DAL SALMO 148 AL CANTICO DI SAN FRANCESCO

Abstract

The Canticle of the Sun by Saint Francis of Assisi has been rightly defined as a psalm writ- ten in Vulgar Latin. In fact, the text was composed as a morning prayer meant to be sung together with the Psalms. Actually, many researchers have emphasized its resemblance to the Psalm 148, Laudate Dominum, composed after the reconstruction of the Temple of Jerusa- lem. In this paper, however, the focus is on the differences between the original source text dating from the 6th century B.C., known to Saint Francis in the Latin version translated by Saint Jerome, and the text in question, written in Vulgar Latin and originating from the 13th century. The medieval author’s description of the cosmos conveys the influence of rationalism that was spreading throughout the western civilization, which is why the poet offers a rather orderly and concise list of beings, grouped according to the fundamental natural elements: air, fire, water and earth. On the intellectual and expressive plane, the difference between the two texts concerns the symbolism, because of which the sun is mentioned first as it brings the Creator’s «significatione». On the moral and theological plane, what stands out is the evangel- ical viewpoint which influences Francis to praise forgiveness and bodily death, trusting in the immortality of the soul, a topic that had not been considered in the Psalm. These observations are based on the analysis of the particulars of Saint Francis’ text.