A Christian Remedy in a Climate of Fear: Francesco Bernadone, the War with Perugia, and Conversion

Abstract

IN A 1957 LECTURE, medieval historian Christopher Brooke said, No medieval saint has been as popular in the last two generations as St. Francis; and popular, not only with Roman Catholics, but with men and women of every denomination and of none. (1) He goes on to attribute this popularity to the publication of Paul Sabatier's Vie de S. Francois d'Assise in 1893. While there is no comparable publication today, the figure of Francis of Assisi remains popular. During a recent visit to a big box retail outlet this author noticed plastic outdoor-display versions of the saint available in three different sizes. While the modern fascination with Francis is closely tied to his perceived association with animals and the environment, there is something to be gained a reexamination of this iconic character. By considering not only his teachings but also the setting of Francesco Bernadone's life one uncovers a uniquely Christian remedy for a society locked in a climate of fear and change. I. The Setting Located on a rocky hilltop in the Spoleto valley in central Italy, late twelfth-century Assisi afforded a young man all the temptations of medieval urban life. While the modern attraction of both Perugia and Assisi is their picturesque beauty, as hilltop citadels their strategic command of the valley speaks to their once competitive and violent posturing. Although neighboring Perugia had eclipsed it for two centuries, the year 1200 proud Assisi was preparing for a showdown to establish dominance. The climate was particularly hostile since Perugia had interfered in an internal struggle between Assisi's popular and noble classes. Assisi wanted revenge. The civic atmosphere was, therefore, one of retribution. Born into this climate of civic pride bolstered a growing economy in 1181, Francis was the child of a wealthy textile tradesman, Pietro di Bernardone (whose family came from Lucca), and his Provencal wife, Pica. (2) From a young age his father instilled in Francis the concept that material possessions were the measure of existence. It is no surprise then that he was a greedy youth and that this greed manifested itself even on a civic level. In 1202 Assisi formally launched a war against Perugia. Francis, the sources tell us, as a personification of Assisi's vices of pride, revenge, greed, and vanity, happily stepped forward to fight. Given Francis's later advocacy of peace, his contemporary biographers are not only telling a story, but also teaching a lesson. The conflict went beyond mere rivalry. Larger Perugia's loyalties lay with the papacy while smaller Assisi was allied with the Holy Roman Emperor. It was the classic smaller emperor-allied Ghibelline city versus a larger papal-allied Guelf city--a situation that encouraged violence throughout Italy in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as the unity of the Holy Roman Empire was beginning to crack. Warfare between Italian towns such as Assisi and Perugia was almost incessant. When small towns were at war it was not uncommon for all men over the age of fourteen to render military service. (3) Friedrich Heer provides an appropriate description of medieval society. He writes that its daily life was warfare, unrest, tumult, hatred, envy and the lust for power. (4) It is often easy for the modern student of history to forget the inherent violence of medieval Europe. This instability was partially due to weak centralized authority. Caught in the crosshairs between vacillating loyalty either to Church or emperor, the communities of the Spoleto valley were particularly prone to violence. Because of the constant conflict, the fighting classes became increasing brutal the tenth century. In fact, John McNeill suggests that after the tenth century terrorism was widespread. He states that the soldiers fought by plundering and ravaging the unarmed peasantry and devastating the lands they tilled, rather than in honest battle with foemen worthy of his steel. …