Clare of Assisi

: Image and reality

Abstract

This dissertation examines the life of Saint Clare of Assisi exclusively through
consultation of the early primary source material both written and iconographic.
The purpose of this re-examination of her life is to establish her place as an
historical figure in a thirteenth-century context grounded in such facts as can be
gleaned from these texts. The written sources used fall into two distinct
categories. They are those written by others that have a bearing on Clare and
those written by Clare herself. In the first in instance, they comprise a wide
combination of genres. These are: - papal documents, which include Clare's
canonization process; epistolary works, comprising letters written to Clare by
cardinals and pope Gregory IV; and hagiography, which ranges from the two
vitae of Francis by Thomas of Celano, The Assisi Compilation, Bonaventure's
Legenda Maior and a verse and prose legend dedicated to Clare. Clare's writings
consist of various epistolary works, a Testament and her Rule, named a Forma
Vita. All these written sources have a terminus ante quem of 1260, the date of
Francis's definitive vita, Bonaventure's Legenda Maior. The visual material
comprises frescoes, panel painting, glass, illuminated manuscripts and some
architecture, in short any significant representations of Clare up to the period
1360. The later terminus ante quem enables significant works to be included such
as the final stage of the decoration of her basilica in Assisi, iconography taking
longer to evolve than vitae. In the final analysis, it is evident that at the time of
her death Clare was seen as an important figure not only within the Franciscan
Movement but also within Christian world. This contrasts with the obscurity into
which she has faded today except within the confines of the Franciscan
community.

Date of Award	19 Jan 2011
Original language	English
Supervisor	Carolyn Muessig (Supervisor)