Assisi
About this date: 1223 dates the approved Rule, not Francis's birth, the city's foundation, or the first gathering of his followers.
Assisi is associated with Francis and a mendicant movement combining Gospel-shaped poverty, work, preaching, and care. The approved Rule of 1223 supplies a precise institutional text, distinct from later devotional stories about Francis.
Historical context
The medieval mendicant setting differs from both an isolated hermitage and the later worldwide Franciscan family. A founding rule is evidence for an ideal and institution, not proof that every member always fulfilled it.
Key points
- The Rule concerns the life of the Friars Minor, not every form of Christian monasticism.
- Its requirements for work and care of sick brothers complicate a reduction of Franciscan poverty to picturesque homelessness.