Francis of Assisi: The Life of a Restless Saint

An award-winning historian reconstructs the life of Francis of Assisi, uncovering the man behind the myths   “Refreshing. . . . Complex, multilayered, and ambitious.”—Costica Bradatan, Times Literary Supplement   One of the most famous figures in Christian history, Francis of Assisi (1181/82–1226) was revered as a miracle worker during his life and quickly canonized after his death. He has inspired generations of Christians and other spiritual seekers, from medieval ascetics to 1960s hippies and modern environmentalists. The “poverello” wrote poems praising the sun, moon, and stars, spoke to the birds, and—so the story goes—even tamed a wolf. But what do we know for sure about who he was, and what is simply legend?   Drawing on centuries of scholarship, Volker Leppin pieces together fragments of Francis’s life story to find a seeker who never reached his destination, a man whose extraordinary charisma drew others in yet who was uncomfortable in the spotlight. Amazingly, Francis stayed within the fold of the church while offering a new and radical vision of Christianity that proved wildly popular.   Leppin’s Francis of Assisi sets Francis’s inner emotional and spiritual world against a broader historical background to show how the message of this inspiring and often vexing medieval saint continues to resonate in our contemporary world.

About the Author :
Volker Leppin is Horace Tracy Pitkin Professor of Historical Theology at Yale Divinity School. Rhys S. Bezzant is Principal of Ridley College in Melbourne. He translated Volker Leppin’s Martin Luther: A Late Medieval Life.

Review :
“Volker Leppin’s Francis of Assisi . . . maneuver[s] constantly between hagiography and history, legend and fact, heaven and Earth, miracles and—what’s the opposite of miracles? Leppin comes not to debunk but rather to discover in what fashion those early, physics-defying accounts of Francis, the tales told within the blast radius of his actual presence, might be understood as true.”—James Parker, The Atlantic “Refreshing. . . . Complex, multilayered, and ambitious.”—Costica Bradatan, Times Literary Supplement “Leppin does a fine job of interrogating the sources. . . . he is meticulous in trying to sort myth from fact. . . . The result is often illuminating.”—Michael McGirr, The Australian “Francis is a figure whose legacy continues to capture the popular imagination in 21st century Europe, and this volume will go a long way towards grounding his true legacy on the bedrock of sound historiography and informed empathetic scholarship.”—Andrew Roycroft, Irish Times “A lively retelling.”—Lynne Mc Neil, Life & Work “Leppin’s biography of Francis of Assisi is refreshingly modest, extraordinarily well written, and captures so much of the fascination we still have for this exceptional man from the Middle Ages. That is quite an achievement.”—Ulrich Ruh, Zeitzeichen “In this important work, Volker Leppin combines biographical zeal with a nonpartisan search for historical and theological truth. His unhagiographical Francis-vita is a factual and meaningful account constructed from fragments. Constructive doubt and deconstruction contribute to its originality and persuasive force.”—Krijn Pansters, general editor, Franciscan Studies “Beneath the filtered sources that bear witness to the biography of this saint, Leppin finds fragments of a man rebuilding himself, after a terrible break with his father, around the pursuit of a mystical fusion of self with Christ. This is Francis as known through his first admirers, sensitively reconstructed, thoughtfully narrated, and compelling in every detail still.”—Christopher Ocker, author of The Hybrid Reformation: A Social, Cultural, and Intellectual History of Contending Forces