The “Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi” is a collection of stories about the Saint. The manuscript is divided into 53 short chapters and was completed in the 14th century by an anonymous Italian writer. Some of the stories in the books could possibly be legends, while others might be true. Most of them are about the miracles that took place at the monastery in Italy where St. Francis lived.
St. Francis wanted his life to be as similar as possible to Jesus’s earthly life by living in purposeful poverty, becoming a beggar, and preaching to crowds of people. Similar to Jesus, Francis had followers who travelled with him. In contrast, Francis often faked madness out of humility, which led some to consider him crazy, while others believed he had immense wisdom. Francis even told one of his followers, Brother Leo, that he himself was not a pious man and he was evil.
Teaching that poverty is the most holy thing someone can embrace, Francis also stated that suffering injustice for Christ’s sake was also Godly. Saint Francis preached sermons, had visions, and performed miracles on sick and disabled people. Monks known as Franciscans came to live in poverty with St. Francis and serve God.
During the Fifth Crusade in 1219, the Pope sent Francis to Egypt in an attempt to persuade the Sultan to convert to Christianity, and according to this book, he succeeded. Another story states that St. Francis cured a leper of his disease, but the leper died two weeks later. On his way to heaven, the leper spoke with Saint Franics through his prayers. On another occasion three robbers attempted to plunder the monastery, but Saint Francis converted them through his words. The collection claims that Saint Francis could read people’s minds and so he often prayed to God to help other monks achieve their prayers.
The Fransican monks were holy men who lived in poverty, giving them more grace than any other monastic order at the time. Francis and his followers could work miracles and had divine wisdom. This influential Saint taught that the way to heaven was by faith along with good works, humility, and chastity.
European borders at the start of the 14th Century.
In 1308, Edward II became king of England and proceeded to let the government fall into the hands of dishonorable people while he devoted himself to pleasure. Edward II was deposed for this in 1326, and was murdered the following year. Consequently, his 15 year old son, Edward III was crowned king and it was under his reign that parliament was first used. At this time, the king had the authority to summon or dissolve parliament, but he did not have the right to change a law passed by the assembly.
John Wyclif (1320-1384) was a priest and professor at Oxford University and was one of the first people to promote the idea of predestination, which would later be pushed by reformationists like John Calvin. Wyclif stated that all Christians are priests, someone in a state of sin should lose all their rights, and a church or priest owning property defies the teachings of Christ. A party inside the English parliament adopted Wyclif’s teachings and aimed to forcefully take property from churches, monasteries, and clergy. Wyclif urged that the Church of England separate from the Catholic Church. After the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381, the government abandoned support for Wyclif.
John Wyclif.
In France, King Phillip IV was succeeded by his son Louis X, who died in 1316, leaving his brother Phillip V as monarch. Some rival factions tried to elect Louis X’s four-year-old daughter as Queen, but they were ruled against by Phillip V’s supporters. Phillip V died without a son in 1322, which led to his brother Charles IV being installed as king.
Ever since William the Conquerer invaded England in 1066, English kings had controlled portions of Northern France. During the 13th century, France had taken back much of this territory. Both sides claimed the Duchy of Flanders (modern-day Belgium), while there was also a dispute over Gascony. After French king Charles IV died without an heir in 1328, English king Edward III claimed the French throne for England. Phillip VI of France contested Edward who accepted the loss, but later tried to take France again in 1337. Eventually, Phillip VI and Edward III declared war on each other, starting the Hundred Years War.
English victory at the Battle of Crecy, August 26, 1346.
Although the English were outnumbered two to one (30,000 to 15,000) they defeated the French at the Battle of Crecy in 1346, inflicting heavy casualties. In the early stages of the war, there were many English victories and England made significant gains in Northern France. At the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, the English destroyed half of the French army and captured their king, John the Good.
France’s new king, Charles V, slowly pushed the English back slowly over the next 50 years and reduced them to small holdouts in Northern France. However, Charles V’s successor, Charles VI “The Mad” (r. 1380-1422), reduced France to infighting and civil strife. A second phase of the war started in the early 15th century and English king Henry V won at the Battle of Agincourt, where the English were again heavily outnumbered (8,000-25,000) but managed to kill 8,000 Frenchmen while only taking 600 casualties. After this major victory, the Burgundians allied with the English, who had taken most of Northern France by 1428.
Joan of Arc leading French troops at the Siege of Orleans.
The English army made it all the way to the city of Orleans in central France, which they besieged for 6 months. The French, commanded by Joan of Arc, broke the blockade and destroyed the English army in 1429. In 1453, a peace treaty ended the war, and the English only retained the city of Calais in far Northern France.
Pope Urban VI.
Meanwhile, there was a call for the Pope and the cardinals to become Italian or “Roman.” The cardinals agreed to elect an Italian Pope, Urban VI, who was usually known for his even temperament, yet randomly denounced Church officials and even assaulted one. Therefore, the cardinals chose a French Pope, Clement VII to replace him, but Urban refused to abdicate, which started the Western Schism. After more than 30 years, the Catholic Church was reunited after the Council of Constance (1414-1418) and the election of Pope Martin V. The Western Schism damaged the unity and image of the Church, and lessened the Pope’s power.
Thomas Aquinas was one of the most important philosophers and theologians of the Middle Ages and still greatly influences Catholic theology to this day. He is known for using reason, instead of faith to prove God’s existence.
Written in the 13th Century, the “Quinque Viae,” meaning “Five Ways,” used five arguments based on reason to prove the existence of God. Unmoved Mover, the first way, stated that the universe could not continue to exist, and change could not occur without God keeping it going and being a source of change. According to the second way, everything in the universe has a source and is thus an effect of that source, if a given event occurs, then it is the result of a previous related event. Aquinas called this universal causation. His third way called contingency, added that there are certain things which are possible and possible not to be, if everything is contingent and capable of going out of existence, nothing would exist now. Therefore, there must be something – a higher power that is imperishable and necessary: God. Degree, the Fourth Way listed by Aquinas, asserted that there are certain things which vary in degree of “goodness,” i.e. some things in the world are better than others like, healthy versus sick, alive versus dead, tall versus short. Hence, there must be something which is best and most true that judges and gives goodness. This too is God, who causes good in all else. The Fifth and final reason told by Saint Thomas Aquinas was cause or ends, meaning that various objects which lack intelligence still behave in regular or predictable ways, this cannot be due to chance since then they would have unpredictable results. So their behavior must be set by someone or something, as it cannot be by itself since it is not intelligent. Again, God is the One setting their behavior.
Reason and rhetoric were the main tools used by Aquinas to prove not only God’s existence but also his divine attributes. Around the same time the Quinque Viae was published, Aquinas asserted five of God’s divine attributes. 1: There is only one God. 2: God never changes. 3: God is all powerful, afterall, how could He give powers to others while not possessing them Himself. 4: Since humans have intellect and will, God also possesses them. 5: Finally, God is perfect, 100% divine, and all-knowing with no negative features and no room for improvement.
