Creating Clare of Assisi: Female Franciscan Identities in Later Medieval Italy »

Lezlie S. Knox, Ph.D. (1999) in Medieval Studies, University of Notre Dame, is Assistant Professor of History at Marquette University. She has published extensively on Clare of Assisi and the Franciscan sisters during the Middle Ages.

Drawing upon the writings of medieval women, this book distinguishes the historical figure of Clare of Assisi from the uses made of her spiritual legacy in debates over the role of women in the Franciscan Order in later medieval Italy.

List of Maps

List of Abbreviations

Introduction The Friars and Sisters 1

Ch. 1 Clare and the Poor Sisters of San Damiano 19

Ch. 2 The Order of Saint Clare 57

Ch. 3 Beyond Clare: A Franciscan Centered Order 87

Ch. 4 The Clarisses and Observant Reform 123

Ch. 5 Writing Female Franciscan Identity 157

Conclusion: The True Daughters of Francis and Clare 187

Bibliography 191

Index 215