R2P2 Yuval Gabay My Text and I

Описание: “I tell you, brother, that this was and is my original and my final intention (intentio) and will, if
my brothers would have only believed me, that none of the brothers ought to have anything
save habit, as our Rule allows us…” St Francis of Assisi is reported to have answered brother
Richer, who asked whether clerical friars may be permitted to have books. This account is
taken from a collection known as Compilatio Assisiensis, found in the early 14th century
manuscript Perugia 1046. Francis’s answer combines his intentio as a person with the intentio
of the Franciscan Rule, written by him. Though the founder’s own testament, composed near
his death, strictly forbade interpretations of the Rule, the century that followed his death saw an
ongoing clash between different interpretations and arguments over the position of the text in
relation to its author. This controversy involved different factions within the Franciscan Order
as well as Papal authorities.
In my paper, I will look into authorship in Compilatio Assisiensis within the context of the
representation of the Rule as both an authoritative text and an object of interpretation. These
issues are manifested by presenting Francis’s view of his authority as a person versus that of
the text through quoting Francis, and by describing his writing process, depicting Christ as a
co-author of the Rule. I argue that these stories participate in contemporary debates within and
outside the order and display a complex understanding of text and interpretation in the early
Franciscan movement and in its contemporary theological discourse.

Presented at the Text and Textuality 2021 online conference, 15-16 July 2021.
https://texttextualitydurham.wordpres...