Page 7 of 9Original Research
city walls. Francis confronted the wolf, scolded it for its past crimes for which it should be punished. However, instead of punishment, after leading him into the city, he forges a pact between the wolf and the inhabitants, namely that the wolf should refrain from tormenting them and that they should feed him (Sorrell 1988:213). One feels almost compelled to add ‘and they lived happily ever after’. Even when the wolf died, he was buried in a ceremony, and a statue was erected in his memory (Hooper & Palmer 1992:81). What is interesting about this anecdote is that the medieval mind was quite willing to ascribe morality or moral responsibility to animals but hesitant to ascribe to an animal a ‘soul’, a unique human quality (Armstrong 1973:203).[1] The point of the wolf story is once again to highlight and enhance the saint’s status of being equipped with a divinely derived power over nature. Furthermore, it symbolises the dream of complete reconciliation with nature, a return to the idyllic ‘Earthly Paradise’ (Armstrong 1973:202). Warner (1994:238) argues along the same line, that to even try to determine what exactly and if these events really happened is futile and missing the point. It is about the moral of the story, namely to live out this message of reconciliation. The question, however, as with Jesus above, remains – should we strive for an idealistic, biblical Earthly Paradise or rather a natural Eden?
It was about 1213 AD that Francis experienced his
Damascus experience, a ‘conversion’ to evangelical fervour
in comparison to his previously, rather secluded, ascetic
lifestyle of prayer and contemplation. After much agony
in which direction his life should go, staying eremitic or
choosing evangelisation through preaching, he decided on
the latter after consultation with his close friends, Brother
Silvester and Sister Clare. It was as if a new light had dawned
on him, and he immediately set out upon his new calling.
Near Bevagna, he came across some birds of different kinds
in a field. They gathered around him, and there he preached
his famous Sermon to the Birds. This was the event in his
life for which he is remembered. Throughout the ages, this
event has been represented incessantly not only in visual art,
but even in our modern day, people commemorate Francis’
legacy by placing a statue of him in or next to a birdbath,
showing him conversing with birds.[2] Francis addressed the
birds as brothers or sisters[3] and exhorted them to praise
and thank God for his loving care of providing them with
feathers as clothes, wings to fly, homes and food (as free
gift). Astonishingly, so the different versions of this same
event relate, the birds even reverently bowed their heads,
stretched their necks, opened their beaks and spread their
wings, captivated by his sermon. His hagiographers, as
usual, ended the event with the saint’s control of animals –
they would only leave after he had made the sign of the cross
over them and allowed them to leave, and they even flew in the four directions of the cross in wondrous song (Armstrong
1973:59). This event became the inspiring and decisive
moment for Francis to henceforth literally apply the biblical
command of preaching the gospel to all creatures (Mk 16:15;
Sorrell 1988:62). Francis blamed himself for not having had
this broadening insight before and made it the agenda for
the rest of his life. As mentioned above, Francis was the first
saint to actually ‘preach’ to animals and so honour them. He
addressed them intimately with the familial terms of brother
and sister as he would his fellow friars and nuns, something
that was unknown before. His identification (see Habel
above) with non-human creatures as part of God’s cosmic
family is strongly emphasised. He acknowledged their
worth by explicitly calling them ‘noble’ (Sorrell 1988:66).
His reinterpretation of Matthew 6:25 and Luke 12:24 where
birds become the vehicles to demonstrate God’s providence
for humans is now applied to the birds themselves. They
have intrinsic worth and a special status before God (Sorrell
1988:65).
The final high point of Francis’ ecological consciousness
finds expression in his own writing, the Canticle of the
Creatures (see a translated version in Warner 2011:114),
written in Italian. This was probably the first recorded poem
in Italian and inspired great minds like Dante, for instance,
which makes it a remarkable achievement coming from an
unschooled and unintellectual man (Sorrell 1988:125). It was
written in 1225, a year before his death in 1226, which also
explains the peace he made with Sister Death towards the
end of the poem. He was almost blind by then and probably
suffered from tuberculosis (Warner 1994:230–231). Many
biblical passages, for instance Genesis 1, Psalm 104, 148,
Daniel 3:57–88 and Job 38–39, to name but a few, are ‘echoed’
and mingled with Francis’ own creative genius. The poem
forms an impressive inclusio, starting and ending with
praises to the most High God. In between, it is encompassing
in its praise and thanks for the beauty and worth of all of
nature. It not only praises the organic life forms but the
non-organic elements as well. It praises Brother Sun for[4] its
light and splendour, reminding of God. Sister Moon and the
stars capture the attention with their beauty. Brother Wind
determines the weather and Sister Water gives sustenance to
life. Brother Fire is praised for its heat at night, and Sister
Mother Earth produces and sustains fruit, plants and herbs
that we need to live from. Even forgiving humans are praised.[5]
And lastly, Sister Bodily Death, with whom he had made his
peace and with whom he was looking forward to spend the
afterlife, is also praised. The poem is not only inclusive of all
of nature but, remarkably for its time, also gender inclusive
(Armstrong 1973:230–231) as is clear from the now familiar
Franciscan way of addressing all around him as brother and
sister. It is not only the familial terms that signal the deep
bond with all, but the whole poem breathes a harmonious
interdependence (Sorrell 1988:133) or in the words of Warner
(1994:232): ‘The Canticle is remarkable for the way it points
http://www.ve.org.zadoi:10.4102/ve.v35i1.1310
- ↑ See again the previous footnote where both the bloodthirsty sow and gluttonous robin were held morally responsible for their deeds.
- ↑ Modern scholars, like Dennis et al. (1996:107) and Hooper and Palmer (1992:84) amongst many others, argue for the letting go of the sentimental, even ‘soppy’ modern habit of people placing all kinds of figurines of Francis chatting to birds in their gardens!
- ↑ The Fioretti, one of the early sources on Francis, lets him address the birds as ‘sisters’ (Armstrong 1973:60) whilst according to Thomas Celano, he called them ‘brothers’ (Sorrell 1988:60).
- ↑ The Italian word per can be understood as ‘for’ or ‘through’. Francis could therefore praise God ‘for’ (causal) these natural elements’ characteristics or praise God ‘through or with’ (instrumental) them (Sorrell 1988:129; Warner 1994:232).
- ↑ This expression probably reflects a clash at the time between the Mayor and Bishop of Assisi.
