William R. Cook

Machiavelli in Context

The World's Greatest Churches

The Catholic Church

St. Augustine's Confessions

"My task . . . is to rely as much as possible on both written and visual sources, although I obviously must consider the discoveries and insights of modern scholarship, in order to present Francis of Assisi as a major figure in the mystical tradition. This means I will not be much concerned with Francis as the founder of a religious order. I will not present a detailed biography, although the first chapter provides a general overview in order to make the more detailed discussions of his spirituality more intelligible. Rather than attempt to discuss all texts by and about Francis of a mystical nature, I shall instead focus on six elements of his life and spirituality--his conversion; his relationship to the created world; the creation of the Christmas crib at Greccio; the role of learning; the relationship between the active and contemplative life; and his stigmatization at LaVerna in 1224, two years before his death. I believe that a detailed discussion and analysis of these aspects of Francis's life will best introduce the reader to Francis of Assisi." --from the Introduction

The Way of Poverty and Humility

Francis of Assisi

Ronald B. Herzman

The Medieval World View, Third Edition, presents the presuppositions of medieval society in a systematic fashion by integrating brief, self-contained selections from primary texts and carefully captioned photographs into a narrative of the medieval world and its foundations.

An Introduction

The Medieval World View

My task . . . is to rely as much as possible on both written and visual sources, although I obviously must consider the discoveries and insights of modern scholarship, in order to present Francis of Assisi as a major figure in the mystical tradition. This means I will not be much concerned with Francis as the founder of a religious order. I will not present a detailed biography, although the first chapter provides a general overview in order to make the more detailed discussions of his spirituality more intelligible. Rather than attempt to discuss all texts by and about Francis of a mystical nature, I shall instead focus on six elements of his life and spirituality--his conversion; his relationship to the created world; the creation of the Christmas crib at Greccio; the role of learning; the relationship between the active and contemplative life; and his stigmatization at LaVerna in 1224, two years before his death. I believe that a detailed discussion and analysis of these aspects of Francis's life will best introduce the reader to Francis of Assisi.--from the Introduction

William R. Cook

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