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The Medieval Church · c. 1237–1250
The Sacred Exchange between Saint Francis and Lady Poverty
Sacrum Commercium
Anonymous
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What it is
Francis climbs a mountain to court Lady Poverty, who recounts her history from Eden through the desert fathers and is finally given a meal of scraps on the bare ground.
Why it lasted
The most beautiful expression of the Franciscan ideal, written as the order was already arguing about what poverty meant.
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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