1) the experience of the stigmatization (September, 1224);
(2) the public announcement of its occurrence in tlne 1226 Encyclical
Letter of Brother Elias upon the death of Francis; (3) Gregory IX's
1228 association of the marks of the stigmata with a life-long and
intense asceticism by F rancis (crucifying his flesh out of love for God),
with a veiled allusion to the Seraph - the s).mbolpar excellence of ardent,
burning love; (4), Celano's critical transposition of this experience in
1229 from the realm of asceticism to that of mysticism, now directly
associated with Francis's meditation upon the cross of the Crucified
Christ, who is identified explicitly with the image of the Seraph; and
lastly (5) the association of tr'rancis' profound meditation on the cross
(and thus the event of the stigmatization) with the Feast of the
Exaltation of the Cross (on or about the feast) in 1246 by the author of
th'e Legend of the Three Companions. Hence, the identification of
which Gospel was actually used on the feast becomes somewhat
secondary; what is crucial is what Celano thought Francis was
meditating on - the cross of Christ - and how he chose to dramatize
that. The Vita prima is thus the critical link between Mira circo nos
and Three Companions in two ways: through his identification of the
experience with a meditation upon the cross of the Crucifred and
through his imaginative, even ground-breaking use of the seraphic

undertaken for the love of God. If Celano had caught the allusion made by Gregory IX to
these classic texts - and he almost assuredly did - he then went on to radically change
the orientation of the traditional allusion from asceticism (crucifying his flesh through
ascetical practices) to something else. For Celano wiII transform the allusion from an
ascetical mastery of his flesh out of love for God into an account of a profound
meditation upon the cross of Christ in which his own flesh is transformed not by
ascetical acts but by the experience of prayer itself. The question is: why does Ceiano
develop the original allusion - and how?
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sr srcuBrd lBr{^\ 'raqleg '1rodsue.r1 1ecr1s,(ur srq Surrnp 8ur1e1dua?uoc
uaaq o^Br{ ppo,/\{ srJuerd ?Bql a>leus B lou sr 1r :ureEe lng .ulaq}
uodn polool oq^\ IIB o1 Furleeq Furrq pFo-^^. secrldar azuorq asoq^.
so{eus d"rag asoq} :sluadras qderes eq? suor?uoru qcF{r!\ rz sraqurnN
Jo lunocce Icrldxa aroru oql puB plro./v\ aq? Jo uor?B^lBS pue Suqeaq
ar{? roJ dn pagrl ssorJ ar{? Jo a8erur aq+ uoolv\}aq socuBuosar aq+ Jo
u1v\ou{ a^Br{ plno.^a orlr\\ - srcueJd }ou puB - sBruoqJ sr 1r '"ranoaJotr\J
'ploqsarr{} sI{? ssorr dlploq o1 ,aur o? sruoos
1I 'urFI palduro"rd ler{+ uI{1I1y\ ruo-rJ ?r pue}sropun o? arrsap s(ouBIaC
pue uorlezrlevt8rls oq? Jo ?ua^a aq? sB.^À 1I .GIoslI uqof ;o ladsop
eq1 'es"rnoc Jo 'ldacxa) ?slrr{c Jo ssorr aq} q}I^r qderaslqde,res or{?
Jo
uor+Bcgnluapr lrcqdxe uB r{ens apBru uotp l}]rm pBq auo oN .aruorradxa 1eq1
ureldxe o1 d"r1 o? rapro ur (r.lBrBSI puB sroqrunì{ 'uqof ruo"rJ) ,(ra8erur
LZZ STqCNV ONV SDNNS ,{O
 228 OF SNNXaS AND ANGELS

of F rancis and to grapple with the implications of such an event. This

is what separates him from the classic images of asceticism used by
Gregory IX. They may indeed have had the image of the Seraphim in
common (veiled in Mirca circa zos, now explicit in the Vita prima).
But it is Thomas who relates the experience directly to the cross, using
highly symbolic, biblical language and aided by an awareness of the
context of Francis's experience on La Verna: his prayer centered on
the exaltation of Christ on the cross.
Note that Thomas never says it was an angel that Francis saw.
Indeed, he never uses the word angelus in his account at all. As the
Instrumentum de stigmatibus beati Franciscl has Francis himself
relate it in a vision to a pious lay brother: .. For the one who appeared
to me then was not an Angel, but the Lord Jesus Christ in the form of
a seraph ,.45 we moderns are the ones who tend to conflate the image

a5It
is interesting that this issue was also a question among certain friars in the
thirteenth century. In the Instrumentum de stigmatibus beati Francisci, cit., pp.
644-646, the following testimony from 1282 is reported: o Arrno Domini MCCL)OO(I, V.
nonas Octobris, ego frater Philippus, Minister Thusciae, volens exsequi mandatum
quoddam mihi factum a venerabili patre fratre Bonagratia, Ministro Generali Ordinis
fratrum Minorum, in generali capitulo eodem anno Argentinae celebrato, ut scilicet
investigarem diligentius diem et horam, qua sacra stigmata corpori beati Francisci
fuerint impressa, fratrem unum laicum mirae pietatis et vitae probatissimae, cui
audieram revelationem aliquam esse de hoc factam, habui in mea praesentia et exegi ab
eo, ut mihi circa hoc omnem panderet veritatem ,.
" Ipse igitur humili animo et pura intentione respondit, quod rogatus olim multa
instantia a fratre Iohanne de Castellione Aretii Custodiae, ut apud beatum Franciscum
intercederet, quatenus sibi diem et horam, quando beato Francisco stigmata fuerint
impressa, revelaret. Acquiescens eius precum instantiae, anno praeterito MCCL)OO«
in mense Maio, cum ad locum Alvernae de speciali mea licentia accessisset, in cella,
quae in loco illo, ubi apparitio facta esse dicitur, constructa est, [ad] orationem se
contulit nocte quadam die Veneris illucescente suppliciter postulans, ut Deus personae
alicui hoc revelaret. ... "
" ... Quo respiciente versus introitum cellae, ecce beatus Pater Franciscus astitit
ante ipsum et dixit ilIi Latinis verbis: 'Fili, quid facis tu hic?' At ipse voce tacitus
affectione cordis suum desiderium de praefata revelatione depromebat. Iterum eum
beatus Pater vulgaribus verbis alloquitur dicens: 'De quo rogas tu Deum, ut debeat
revelare tibi?' Tunc frater voce respondit dicens: 'Pater, rogabam Deum, ut dignaretur
revelare, qua die et hora tibi sacra stigmata fuerunt impressa.'Tunc sanctus Pater dixit
ei: 'Deus vult, ut scias tu, et ego dicam tibi. Ego enim sum pater vester Franciscus et
bene me nosti;'et ostendit stigmata manuum et pedum et lateris addens, 'quod tempus
adest, quod Deus propaiare vult, quod fratres hactenus neglexerunt. Nam ille qui mihi
tunc apparuit, non fuit Angelus, sed Dominus Iesus Christus in specie Seraphim, qui
sicut vulnera ipsa sacra in cruce positus suo corpore suscepit, ita ea manibus suis
 '(97 a?ou'a,roqe 'rJJ) lcslJuDJd
qDaq snqUou8t7s ap utnl.ua1.ilnJ?sul aq+ uI duourrlsal aq? dq 'uaes azr.Bq a/!r sE 'pe1n;ie"r
se.ry\ +Eq? uorleJrJrluapl uB - la8ue ue selrr qderag oq? +Br{+ sr uoqdrunsse ar{J .« sluoa.I
srr+eJJ aro q€ plaJauopas ep snu,t"rep ralB4 lrsdr"rcs elsJ 'lrcal 1a ponb ioelo 1a"ra8un
+a ?aJeÀBI 'snTa8uo +BJo+a1s uanb "radns 'uraprdel 1n 'ougng IJle.r; snrsreueJd snlcues
rualnB lrdacae"r4 'la.Iaqeq uaurJ rrrnlErrr runns uraurpJo suBrrre Jalrc€Ja^ snllnu ponb 1a
'1ata,rr,t nrp uaurpJo suorpo snllnu ponb 1a 'aurplo ur lrssod aJeJnp nrp sq€lunlo^ aEIBrrr
snflnu 1a 'rpunru uraug pe anbsn ?aJEJnp snns opJo ponb'ra ?1xlp +a ilrttelcetl aJnp runo
ponb 1a '1rry snlr.rro? srurru 'utn1a?un laraprrt. a8uol B rrrn, 'ponb 'ons orcos ougJng V+aJJ
lrxrp uarue?unJa^'+r^Barunluruoa ruenbun r+ua^ra r11nu aenb 'e1e1err.a"r rqrs cun? ?urr.ranJ
B?InIII ponb 1e lens e1r,r ur Jn+BqrJOs ruenb 'snrluepr,ra sr+BS ?a 'sruorlelduraluoc n1de.r
ueponb uI ocsrcueJd olcues ?InJ B?aBJ udqde.rag orlr"redde ponb 'aeq8uv oJlsrurur 'or1a4
.euJa^
IJ+e4 lrxrp 'rcsrcueJd r?rues snrros 'oe1 .ra1e"r; +a pas » :e8en5uel aql arr?oN
ET uo ?uo^a ar{1Jo Uodal B Jlastuq oarl ruoJJ pJEor{ o^Br[ ol sturBlc oqrrr ',{"rnqs{iÀa.l
Jo Jalod 'puelEug Jo Ja?sruru lercurao"rd e go duounlso? aql slroda"r oH 'uorleguor
e qcns Jo o^r+eorpul sI 'gl 'd '196I '.re1saqcue141 'ur.r.r,t1 'C'V 'pa 'uot4?uy u,t lunrou,tl.u
un4o{ ur nluaapo ap sn?.D?lDq 'No.r,sorccg Jo sfl^roHJ ur uaar8 ?unorce aq; .1a8ue uego
leql q?lrlt qde"res aqlJo a8eurr ?uatuelsoI plo aqlJo uor?Bguoc aldruis aq+ sBÀ{ perrnba"r
sB^\ ler4+ IIv'uor?€snu, ueaJn+ua^Buog e a^BrI lou paau 'le,raluoq'8urpea.r e qcns
e?
« ,"' ']eQapuarsap nledrur ouEeur lunc sr?uoqBr{ s€lE xas
unqde"rag ruarceds sua.ra;ee"rd snxgrcnJo ureprnb srua^nr e.ree rad ac)a +g 'rueqe"redo"rd
Iun+qos ruollBJo ruepuenb urnJol pe snlFrrds aJo^ral orurssrluaruaqa^ ur u€IIaf, suorxa
o1nrnlrp ourruns srcnJC aelcues sruor+B+Iexg lo1p o8ra eueru uI"' 'uraJeledaerd 'araae;
?aIIa^ snag aru ur ponb runpuerdraal pB ?o uerluarled pB arrr ponb 'req eped xa rqrru
suocrp snle8uy snun our pE +ruo^ srcnJC oB?Jues sruor+ellBxg I.unlsal o+uB arp BrrrrxoJd,
:+rrorpe Jaled sn+Baq suaqrJcsap sruorlrredde rua+ne urnpotr J ,'lrssa.rdrur oaru r.rod.roc
oJII aql roJ lxo? a^rl€ruroJ d.reu["rd aq? sE o^ras llrly\ sorrn]uoc roJ r{clr{^\
nu?rd DryAaq\ lou pu€ rolU'ut DpuaEaT ar{l sI lI lEr{l pallEror oq lsnur }r
'peepul er'^rar^ ruo4 +sol floJr?uo +ou Jr pasdrlca oq 01 saruoc ouBIoC Jo
+unoecB a^r+Ero^o puB porar(e1-r1pru pur8rro ar{l '€Ja uJapolu or{} o}ur
puB arn+uo^Buog Jo - aSBnSuBI lenlc, }ou JI - sual oql qSnorr{l
".{?
pBor oq o? saruoJ 1I sE dlpraadsa (saIJn?uoc qluaa+rnoJ pu€ qluoalrrr.{l
aql q8norr{} prB^\roJ sa^oru us{oquds IEcIIqIq Jo asn IuBIIIFq .sEruor{[
sB ?Bq+ sr arurl Jo osJnoc oql Ja^o ueddeq o? sruaas lBr{tr\ '"rarrazuo11
'(qdereg eJo s8ur^t aq+ ulqll^r paploJua ssore E
01 palrBu uBru B ''3'a) suor+Bluasardar lBclqderSouocr prB §ru,E dlErmuaes
aruosEuanpo"rdJo+urod oq+ 01uo^o 'd11ear1srlre sB IIad\ sB dl"re"ra1q q?oq
- ornSII rrr{deras B pu€ }slrr{C ueru aq} - rorlla8o} so8€rur o^q aql ploq
ol aIqB dle"raua8 ora.&\ 'a8en5uel crloquds Jo asn aq?. o+ poruo?sncrB
puB o^rlrsuas oJoru 'sa8suosJod lB^arpoul ln8 'uorlBcurluapr JBlrrurs B
dazruoc o+ ruoos poopur uec r{crqÀ\ 'suor+B}uosoJdal lecrr{der8ouoar eq1
oluo uor+Euuoc urv\o rno lrafo;d ueql puB 'Ia8uB uB rlll^r qdeJag ar{+Jo
6ZZ S1flCNV ONV Sq)TVNS TO
230 OF SNTXES AND ANGELS

and meaning of F'rancis. Moreover, given the critical importance of the

angelic hierarchies in Bonaventure's theological writings, thoroughly
absorbed from Pseudo-Dionysius and the Victorine theologians of the
previous century, it is not surprising that the saraphic/seraphic
imagery in his monumental legenda comes to be read not as the fiery
winged snakes in the Book of Numbers or the prophet Isaiah but
rather as the angelic imagery of the New Testament, especially in the
Pauline letters.
Hence, we elide from snakes to angels and, in so doing, we lose
sight of Christ, the crucified man lifted up on the cross. In other
words, the winged snake of the Old Testament will be conceptualized
more and more as a winged angel from the New Testament - thereby
losing the power of the original ecstatic experience of Francis. What is
eclipsed is Celano's profound association of the event of the
stigmatization with Francis's contemplation of Christ raised up on the
cross through a reflection upon a text like John 3 on or around the
feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Instead, we are left with the
impression that what tr'rancis was seeing in this event was a strange
fluttering angel with a surplus of wings.
But our recovery of the original association has more profound,
even radical, implications. For if indeed it is not an angel or an angelic
presence that hovers above F rancis during that momentous day on La
Verna, then we are in a much better position to appreciate the
extraordinary depth of the actual experience. Rather than conceive of
the stigmatization of Francis as an event whereby an angelic frgure
literally zaps something onto Francis from the outside (an impression
that can indeed be conveyed in medieval and renaissance artistic
representations of the event), we can now begin to appreciate that the
stigmatization was, in fact, something that came from deep within
him and out of him, onto his very flesh. The trajectory of the experience,
in other words, was not from tlte outside-in but rather from the
inside-ouf. Indeed, Celano's own description of the wounds-marks that
begin appear on his body shortly after the experience clearly describes
skin that is protruding outward rather than something that has been
pushed inward into him.a7

47
lCel 95: " Manus et pedes eius in ipso medio clavis confixae videbantur, cÌavorum
capitibus in interiore parte manuum et superiore pedum apparentibus, et eorum
acuminibus exsistentibus ex adt erso. Erant enim signa illa rotunda interius in manibus,
exterius autem oblonga, et caruncula quaedam apparebat quasi summitas clavorum
 '88 a?ou 'a.toqe pa?rr ?xa? aql aas
si
« "' 'luEqapacxe tuenbrlal uauJBJ erlua8"rns auJEJ esdr ep aenb'essnc.rade; rsenb
?a E+Jo+aJ 'e8uolqo Eururnc€ o"rarr esdr 'e.r8ru ?a EpunloJ snqrpad ?a snqruEru ur elrdec
runJo^BIJ anblue;a "' ,, :t 'IIIX IAIT "' '" E]€^ala enbrla.r auJpc E ?a urnJo^e1c eu.3rs +uBJa
essa"rdull snqrpad ur +a JrS 'lBqapaaxa urenbrla-r urauJeJ aenb 'essna-rada.r +a BlJolaJ
olcar ar{l uo a+or1v\ aq 'e}Bru8r1s aq1 pa^raJar pBq srruBrd ra}JB lBr{}
plnryD'qc aq? tuo4 1xo1 aq? ur (sn sllol oaT raq?org
,r'"rar1ree po+p
'slcuBrd 'lSJo DlnUDqc snoIuBJ oI{J aullu€xa o+ urn} a/v\
}eql rod 'uorlsanb lBr{} uo 1q3q spaqs qcF{1Y\ d-ro1s or{+ Jo lJBd puoros
sF{} sl }J eBura^ BrI uo rade"rd Jo arurl sq Suunp srcuBrd uodn ?cBdrur
punoJord E qJns a^BrI'aJBr uBrunq ar{?Jo uor}B^lBS puB Eurlsar{ ar{l roJ
dn pegq'?sFnIC uodn uorlelrpaul sFIl p1p dq&\ :{sB o} poou 1v\ou oÀ\
rsrssv.{o srcNyud .{o NorùvzrJyr^rcrJs sHJ
do JNU^g sHJ oJ dTHSNOTJVTSU SJr ONV SrCNvUd 'rS rO VT1J?|VHC SHJ :II J,UVd
'vzzl raqua?das q srcuBrdJo ocuarradxo
IEJr+sduI aql Jo r{}nr} aq} luoJJ rBJ .{ra^ lou sr - eura^ BT uo r{sau
sq o+uo pa5rouro +I II+un paursua?ur puB pauodaop dlenpe"r8 ?I ?Br{}
puB uorsra^uoc slr{ Jo }uaIuolu d"re.r. oq} uro4 Jlasulq uIl{?I^\ (ls}rr{c
Jo ssorc ar{+ 'sl }BrI?) e}Bru.8rJS aq? aroq ,(1pn1ce srcuBrd }Bq} 'dlerueu
?q8rsur 1ecr8oIoor{1 s(arnlua^Buog'ero;a"req?'.sdBqJod'uosJad
ueurnq aq? qll^r ot?Dsraauo, lsadaap s,poC go u8rs B aruocaq ser{ - dpoq
s(srcuerd ur dpoq s(srruBrd uo sreadde leqm +Bq1 asuas eq? ur raq+Br
-
+nq paua^BJluoD uaaq SBI{ arn}eu lBq? asuas or{? q }ou t« IInJBJIIU
sell^ou ,, oW 8ur18u[uuoc srq? Jo ]lnsar eq1 3ur11Bc ur q]nr? or{l uro4
rBJ lou dlqeqo;d sBÀ\ sBrIU rar{+org 'uorssed s(}srrr{C uodn uorlB?rpau
B Jo runrporu eq1 q8norql pal8urruuroc os aurocaq a^Br{ oJnlBu puB
ace"rE a.rar{lr\ 'esuelur +soru s?I }B "rade"rd uerunr.lJo ocuarJadxo aurosa^ae
pue Surlelrl?Borq B Jo acuosa,rd aq1 ur 'splozvr rar{}o ur 'ore e16 'dpoq
u1v\o s.auo ur s+raJJa sll Eurlsa;rueru '8uraq s(ouo 3o sqldop d"rarr aq1
Jo ?no dn sauroc lBqT EurqloruosJo +nq paDnpur dlluappner; Surqlauros
Jo osuas aql uI lou tlua^o 3r+Bruosoqcr(sd B Jo ruroJ crluaqlnB lsour
puB +sodaap aq+ sI SII{I 'pazrrorralur ,(lqEnoror{} os uaoq sBr{ - ssorc
oql o? polreu +slrr{C a{H - raderd s(ouo Jo }ratqo oq} uaq,^a 'r{sag dra,r
s(auo q8no"rql pue o+ur (1nos s,euo) eqcdsd s(auoJo +no epoldxa d1p;a11
o? uÉoq uec -rade"rd learlsdru ua^a 'esualur 'puno;o-rd :Ja^a1(oH
'uor{? Surddez pue eldoed erroqe Sur"rerroq punore oF }ou op sleFue
'arrrlcads"red luaruuelq8qug-1sodB ruo4 lseol +B 'r{}n"r} ur rod
I€,2 STflCNV ONV SZXVNS iO
232 OF SI{AKES A\D ANGELS

(front) side of the parchrnent a prayer catled The Praises of God.ae

However, it is the uerso (back) side of th e chartukz that needs to be the
focus of our attention. This L)erso side is actuaii5r quite familiar to
many, appearing as it does on any number of reproductions of
F ranciscan art and iconography. In fact, this tiny piece of parchment
is quite small, measuring approximately stl)" (,hetghti x 4" (width).
But how precious indeed is this miniscule document!50

ae
Laudes Dei aLtissittzz, in K. Essrn. Die Opttsculct cles hl. Frcnziskus t'ort As-sisl. rVeue
texthritische Etli.tiort, Grottaferrata. 1976. r Spicilegiunt Bonat'enturicuturtt. 13 r. p. 142.
;0 A
brief description of the parchment is gir.en in: B.rRrori L.r:crr-r. G-li cttLtogrctt'i cit..
p.30.
 '« Bns nuBru. a?rdB, rrnc nBr{l urnuErs pn?sr lrroJ opoIu
uruls » :oarJua8 qq
'alcr?JB aql q uo rarlunJ al+?rl E p€ar
aq +q8Frr sra++al asoql ÀrorIJo uralqord ?lncgl1p aq+ ssarppe IIII( I 'a, o(r)alJ:oa.Iuag
rc
'LOZ,'d'(Ig6I) gg'uatprygaqrsluDqslzuDriur'oa7.taqtotgto!sutssalgaqtJo
,CUun ctqdot8ouo)I aqJ 'cxuturg '^'f Jo alrr?re or{} q spro/(
ul ure"r8erp aql sI - nEJ aql
aql Jo drqsuorlela.r asrca.rd aq+ sa?Br?sn11l +I asnecaq - p.re8e"r sTr{+ uI pgdleq +sontr .7g
'd ' (f t6I) 7g 'tancttolslg l.ilnuocsrzuDrd unallpJv ur , tstssy Jo slcuDJi .l§ lo ,n1n4tot1g,
aqt uo st1do"t8o7.ny azg 'rxsuvsdvT '61 saop sE io1rytaqc aql uo "reldeqc sFt uI sramal ar{+Jo
Suruorlrsod elerurxordde ue se,rr8 '0y 'd "1rc gfot8olnD ?lC'rracuvT rroJuvg .uoqelnceds
pue oleqap qcnur g:o petqns aq1 'as.rnoc gio 'uaeq s€q spJoa asaq+ go luauraceld
oqJ '(« |ecrp auaq snuruoo
" ,tlqlssod ro) « lBcrpauaq snuruo(l » :ooTuag sq
'" Iuoa.l trle"g rqrur uauorprpauoq r[R]sr Bns mreru lrsdl.rcs srtcsrlrre"rg sn+eag :osIuag
" zs
'lgz-yz 'g tuNl « rrrocBd Iqll lap la a+ pB runns tun?In l€ua^uoC 'rnl rnleaJasrur
la IqIl ruens tuorceJ ?€pua+so le1 lerpolsnc la snuruoq IqT+ ?Eerpauag » :oaTuag
re
ue a^r8 ol poou aq+ +IaJ or{^\ oaT.(q "ralel pappE s}ualuolB}s oq+ arB for{}
:lardra+ur o1 ds€a d14eg arB oaT Jo par ur suorlBcrldxo aarq? oqf
'uEaru,(1enpe lq8Fu s+rBd alerBdas aql TBq/v\
'louJl 'ro aloqrvr pogrun € osudruo, ,(aql rar{laqÀ\ ol sB sralordra?ul roJ
suolqoJd snororunu pasod serlr,ln,.reqc olq+Jo oprs osraa sq+ À\oN
ee'pBot{
prrB nBJ/ ar{+ sr)rrBrd lBr{1 :(par trt) uorlBcndxg pr.rql s,oolt [g]
^Lorp
,nlne; aqlJo lJer{s aql ssorce spro^\ ro pro/y\ B pue o
,rlne; aqlJo urre lq8rr or{+ ropun ua?}rr1( spro^. r{llm o i
leurllno pe88ef e (qleeuaq ro urqlrÀ\ paceld ro) dq papunorrns
i
ip"rezndn
I
3ur4oo1 pear{ luaquncar B aq o? sreadde r{crrl^.Jo aseq aq? }B o
i
I
:(par ur ra^o uaBrp) ssor3 nB,[ V [p]
I
zs'ulq
IorsurssalqB,,*-:::";J#::il,:",--:T::_:",J:':;t''
inod ol lnJrcroru aq pu€ no,t ol arBJ srr{ aq detr41
^{oqs
inod dea>1pue ssolq proT aq1.(e141
:gZ-?Z '9 s"raqrunN ruo"r; uorBVJo Surssalg aq,t tUl
'BIIJO^
BT uo s+uo^a ar{lJo +unorrB uB :(>IuI par ur) uorlecrldxg }srrd s.ooT [I]
:slql e>1q Surqlaruos {ool plno^,\
lI 'lno uat{? o+Bredas o} ara/v\ auoJl 's1red alqeqsrn5uT+s}p ro }uaroJ}rp
a^g sosrrdruo, ,(1pn1ce opIS {ceqear{ oq? le ra+}oq s}$ .(1pn1ae
(,."'sasr"rdruoc dIIEnlrB aprs >IrBq aq,L,,) qder8e"red II.J lsrl; oqù
eez STqCNV ONV Sq)TVNS TO
234 OF SNAKES AND ANGELS

accounting of the content of the back side of t}re chartula. For whom,
we do not know for certain, although I have conjectured earlier that it
may have been connected in some way with Bonaventure's visit to
central Italy and his questioning of the surviving companions in
preparation for his drafting of the Legenda maior.56 However, Leo
does not so much explain what is there as simply state what is on the
parchment. And therein lies part of the dilemma for interpreters; we
are left to p:uzzle out the relationship - if any - between the various
parts. Hence, I am first going to attempt to explain, in summary
fashion, the meaning of sections [2] and [4] - that is, the Aaronic
blessing and the four elements comprising the Tau: the mysterious
head, the jagged outline surrounding the head, and the enigmatic
writing. Then, in the conclusion of the article, I will relate these
findings to the experience of the stigmata.
There are two keys to unraveling the meaning of this uerso side of
t}ae chartula: (1) one must be able to explain the strange head that
appears at the base of the Tau; and (2) one must be able to explain
- or
at least offer a reasonable hypothesis that coheres with the first
explanation - the words that appear underneath the right arm of the
Tau and those that intersect the shaft of the Tau.57 This is no small
task. Several historians of note have attempted to explain the latter
issue - with varying results. A few others have conjectured about the
possible identification and significance of the mysterious head,
without a convincing rationale or satisfactory demonstration. At this
stage in my own research on the matter and for our purposes here, f
will concentrate primarily on the first issue (the identification of the
head), while touching on the issues raised by the second without
attempting a defrnitive explanation of the matter.
The key to the solution of the meaning of the uerso side of the
chartuln pivots on how one interprets the mysterious head lyr"g recumbent
at the foot of the Tau. There are two main lines of interpretation of
this enigmatic figure. Several interpreters have speculated that, given
the traditional association of Brother Leo to the blessing on the
backside of the parchment and the three explications that he added
later in life, Francis would have been drawing on this parchment a
representation of Leo himself. In this view, Leo is being protected by

56
See above, note22.
57
On the Tau, see, for example, D. Vonne ux, fJn symbole franciscain: le Tau,2'd ed.,
Paris, 1996, and, more generally, K. Reuuen, Antenna cruces V, Das mystische Tau, in
Zeitschrift fùr Katholische Theologie,TS (1953), pp. 385-410.
 « ... (.o+rdrcur oolu
orJenlcu€s € ?o (srleprcco au '.r.Il sI?IJapI^ urenb radns ura?ne rrrouuro lureuorcau.relur
pe anbsn a?relIJa+ur 'sa.rerlnur +a unln^Jed 'uraur8Jl^ ?a unln+uocselope 'urauas
lrurtuea"rasrtu anbau 'ralsarr snlnco lecred uou ielrlnc"red 1e 'runa saluanbes ualelr.Lrc
.rad elrsue.rI. :aru aluarpne 'llxlp SIIU lg '(snro orpau ur lung aenb snqruorlEurr[oqe
sqcunc "radns tunrlualop ?a runrluaruaS urnJoJr saluoJJ .redns nEr{l euSrs
1e 'ruelesn"ral orpau ur'rueleTrue ruerpaur rad rsuerJ,, :urna pB snurruoC ?rxtp 1g... .snra
soueJ pe srroldr"rrs urnrJEluaru€J+B 1e 'sreuq leJa sn?4se^ urnJoa orpalu ur snun enbonb
"rra lsnra nuuru ur sn+rJo+ur sert anbsnrnrsnrun 1a'ruauopnbe pe lraadsar aenb 'sr.ror;redns
aelrod Er^ ap +ueqaruo^ TJI^ xas acco +g » :ural€srìJaf Jo uor?cnJ?sap aql Sur"rnp sJolsrunu
s,po5 Jo r{+Br1rr aq? uro4 snoalq8rr aq+ splaqs }Bq? {reur B sr nBJ aq1 a"raqru. ,(g-7
'6'611e»1ezg laqdord ar{+Jo >Iooq aq} urorg e8essed luaurelsa; pIO aq+ q a>lrl qrntr\I
0e
'uo roqpnJ olllll B n€J aql Japun spJolv\ crleru8rua aql Surulacuoc
luorunS.ru s,8urue1g ol urn?ar IIIrlr I '0zZ-g0Z 'dd ''11c [1gu2 ctqdotSouocl aqJ 'cr.nwurg
dq elcqre snotueJ d1lsnf eq+ q punoJ sr uor+e+aJd.ralur a,rrleao,rord uoa.a 'pacu€nu
aroru qcnru y '^ EIo^EJ se IZT-0ZI 'dd uoal!{?aq ,auotztpauag ,rssau3 .V uI punoJ sr
uorlcnpoJdoJ JaurJ ua^a uB lng 'gg 'd alrsoddo paenpo"rder sr uorldFcsuBJ+ aqJ .« porJne
sBlvt urBpv lods drerr aqt uo pogrcrue sBl!\ ?srJt[c lBr& "' [,(1aueu] "' pua8o1 luorcu€
uBJo uor+E1uesa"rda"r atqder8 B "'puDluBtrrJo raq+BJ eq1 'ruepyJo lln>ls aql sl pear{ er{} »
+Br[+ sa^aqaq'LTyg'poc 'aleunuoc €rolorlqrg 'rsrssy =] Isv ldr"rcsnueur ur punoJ sern5g
snor"ralsdru ar{+ Jo uoqdr"rcsuer+ E Jo srsBq ar{l uo '(lg-gg .dd) rlsuesdel ,paapul .lg-gg
'dsa'19-91 'dd ''1ra sqdotSo|ny aqg'orsuvsdvT puE :AtZ-ttZ.dd,(ZrcD gg.faqsla^
pun Ttaqcsuass'uvl ur 'eszssy uoa snqsl.zuDq '1Ll sap a?q)npsac rnz ualpzslw ,Nassvr3
'S :0ZZ-7TZ 'dd '(tr96t) gg 'uatpnls aq)sluDqzuDq ur ,anbrlttr Dl tuoaap noSunt1
?ulDS ap sTtn? sa7'.rruawv3 'f :6ZI-911 'dse 'ZZT-OII.dd ,(gte ,outaly o7 ur,nutaly
t) 11
DllD oJSnuDr1I 'S Dp D?ltns auoa7 D4 ?p auowtpauaq o7 ,sau1 o.rscNy :d1qe1og
un
'Zq,-IE, 'dd ''1rc y/ot8o1no qg
-
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'etuog 'zsessy uoa snqslzuDJtr 'tq sap uaqarl ul lls'tJqC uapla7 sng 'Nuoorg No Nvt y,rco
:tOZ-AAt'dd '(tgOt) 7V'tunctto?s.tH lunuD)slJuoq unalq)rvvr,oa7 nqlotglo ButssaTg
§lcuori lu?DS'xflq Nva, 'd'f'S igg61 'ou"rort1'octJty&ota? 1ap auorzo&atdg 'oJsaruDq uDS
1p auo'tzlpauaq DT "ruvncrww3 'I I :oì{ srBlor{asJo 'aldtuexa ro3 'Surpeal oq+ sr qcns es
'a+BrJdoJdde "ro oTBJnccE oJoru sr EurpBoJ r{eqÀ\ aurruJa}op o+
uorlBlardralur rno ur luB+rodrul aq III^[ ?I 'pEor{ ar{lJo qlnou aql uroJJ
Sur8"rerua aq o? sruaas ssorJ ar.{l acurs sassoJuo, ouo ?eq1 Eurqlaruos
sr 1r puocas aql ur sBa"Iaq^. (oes+caloJd }€q1 Surqlauros sr ?r (lsJU or{1
ur :suorlrunJ alqrssod puB luaraJJrp o^4.1 sBr{ nEJ, ar{l 'suorlelard"relur
asoq+ ur ?€q} '"ralezvr,oq 'aloN 6e'ssorr/n€J agl dq pa?uasaJdar
'uepv À\aN aq? 'lsl;r{C Jo r{}Bap oql q8norql pasra^or uaoq
sBq urs s(ruBpv aJor{/v\ deerrp3 uo palroro ssorc oql s}uasoJdar nBJ,
ar{l }Er{l puB ur€pv Jo pBoq aq+ aq lq8lur pBaq ar{+ +Br{? ,d18uraur^uoc
orolu 'palrsod a^Br{ sJor{?o 8e,, 'a? lBrpo?sne 10 snuruoo
IqIl lBclpauag » :sasruord o^oqB rulr{ roJ Eursselq aql s€ qcnlu ,ne; aq1
9ez S'IflCNV ANV SSJTVNS ,TO
236 OF SNAKES AND ANGELS

I would, however, like to advance a third possible interpretation -

one already hinted at by at least one historian who never really
explained how this could be and *hy.u'
For if one looks very closely at the head,62 one sees what looks very
much like a turban - a three-tiered construction on the top of the
recumbent head - as well as, very clearly, a face that is studded with
the follicles of a beard. I want to suggest that the mysterious head that
has stumped historians and iconographers alike is not only a turbaned
Muslim but none other than the head of the sultan, Malek aI-KamiI -
the man whom Francis had encountered under his tent, in Egypt, in
September 7219, immediately after the defeat of the Christian
crusaders at Damietta! And the jagged drawing surrounding or
circumscribing this recumbent head is neither the mountain of La
Verna nor the hill of Calvary but rather a representation of the shores
of the Mediterranean Sea with the turban touching the approximate
location of Damietta in Egypt, the place of their encounter.
The question is: why would the head of the sultan be on a Blessing
to Brother Leo? Why indeed!
What has rarely, if ever, been noticed is that, in April, 7223, Pope
Honorius III had recently announced that a new military venture was
being organized by Cardinal Pelagius - the ostensible spiritual (but
virtual military) leader of the failed Fifth Crusade against al-Kamil at
the siege of Damietta in L2L9-1220. This new military campaign was
now, however, to be aided by the mighty army of the Holy Roman
Emperor Frederick II (who was long overdue to make good on his vow
to go on crusade).63 Agreement on the new enterprise was announced
in April, 1223 at Ferentino; the date of departure was set for June,
1225. However, already by July, L224, having overcome a series of
daunting obstacles,6a it was common knowledge that Frederick's
complex preparations were nearing their completion and that he was

61
F. ps Baan,Franqois, que disait-on de toi?,Paris, 1977,pp.107-110.
62
Contra Lapsanski and others, note that Leo refers to this figure explicitly as a
caput and not a craruium. The difference, however, may be more academic than
substantive.
63T. C.VaNClow, TheCrusadeof Frederickll,inAHistoryof theCrusades,Il:The
Later Crusades, 1189-1311, Madison, WI, 1969, pp.438-444,passim; see also I».,The
Emperor Frederich II of Hohenstaufen: Immutator Mundi, Oxford,1972, pp. 158-161.
6a
Enthusiasm for the new venture was lacking in France and England (at war with
each other) as well as in Spain (engaged in armed struggle with the Muslims) and even
in Germany itself.
 'alcr+re aqlJo ilEd ?sEI ar{}
ur ?uo^a slq+Jo ocuelrodrul oq+ q uJnlar IIr^,r J 'rolunorua s1rllJo uorlBurrrrexa dIJBIor{cs
./v\ou E uo {Jo^r. 1e d11uer-rnc sr 'p1"ro.ll1, IB^orpalu aq+ uI suor+Blal uerlsrJr.Ic-urllsnl
I
ur lredxe pazru8ocar e 'ue1o;, '^'f '(g002 '"ralsaqaog '\nany-\o qa?Dw uuqns sraluno)ug
?s?ssy to ncuntg :ppqsarql aqt ssorc o7 Suunq'Nauuvl1 'v 'x ,(11uace.r +soIu pu€
:gZy-AOy 'dd '(9002) 69 ''S'N ,ocsacuotg a?Drt tx,D\nlcotc o\utnb Dl a orsacu,q al,ri
'vwNxy'd:L66r 'r(curn§'uo7s7 puD souoq 'sJHcrugssoH'f :966r 'slred 'suotuTnsny4y
sal ?a asrcsy,p stoSuotg:anlJ aJ?nD.l Jns a4uocuag,.an 19961 ,sauuag,tuo7s7,7 p aJpJO
uos 'aslssy,p stoSuntg :asto?Jno) §a nal1l,,r,ossno1. 'C :696I ,ue[I I ,outa11D7 ?a DlpnaDO
'pauupllotr4l :ouD1illnsn1.il-ouotlstJ) oSoyotp un n4 ,-c1 :OgOt ,ezr,le11g ,sto\uatg
?ulDS p pauxuD'vo7g'nrvg-lr^r,ssyg 'c :aJB s?unoJce d-reurFrd aq; .s"read ?uacal ur pa?BoJ+
dla,rrsualxe uooq s€q 'rurey-p {aIBI [ 'ue11ng aq? qllri\ srrueJsJo ra?unoJua aqJ sg
'uorsnlcuoJ dru ur sruJol o1I\+ asaq?Jo asn po?sadxaun
?eqf\oruos aq1 ureldxa IIp\ I /e
'oJn?uo^Buoa JoJ BuJa^ erl pu€ Bl?arruEo _
-
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puB E++aIurEo 18 uellns ar{+ Jo durec aq1 o}ur srsuBrg perueduorrB peq oqj1' rEr4 aql
:olBurr[nlll se^\ suoruEduroc uasoq, asarl?Jo auo leql 3.ueagru8rs dlaurarlxa 1I puu I gg
'dlalrugepur peuodlsod uaaq,(pee-rle peq a"rngedap
Jo o+ep aq1 '.rarremoq 'uaq1 f,A'gZZt'6 raqurezrog uo dpo lslpulrg ur parrrJolrad serrr
duoura.rec aqù 'uaIBSnJaf Jo 8ury se u^roJc ar{+ ru1r{ e,rr8 pporrr 'urelesnragSo uropgury
uI+eT ar{+ Jo ouoJql aq? o} "rraq 'auuelrg Jo opueloÀ o1 e8er.r"ruu :"roredurg aq} JoJ
dlqrqrssod mau Surzrle+uel E dn peuado l\ou 'Ja^arrroq 'peq.rea,{ snorrra.rd eq1 ,acuelsuo3
'ogr.tr s,>lar"rapaJd Jo r.I?Bop aq; .I alou ,1g1 .d ,.11, il qnrapaq ,u.nor3 N^
sg
{aIEIAI '.req1orq uqsntr{ slr{ Jo JIBr{aq uo acualpuca nd a111eq
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",{+
aql IaBr{clru 'ls o? paleerpap SurlsBJ Jo raderd asua}ur uB
'1S Jo luoT ,, € op 01 Bura^ BT o? sao8 aq os puv
- « [o€{er}\[
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aql rapun IuF{ r{+I^r ra?unocua snoruBJ +Br{+ Sur"rnp lrodsor dllue"redde
puB 1y\ou>I o+ aruoJ pBr{ or{ ouooruos ,r:n1o{ srrT sB ,d11ue1rodrur
aJour uo^a 'pue sncluto uB sB À\ar^ o? aruoc pBq ar{ uBru B Jo r{}Bop
aq+ SuraosJo ro8uep uI poo1s srcuerd 'IIIls dlleuos.red e.ro141 'r{}Bop pue
poqspoolq aroru ?od q pBaI dlqeroxau plno^\ qclr{^\ suor?rB ur o8B8ua
o+ 1r{3Fu d"re+IFtu r}or{T EurzrIqoru ora.d\ plroÀ\ uBrlsrrr{O ar{}Jo srapeol
oq+ (lcadsar lBnlnru pue anSoprp q8no;ql dleu;aleu pue dgnyecead
surelqord uBrunq a^Iosal o1 Surlp,|un Jo alqBun 'ure8e acuo
sg.ploJun
o1 ?noqB sq.ua^a aq+ ra^o 'passardap ua^o sdeqred 'pa8e.rnocsrp
dlpuno;o"rd eu"ran €T Jo a8elrur.req oql o+ suorueduo, lsasolc srr{
JO À\oJ B rI+Il1\ ?uo,!\
srcu€Jd lBr{+ pocur^uoe tuB I ,s1v\ou sil.{l ua^rc
ee'suorlecrldruoc
o+nuru lsel alqrssod due ssnrsrp o1 dlnf Jo r{luolu aruBs aq+
Sur"rnp Srequ;nlrl +B lalo ler.redtur aql o+ paqcledsrp ara^\ s,(orrua pded
'pue 1eq1 oJ 'orur? uo lredap o+ rapro ur sluarua8uBrl€ IBug EunTeru
LCZ STqCNV ONV SflJ/yNS ,4O
238 OF SNAKES,4}/D ANGELS

al-Kamil. And in the midst of this prayer, Francis has a profound

mystical experience resulting in the appearance in his body of the
wounds of Christ. Once the intensity of this experience had subsided,
we are told by Leo, he called for some parchment and wrote The
Praises of God on its front side. These Praises, it seems to me, laid out
in simple staccato rhythm, are Francis' personalized version of The
Ninety-nine Beautiful Names of Allah.6e In other words, Francis is
praying in an Islamic mode:

You are love, charity;you are wisdom...

You are security, you are calm, you are joy;
You are our hope and gladness, you are justice ...
You are protector, you are our guardian and defender ...
You are strength, you are refreshment;
You are our hope, you are our faith, you are our charity ...
You are our eternal life ...70

Francis is praying in this manner precisely because the sultan,

Malek al-Kamil, is very much on his mind, weighing on his heart and
troubling his spirit. Thus, what is usually interpreted as generic
praise can now be seen in a different and more revealing light:
namely, that Francis' praise to God for this mysterious gift of the
stigmata is in a style of prayer which had moved and impressed him
while in Egypt precisely because the events of those days and his
affection for the sultan were now present to him in an unmistakably
poignant way.
And then, according to Leo, Francis turned the parchment over
and wrote a prayer of protection for his friend - not for Leo but for
Malek al-Kamil - asking:

6e
Ninety-nine Names of Allah: the Beautiful Names, trans. Snpus Fnrcoleuonn and
ar-H.q*Lr Snarxn MuzlnrpnenorN, New York, 1978; or N.-GtzzN.t, The Ninety-nine Beautiful
Names of God = al-Maqsqd al-asna: fi sharh asma' Allah al-husna, trans. D. B. Bunncr,
and N. DrHrn, Cambridge, 1992. Cfr. G. Basrrrr-SaN4 La cristofania della Verna e le
stimmate di san Francesco per il mondo musulmano. Testimoni di un'Europa senzd
frontiere,III, San Pietro in Cariano, 1993, pp. L39-142.
70
LaudDei (Esser, Opuscula cit., p. L42): " Tu es fortis, tu es magnus, tu es
altissimus, tu es rex omnipotens. ...Tu es amor, caritas; tu es sapientia, tu es humilitas,
tu es patientia, tu es pulchritudo, tu es mansuetudo; tu es securitas; tu es quietas, tu es
gaudium, tu es spes nostra et laetitia, tu es iustitia ... tu es protector, tu es custos et
defensor noster; tu es fortitudo, tu es refrigerium. Tu es nostra spes, tu es fides nostra,
tu es caritas nostra, tu es tota dulcedo nostra, tu es vita aeterna nostra: Magnus et
admirabilis Dominus, Deus omnipotens, misericors Salvator ".
 'ouror+no
a^r?rsod B lnoq?L!\ 'pa1"rezr.uoc aq o+ uellng aq1 Suqse
Jlosulq srcuEJd seq dldurs g ,y1
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ur +unocce aqJ, 'zz-trg'IrA)o( snpv'+c 'paqq+Bap sn{ uo pazrldeq s€,4 , uÉllns
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IIolVI se),taq1 leqlSariaq aq+ o+ anp os Surop uro4 urBJJa"r 1nq dlruegslrr{c o+ paua^uor aq
d11e"rces o+ rueÀ\ 01 prBS aJE unoc srr{Jo sJaquaru IEJo^as pue ue}Ins aq? aJar{,/v\ rcsrounJi
qoaq snlJv aq? ul +unorcB arll Jo uÉIJo aql 0q lq8Fu aas
- iIUr\ a^\ sB 'auo dluo aq+ 10u
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'(0I 'ou alcl?rv
'aurn1o,r sF{l uI) suD)snuord ,c\"rog aq1 Euoun ,cytotl\ny lo as2 aq? puv suDrprDnc
rlr slxa+ po+Elor Jroql puB sldacuoa osaq+ e"roldxa I '\ualaD§al aql pue snroyluara
otd aTn&ag aq? uT 'aldruexa .ro3 'sacua.raJal aql 'lJC 'sa^{ pnlFrds rroq+ o} rureq ruo.rJ
tuaq+ o1 pa+snJ+ua srBr4 aq1 p"ren5 01 sr alor asoqlv\ pue so?sn, aq+ acgJo
- - lenlr.rrds e
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dq pasn sr J.I 'uorrxol ueasrrueJ.il oq? ur luelrodurr dllreurp.roeJ?xa sr ar.tpoJsn) qJa^ ar{J
'IuJEr.{ Jo ,Jo (« pJEnS
Ir^a uro.rJ ,tlprcodsa '" uro"g p"ren5 " 'IIIls Jailaq " ?nq (1I a^Br{ pFo1r4.
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+Br{+ ssor?s o1luelrodurl sI ?I " "' 'a? ?Brpo?snc ?a snurrroq rqq ?errpouog » :oorluag
'gV'u 'aaoqu puE (g7T .d,.+Ic o\ncsndg,"rassg) oaTua8
,
rr
EA}EI
ool sr +r aroJaq ?slrr{c aq} urrBlJord .o1 speau .o1 1q3no aq ?eq? Surdes
aq sI ro 8r'(uolssoJuo, B r{cns ruo4./v\ou qcql1\ sanlB^ ar{} pue) ?srrr{cJo
ssorJ ar{l sossaJuoJ fpEorIE uB?Ins aq? 1€r{l8urdes oq sI ea?roqc snorrnc
sH+ dr{lÀ '(peeqero; oq} lou puB) r{}noru srq ruolJ Eur8.rarua dgenpe
sr n€J, or{1 roJ lne; aq1 EurssoJuoc .(1pn1ee uBllns aq+ sBr.{ puB (aro^t
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peu8rs 'lerqazg leqdo"rd oql q sB uor?colo"rdgo ugrusrlg? B s€ nef aqlJo
osn aql puB a^oqB uorlcolo.rd;o "rade"rd aq? qll^r q+oq +ua?srsuoc ,ueq1
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lnod ol lnJrrraru aq pue nod ol aeBJ srq proT aq1de11
lnod pren5 pue ^\oqs
ssolq proT aq1,(ury
6ez S1flDNV ONV SDIVNS ,TO
 240 OF SNIKNS AND ANGELS

I think the latter reading is the more likely one. Indeed, I find it
intriguing that in the High Middle Ages there existed a popular theme
in vernacular literature of a person who, having died and seen the
horrors of hell, returns to the earth as a head (or skull), confesses his
errors in this life, and then urges others to a conversion of life a
-
conversion to Christ - before it is too late.Ta Moreover, in this same
current of medieval literature, the person who comes back to confess
his faith in Christ - or who speaks from a position between life and
death - and urges others to do the same is very often portrayed as a
non-believer, a Muslim, and indeed even a Muslim leader (a
sultan?).75 It is quite possible that Francis might have known of this

74
This theme of different kinds of crd,nes mystérieux has recently been treated in a
completely different context than the one studied here in a magisterial article: C.
Garnnnsr, Le 'crd,ne qui parle': du motif aux récits. Vertu chrétienne et uertu poétique, in
Cahiers de ciuilisation médiéuale,46 (2003), pp.2L3-23L Although there are a number
of different variations on the theme of these talking heads, there are two distinct and
diametrically opposed typologies. In the first, the skull is portrayed as living and then
passes from life to death; in the second, the skull comes back from death to life in order
to be reborn (in Christ) and then die a second (and harmless) death. It is the second
typology (and its protype in the so-called legend of 'Jesus and the Skull') that concerns
us. In this line of stories, which dates from the 1lth century forward, Jesus calls a
person back to life in order to give that person the opportunity to confess one's faith in
him. What is fascinating is that this line of the legend finds an echo in the Islamic
world. Cfr' the studies cited by GaloEast, for example: F. A. PritrNaccnre rr., Susanna nel
deserto: riflessi di un racconto biblico nella cultura arabo-islamica, Turin, 19g8, pp.
99-102;It., Le leggenda islamica del teschio rediuiuo in una uersione neoaramaica, in
Semitic and Cushitic Studies, eds G. GoloeNsBnc and S. Raz, Weisbaden, 1994, pp.
103-132. The first Islamic reference to the legend of the damned raised up by Christ is
found inThe Diuine Booh (the Etàhi-nd.mé) of the Sufi mystic Farid, ad,-Din (d.. 1220). On
this latter's use of the legend, see: F.A. PorNeccrmru, Il racconto d.i Giongiomé d,i
Faridoddin Attàr e le sue fonti cristiane, in Orientalia Christiana Periodica, 62 (Lgg6),
pp. 89-112 and B. Tonte, La leggenda islamica del teschio red,iuiuo nelle
fonti arabe,Diss
PhD., Università di Torino, 1994. Incidentally, note the resonance of the theme of la
"
morte seconda " in the second typology with the last refrain of the Canticle of the
Creatures,line 13.
75
cfr. Ger,ooRsr, Le'crd,ne qui parle' cit., pp. 227-28L, notes that this theme of the
talking skull also found its way into the French vernacular version of the Vitae patrum,
in at least two tales: Vie des Pères,II, no. xxv (Paren) and III, no. lviii (Crdne),ed. F.
Lncov, Société des Anciens Textes Franqais,Paris, 1993, 1ggg, pp. 49-60 and pp. 210-216,
esp. 213, respectiveiy. Here, the legend represents a third typology that simply attests
to the immutability of the truth proclaimed about salvation in Christ but also gives
witness to the development of the imagery used within the legend. InCrd,ne,the word of
truth which attests to the necessity of believing in Christ that is addressed to Christians
 lou aJa.À. spJoa aq+ FuLvrou{ 'a1 oaT QaTot)J pve al o a7f sn11al aql uaaaloq acuoprcuroc
aq+ lsrsor o+ olqBun 'neg eq1 q8no"rq1 ual?IrÀ{ dpea"rp prol!\ B o1 1r Eurqeelle ,tq oa1
,ro;8ursse1q e pesodtuot srcuurd (g) ro iuqel peq s€^r 11 8uu*ou:1 'a7 unouo.rd leuos.red
aq1 Furppe ',oa1 Qa1n.t)! pue o a! prclr^ oql uoa^qaq acuapouroc aql ?srsor 01 alqeun
'ne;, aq1 q8no;q1 ual+rr1$. ,(pue"rp pro/( € o1 1r Surqce++e dq oar roJ Eursselq e pesoduroc
srcuerd (6) l(Surssalq cruorBv aq+ uI ruroJ lcarro, aq? posn pBr{ oq q8noql uo^a) roJJo
IBrrlBrurrrB.r8 e eperu pu€ '[7] ssorc ar{l q8no"rq1 puB Japun spJo& aq? IIe Sursl;dtuoc
'oa1 "rog Surssalq u pasoduroc srcueJd (r) :suor+Éueldxe alqrssod aaJql aJB aJorIJ rz
'LOZ-qOZ 'dd ''1rc ,CIun ctqdo.t&ouocT,cNrwurg .rJC
sr
'rorlpnJ pa"roldxa aq ol paau olnryD.tp aqlJo aprs osrao aql uo slcrdep
srruBJd +Brrr^. pue uoqrpBJ+ relncq"red sql uoaalaq sIaIIBJEd '+cola aq+ 3o sdot
oq+ pue paurrrBp or{? Jo s8ur.raJ;ns aql q+oq oas uB, lnq IIaq ur Jou ',{Jasrpe.red ur rar{+rau
sr urqsntr\I aq1'.re,roe"row '(Ig-09'ualpd'JJc) +slrr{c aql ssaJuoc puB Fa^uor o+ arrsap aq+
turlsnry oq? uT uo>le1(B +er[+ (((lcoJJnsal ?€ql sJea? oql,,) +rrrraq EJo srea+ oq? sI lr ,peapul
'(eu€llns) rapBal uosBJBS B poapm 'uace.reg e lnq ra^orlaq-uou B 01
1sn[ 1ou palsllJ?uo
sr duourqsa+ aq+ aJar{^\ ualod ur rar{lJnJ dals e ua{B+ s} sF{J, 'ro^arloq-uou e .ue8ed
B sr oq/(Jlas+r flruls aql o? +nq
lsIJrIC o1.ra8uo1 ou pa+sn4ua sr 'er1qe suer?srrr{C-uou pue
LLLoal roJ Surssalq s$I? ur « 01 » pJoz\r aqlJo asn
lroJJocul puB pJBly\>l^.B ot{lJo asuas a>IBIU o} auo sr uaql ,!\oH '(lqll
JDclpauaq snunaoo) uorBVJo SuISSaIq snorrrBJ or{} q a^oqB r(11eerroc 1r
ua?lrr^\ ?snf pEr{ aq asnBraq,@D o^r}BsnccB ar{? }ou puB (?q?D o^rlBp ar{1
so>lB? arp)lpauaq qra^ oq? ?Br{+ IIaa IInJ il\otr{ oq +Br{? ldecxe - roJra uB
qcns 8uu1eu JoJ '?u€qaJaur e Jo uos aq? 'srruerd asncxa dlrseo lq8pu
auo er'urlBrl (?corrocur 'des o1 sI lBr{1) rood arB dar{l roJ crlBrrrolqord
dttt8ttt are so^Iosuaql sproi!\ aql 'ra^orv\oH 'srBIor{JS lsoru r(q paldeaee
Surpee"r prepuels oql sI sIr{J '@l oa7 [n1otfl lDctpauaq snutlaoq:uroql
pEor plnolvi oruos sB (ro)
a7 o a\t lDcLpauaq snuu.aoo,sl +Br{} :luauqrJBd
ar{} Jo apIS osraa or{1 Jo wl uor}cas ur spro^. ar{l o1 dpo sroJar
ooT rorl+orfl roJ Sursselg pollec-os oql uaql 'oa1.rog lou pue uellns aq?
roJ uorlra+ordJo rodBrd € sE popuolur sB^. sraqrunNJo >IooB ar{l ruo4
Sursselq aq? 1€ql -aJar{ Sururnsse rue I sE - sorunsse auo Jr rod
'DInUpqc or{? Jo sra+ordralur
paF^opoq sBr{ lBr{} ualqord llnrgJlp +soru aq? sr slqJJ Laro(l)ab/
sB ua^a rc o(r)aLl sB 'ù ra+?al aq+ sB JIaslI ?JBTIS aql Sursn ,to oaif
sB pEoJ aq 01 'rezrarvroq 'prolr sI{} sI 'nB,L or{+ Jo }JBrls aql ssoJre prolyr
uIl€T E uallrr/r o^Bq uaql ppolrr srruurd ler{l sruaas 1r ,dgeurg
'rar{lorq sIrI roJ op plno, aq
8rF{+ dpo eq1 'd11par ur 'se1vl 11 'dlru"rala IIB roJ lsol aq plnoÀ,t aq pue
olBI oo+ aq ppo^.lr aroJoq orues or{} op ol ruFI roJ roderd e se ,(?slrr{C
Jo ssorc eq1 'ne; B Jo ruroJ or{} q po}uosarda"ry lsuqC aq} Eurssaguoc
sB (IrruBX-IB >IaIBI [ 'puag; srq lcrdap ol lI pasn pue pue8al .repdod
ryz STqCNV ONV S»IVNS trO
242 OF SNAKES,4}/D ANGELS

The most convincing explanation, to my mind, would be to assume

that the word or words through the shaft of the Tau were actually
written first - for a purpose completely extraneous to Leo - and that
the letters « te " belonged (at least initially) to the word written
through the Tau and not to the so-called Blessirug for Leo.
If credible, then what word did Francis write through the Tau after
having finished his drawing of the sultan? And does the Tau function
as the letter « t » or not? Each possible word - fluo, fle(r)o and fle(r)ote
- answers certain questions but poses other problems as well.
Given the various possibilities available to us and following the
suggestion made by John V. Fleming, it seems possible that the most
Iikely word Francis would have added to the drawing was fle(r)ote -
(soon) weep! » or May you (soon) weep! - using the Tau
" You must
<<
"
cross as a functional o t, in the word written.T8 Although the word
fle(r)ote conveniently explains the awkwardness of the /e appended

really correct Latin but close enough to compose a clever blessing for his distressed
friend. Given these three possible explanations, I would prefer the third explanation
whereby the grammatical « error " would aiready have been present on the parchment
(i.e., the o te , was not added by Francis) but accepted as such since it suited well
enough his intended purpose: to give consolation to the troubled friar. This explanation
is reinforced, it seems, by the fact that Francis was insistent on wedging such a blessing
under the right arm of the Tau and attaching it to the word intersecting the Tau cross.
Indeed, he could have more easily written such a blessing right underneath the Aaronic
blessing since at that time there was still ample room for such a phrase in that space.
The fact that he chose not to leads one to believe that another dynamic was operative -
the existence of a word already on the page.
78
But there are two other possibilities. The word o fle(t)o " could be either the
singular 2nd or 3rd person of the same verb flere also in its future imperative
formulation. But again - whom is he addressing in a future moment: the sultan or
someone else? But then, in this instance, the " te " must be considered part of the
appended blessing to Leo, as an incorrect and inexcusable use ofthe accusative. In the
third possibility, the simple word fleo (without incorporating the use of the Tau) would
be a simple indicative statement: n I weep » or even with the added but incorresf, " f,s », I
am weeping for you. One could make a persuasive case that Francis would be saying or,
in fact, praying that his tears on behalf of al-Kamil would release the mercy of the Lord
and prompt the conversion and confession of the Sultan, just like in the vernacular
version of the popular legend. This is, in some respects, the most attractive option,
except for its incorrect use of the word " te " since aII five elements - the Aaronic
blessing, the Tau, the head, the writing and the crude map of the sea - would then
relate directly to al-Kamil himself. One would have to allow Francis to have made a
grammatical error on an obscure word - not an implausible concession - and, just as it
is in the appended biessing to Leo, not have the Tau serve as the letter " t ".
 ',&ou{,(1pn1ce glasruq oaT'sdeq"rad
'ueq1 e"raq uo Suro8 sr aJo{rr Joqlar{^{ Japuoa 01 auo sosne, ?Bq+ ur}Brl ar{+Jo lecueldaaae
ro) osn sno+rrrlaJur oq+ pue Suissalq aI?1II or{1 Jo luauoreld aq1 Jo ssaupr€^\{^re
aq+ sl +I 'IuH roJ r{}oq papuo?ul pBq srau€rd ?Bq? paunss€ dpa>1e1s[u ,oe1 ,eq lBr{? ro
1r 1v\olaq papuedde Sursselq ol+u aql ol dpo 8uu"reJa"r aq,telx oq lBql Euiaarlaq uro4 sn
sepadun +BI{1 spJo.&\ sI{ ul Ja^aoslet{1( Surqlou sr aJaql 'no1aq sB IIaÀ. sE a^oqe Sursselq
aq? ol 8ur"r.raga"r sr ooT ler{1 saunsse dleardd? repBar aq1 qBnoq+[V .., ruooT
V+r-LJ
rqrru ruouor?crpouaq uelsr Ens nueur lrsdr_ras snesrcueJd snleog :[g] uor?Baqdxa p"uq1
"
sI{ q sn sllol oaT lur{,/vr, s?crpuJluo, '.,t1p1uaprcur ,uor1u1e.rd"ra}ur sql ur Burq1o51o,
'aru 01 olqeuorJ.sonb a"rour
"readde - orlsoJce Ja^oIJ e Eurlcn.rlsuoc
sB.&\ srruBJd ler{? uor?ualuoJ slq a{II - srsaql Surrualg ar{l Jo sleadse .ra{lo or
a8essaru larcas s?I - oryncollD s?r uo acuolrs Sururelureru 'Burdoo>I-oJBS
puB uor?elosuoc sIrI JoJ luaIuqcJed durl aq? oarl ua^IF o^Er.{ uar{+
plnolr\ srsuErd 08'ror{+orq urolroJ ar{? roJ Surssalq Jo puH B poln?r+suoe
d1p;em{ru.B o^eq plno,vr 'daam ol IIBo Surlsrxa oq? oluo popuadd€
uorllv\ 'r{cF{1I\ sprolv\ snoruBJ aq} pappB o^Br{ ppoÀ\ srcuBrd 'req1eJ
puB puor4 slr{ sv 'srsrD lEuosrod sF{ r{+Il1\ rulr{ o? oruoc o^Br{ pFolv\
ooT raqlorg ?BrI+ - uBllns ar{+ roJ rederd sq palaldruoc peq srJuBrd
ralJB- lurod sI{} }e sr }I 'd1e>Irl aroru aq} sI orr€uocs ra^ar{3rr{l\
.A?BJ
Surpuadul sF{ roJ urocuo, InJreo? B pu€Jlosturt{ uBlInS ar{+ roJ.rez(e.rd
+ca.Irp ororu B luosardar pporr,t 'puoJas aq? uI .uor?eqrcuoral puB
1r
acBod o1r{}Bd aq+ uBr{} raqlBr por{spoolq o1 qled aql uo anur+uoc plno^\
or.I,/v\ osoql JoJ - suorlrB puB sapnllm€ 'aJIIJo uorsra^uoc B
- uorsra^uoJ
o1 IIBo paqsrn5ue uB luese"rda"r ppo^\ ?l ,lsrg oql uI .sroqunN
ruo# Surssalq aq+ q?I^L dpeerp un8eq uellns or{} Jo JIBr{aq uo .rade.rd
sIr{Jo lred sr qra^ I€nsnun s1r{}Jo asn (srcue.rg ,sasaqloddq q}oq uI
'olBI oo? sBly\ ?I aroJaq ?slrr{C oq} ssoJuoo or{ }Br{}
Surderd 'ue11ns or{+ roJ Surdearvr aq plno^À. Jlaswrq srcueJd 'oueuecs
s${l uI 'ue+Ins oq} o? acuaraJor ur paqddns a1 l€cr}eruruerEun aq1
r{+Irv\ oaTlptott aldurs aroru oq+ sI nBJ or{1q8no"rq1 proi!!. oq} }Br{}
or{1Jo Jo^eJ ur luallln.8"re Surcura.uoc dIIBnba ue o>lEru uB, auo lng ^tor^
'IrruBX-lB {olBI I uellns oq? pue tuBISI lsure8e ?d,(Bg ur aìB+ropun <l1
?noqB ere daql arn+ua^ snorrBJau aql Jo^o daervr o+ lsa^{\ or{1uI srapBal
uBrlsrrr{c o1 eeld pele"redsBxa uE aq 1q3[u ataEf qra^ ar{1 Jo ruroJ
p;n1d arnlnJ oq? ?Br{} oser Eurrur^uoJ E alBrrr plnoc auo l,?xa}uor lBr{1v\
ur puB arn+nJ rBau oql q our?aruos deal!| ol IIEO slql q+I^! Furssa"rppe I
aq sI luor.{^t uar{}'plp or{JI prr\y' i
i;1ao^rle"radrur arn?nJ oqlJo uor}BlnruroJ
arncsqo sll{+ uI ataff qra^ ar{1Jo ruroJ prnld oql uÀ\ou{ o^Br{ srcuBrd
plnolr\ :uorlsanb IBerlrJe B sasrBJ '.razrazuoq ,os1e }I ,o 01 (Ja+BJ)J O}uO
C,Z S1flCNV ONV SS)TVNS ,4O
 244 OF SNEXNS AND ANGELS

- so intimate had been the experience of the stigmatization vision and

the fruit of that mystical encounter now put to parchment.

CoNcr,usroN

If this reconstruction of events and analysis of the texts are fairly

accurate, then we can make the following frnal observations.
In l2L9 F rancis had gathered the friars in Chapter and told them
that he and several companions were going to Eg)rpt in the company of
a contingent of the Fifth Crusade. When asked why he was going to a
place where he might lose his life, he told them in what is sometimes
-
called his " Testament of lz].g " - that those who were commonly
considered their enemies (inimici), those whom Christian society and
especially the Church have told them insistently were the sworn
enemies of Christ, the infidel par excellence, who could hand them
over to punishment and even death: such people, the Muslims in
Egypt, were in fact their « amici " (" their friends
").81 But if Francis
considered the Muslims amici, it was not in the sense that they were
emotionally friendly to each other, had a personal bond as friends, but,
more profoundly, that he considered them to be - knew them to be
-
his fratres (his brothers). Francis told his friars that he was going to
Egypt not only to preach this message but to manifest it in his own life
and actions, even if it might cost him his life. This was the vision he
had dedicated his whole life to living.
This profound statement was but the logical and bold extension,
the implication as it were, of what had been so indelibly revealed to
him at the moment of his conversion in 1206. Led among the lepers

81RNB 23, 1-4: Let all the brothers

" attend to what the Lord says: 'Love your
enemies and do good to those who hate you'(Mt 5,44). For even the Lord Jesus Christ,
whose footsteps we follow (cfr. 1 Peter 2,21), called his betrayer'friend' and freely gave
himself up to those who crucified him. They are our friends, therefore, all those who
unjustly inflict on us trials, anxieties, shame and injuries, suffering and torture,
martyrdom and death. We should love them greatly, for out of what they inflict on us we
have eternal life ". It is David Flood who has originated the term * Testament of 1219 ,
to describe this text. However, whereas he believes the entire chapter constitutes the
farewell address, it is my contention that only the first four verses ought to be
considered part of such a message. The rest seems more consistent with what might be
the core of the resignation sermon given by Francis to his friars in Septemb er 1220. Cft.
D. Fr,ooo and T. MaruRe, The Birth of a Mouement,Chicago, 1925, p. 9b.
 '?ua^a aql ?noqe +unoare ?ue+Jodurr lsour aql '69 oue1a3 Z ur punoJ €llarueg
1B suor+ce pue acuasald ,srcue"rg Jo ?unocre aq? Jo uoqrsodxa 1u€{IIJq E sr alrr+Je
orlJ 'l,l-89 'dd '(ggOt) V 'qoaatpa141 apaq)S ur'DTDtcotc alutnb Dl a rclssv.p o)snuori
'rrurvro4 'f Jo aler?Je +uallaJxa aq? oos 'apesn"r3 r{+JI.{ aq+ ol uorlrsoddo.srcue"rg u6
,,
'
@9-6r' dd'aunloa sFIl ul'pue) ?Z-g'dd'(IOOZ) 1' 79' pto3 aqg
ur 'ruerluelruaod aJac€d / acuDuad oO oJ'olvsn3 ',f 'IN :^tou aas '1ae[qns s]Il uO ee
'(82-I 'dd 'aurnloa s1t{+ q'pue) 7T-0I 'dsa 'gg-1 pue '(0I 'aJIT ?IrIdS)
'OOOZ'11111 'ernlua^Euog '1g'suocstcuoJi ,C7tng aql Suouo tcuotau4l puo uo1?rasul
't777uap1 :an1sn7 to sramolpl anq vt'(uorsran pasraeg) plroful aql u't srrl,ol uD)stl,uDq
n?uaq?nv ua nt q)roas aq7 :aca7d1aqrDilI to a?olttutaH apr+re dur ur palelnsdecua
pue (69-rg 'dd'I raldeqc 'satqtg sal zaqc noanod nD uol?Dlluouar n7) uorlelrassrp dru
ur rsrssvJo sreueJdJo luaruleoJl dur;o qloq luaunSJ€ IBJlueJ E eJer{ a1e1n1rdeca"r 1 .,
ara.&\ dr.{+ puv 'uIF{ po{colu d",{l :asuodsar (srarplos ar{J 'B++oIurBO
+e IIIuE)'I-IB {aIeW uB?Ins ar{+ Jo durec ar{1 uo +InBSSe popua+ur
Jlaql ruoJJ srap€snrc ar{} uJn} o} paldluonB }srl} aH 78'apBSnJc
r{lJl,rt or{1 Jo paqspoolq panur}uoc ag} asoddo o} 6IZT +dd8g ol
+uo1v\ srcuBrd rod 'aJII (srcu€Jd ur s+ua^a Eurpaaccns oqJ. SurpuelsJapun
JoJ suorlecgrruer punogiord seq - suerrolsrq apBSnJc ?soru Jo acrlou
aql sodecsa r{rrr{.Iy\ - punor8{req sIr{J 'orer{s o? pue lno o^q o+ 6IZI
ur puBT f,IoH or{l ol }uo1y\ srar{lorq srq pue srauerd ?Br{rÀ sr sorn}Bam
IIB Jo ,(Iu"ra1e"r; IBsra^run aql Jo - uorsr^ sF{} - o8€ssaur sH.L
e8'sror{lorq slq puE srruBJd
Jo Suqceord ler+ua+ruod ar{l Jo lua?uoc Ier?uassa aql pue+sropun
o? sr oruEuad dq suBaru ar{ lBr{^r. puelsropun o? puv'd1rura1e4 uBrunq
ar{} Jo spuoq aq} ornldnr o? ua}Borr{? leql sopn}p}€ pue suor}re osoq}
IIB ruo4 JIoSOUO aruElsrp o+ sI ocuBuod op oJ '.ocuBuod op o1, ue8aq
oq leql sfES aq uor{^. suBaru ar{ ?Br{^r, pu€lsropun o1 sr urs dq sueaur
srJuBJd 1€r{^À puB?sJopun o? '"renoa.ro141 'z8,uIS, soln+r}suo3 (srruBJd JoJ
'+er{aa sr - sJor{?o Jo e8eluerrpesrp aql ol ouo gio e8elue^pe alerrr"rd aq1
roJ sJor{+o lsure8e pue ro^oJlasouoJo Surceld aql q8norql'"reru.od;o asn
o^rsnqe pue a^r?rnrlsap eq1 q8no"rql 'paqspoolq pue acualorrr q8norql
- pop ,(q palee"rc dlrure+Br; uerunq parces sIr{T Jo spuoq aq+ §Iearq
lBr{+ 8uqry("razra 'a"ro;araq.L 'sEuraq uerunq :sarn?Barc Jo ?lnagJrp ?sour
osoq+ .(lprcadso 'sornleorc IIB 3o .(lura+Br; I€sro^run aq? Jo |q31su1
.srcuerd 'e"raq.uasla pa11€, a^Br{ I ?Br{^r 'sI sF{.L 'Joq?oue o} ouo sJalsrs
puB sJar{?oJq 'saloJos p satLo{ a.Ia.&\ 'uorldecxa }noq?rr![ 'IIB +Br{}
iuorlerrps Jo acer8 aru€s aql po^rocoJ pue r{Uo1$. pue dlru8rp arues eq1
r{ll1v\ po/v\opua aro^\ uaruo.{!\ puB uoru IIE lBr{1 lpoc ro+Barc orues oq}
JO SoJnIBAJC OJOIY\ uor?docxa ?noqlrÀ\ uAuro^t puE uaru IIB lBr{+ 'dlaureu
:oJII sI{ go lqErsur leurprec a.{+ o+ aruoc per{ srruetg 'rsrssv oprs?no
9yz STqCNV ONV SSJTVNS ,TO
246 OF SNAKES,AI'rD ANGELS

roundly defeated. Then, during the ensuing weeks, he and a

companion, Brother Illuminato, went across enemy lines into the
camp of the Muslims. And after some initial problems, they entered
into a respectful dialogue with the sultan and his spiritual counselors.
Risking danger and possibly even death, he and his companion lived
out their vision of the universal fraternity of all creatures, reaching
out in dialogue to the one considered most inimical to it. The three
then parted amicably - a profound exchange having occurred and a
lasting bond having been established.
In early August 1224, accompanied by several companions,
Francis would have gone to La Verna with a deeply aggrieved spirit
but with the intention of doing a " Lent of St. Michael " in supplication
to God for the deteriorating situation between Christianity and Is1am,
and as a fervent prayer for the protection of his friend, Malek
aI-KamiI. And it does not seem insignificant that he went there in the
company of Illuminato, his companion in Damietta.ss It is probably no
exaggeration to posit that Francis would have gone there disturbed
and even confused about the values that had been revealed to him by
God through his encounter with the lepers: values which had
consistently shaped the contours of his whole life; values which had
inexorably led him to adopt a posture of radical non-violence in
relationship to the human community, so much in need of further
healing and not further destruction. And yet the Church of his day,
backed by immense military force, insisted on another way, impelled
by a different set of values.
In the course of this intense period of fasting, on or around the
Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, inwardly tormented, F rancis
entered into a profound meditation upon the mystery of the passion of
Jesus Christ or, more precisely, the image of Christ lifted up on the
cross as a sign of healing for the human race, drawn from the Gospel of
John 3 (or John 72). This meditation became transformed into
mystical ecstasy in which he himself experienced - as the author of
t}ne Fioretti pttts it - the love which Christ felt for humanity in giving
himself on the cross and the pain that was an integral part of that act

85
Illuminato knew the importance of those events in Damietta and with the sultan
and may have been the one - the only one - who kept alive the meaning of those events
for Francis in his conversations with Bonaventure in preparation for the Legenda
maior.
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248 OF SNAKES AND ANGELS

sacred community must be repented of; that this vision was indeed
true and trustworthy; that it was, in fact, salvific. F ar from having
wasted his life attempting to live out this radical vision, Francis found
himself validated by God on La Verna as a truly evangelical man, an
authentic obedient servant, faithful to the values of Jesus Christ, and
him crucified.
If Christ upon the cross is the quintessential example of the
non-violent Jesus, the cross of Christ is also what it means to be minor
et subditus omnibus (minor and subject to all): that bedrock posture of
Francis and his movement which is found articulated throughout the
opuscula from the first layers of the Early Rule; to his instruction on
the manner of exercising authority among the brothers; to the
behavior of those friars sent on mission among the Saracens; to the
heart-rending advice given to the aggrieved minister in the Letter to u
Minister; to the frnal lines of the Salutatioru of the Virtues where true
obedience is once again compared to the non-violent Jesus on the
cross, refusing to reply in violence to violence and injustice, even to the
point of death on a cross. And yet, paradoxically and scandalously,
only in such a way will the human heart and the world be healed.
The seraphic vision, therefore, confrrmed Francis in his deepest
existential and spiritual convictions. It frlled him with great and
abiding solace and at the same time generated within him ecstatic
praise to God for having reconfrrmed this in the depths of his soul,
indeed in his very flesh. This is what led him to give praise to God in
the simplest of terms, in the mode of his Islamic brothers and sisters
and his newly discovered frater, for whom he had been praying. For
even in death, if one is faithful to the values of love manifested by and
incarnated in the Crucifred One, his meditation now assured him, will
the healing of the human race be achieved.
La Verna thus joins Damietta to Assisi; and Assisi to all who would
Iive the evangelical life of peace and reconciliation. But even more: La
Verna turns one of the greatest Christian mythic images on its very
head. For contrary to the story of the sign given to Constantine in the
clouds above, assuring him of military victory over his enemies
through the sword and resulting in the ultimate advance of
Christianity in the western world, Francis was given a vastly different
sign - a sign not of violence but of love unto death - lifted up above
him for the healing of the world (East and West), indeed all of human
history. For only " in hoc signo vinces »: only in this sign, Francis was
assured on La Verna, will you ever truly conquer.