Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- PART I Francis of Assisi
- 1 Francis and the Franciscan movement (1181/2–1226)
- 2 The writings of Francis
- 3 The Rule and life of the Friars Minor
- 4 Francis and his hagiographical tradition
- 5 Voluntary simplicity: the attitude of Francis towards learning in the early biographies
- 6 Francis and the historiographical tradition in the order
- 7 Francis and Clare and the emergence of the Second Order
- 8 Francis and the encounter with the sultan (1219)
- 9 Francis and creation
- PART II The heritage of Francis of Assisi
- Index
8 - Francis and the encounter with the sultan (1219)
from PART I - Francis of Assisi
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 November 2011
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- PART I Francis of Assisi
- 1 Francis and the Franciscan movement (1181/2–1226)
- 2 The writings of Francis
- 3 The Rule and life of the Friars Minor
- 4 Francis and his hagiographical tradition
- 5 Voluntary simplicity: the attitude of Francis towards learning in the early biographies
- 6 Francis and the historiographical tradition in the order
- 7 Francis and Clare and the emergence of the Second Order
- 8 Francis and the encounter with the sultan (1219)
- 9 Francis and creation
- PART II The heritage of Francis of Assisi
- Index
Summary
On 27 October 1986 in the basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli John Paul II spoke to an audience gathered for the historic World Day of Prayer for Peace:
I have chosen this town of Assisi as the place for our Day of Prayer for peace because of the particular significance of the holy man venerated here – St Francis – known and revered by so many throughout the world as a symbol of peace, reconciliation, and brotherhood. Inspired by his example, his meekness and humility let us dispose our hearts for prayer in true internal silence. Let us make this Day an anticipation of a peaceful world.
Was the pope correct in choosing Francis as the model of peace, reconciliation and fraternity? Have many contemporary devotees of Francis been right about him and the values celebrated in ‘the peace prayer’ attributed to him? Was Francis a forerunner of modern-day ecumenical and interfaith dialogue? Was his primary intent to be martyred – an objective left unfulfilled in his encounter with the sultan? Did he approve of the Crusades at the time of his visit to the sultan? The answers to these important questions have serious consequences for our understanding of Francis. If the last question is answered in the affirmative, for example, how does this affect our image of Francis as peaceful and compassionate? Is this a case of revisionist history and anachronistic thinking? The earliest report of this encounter comes from the writings of Jacques de Vitry in 1220:
What is clear is that Francis crossed the line between the Muslim forces and the crusaders in the autumn of 1219. Aspiring to convert the Muslims, he was able to preach, at least for a few days, to Sultan al-Malik-al-Kâmal, and he returned to the crusader camp safe and unharmed. There are controversies about this encounter. Why did Francis go to Egypt? What actually happened in the sultan's court? What were the later effects of this meeting on Francis's life and writings? Did he support or disapprove of the fifth Crusade that was taking place in 1219?
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- Information
- The Cambridge Companion to Francis of Assisi , pp. 127 - 142Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011
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