The Privilege Of Poverty: Clare's Unndowed Franciscan Women

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Innocent appointed Cardinal Rainaldo to work with Clare "to compose a Rule that would recognize unendowed Franciscan women in law" (114). The Rule established "the Order of Poor Sisters that Blessed Francis founded." At the heart of her Rule, Clare defined exactly what she meant by living in poverty "specifically by not receiving or having possession or ownership either themselves or through an intermediate person, except as necessity requires for the integrity and proper seclusion of the monastery" (117). This would eliminate misinterpretations by Clare’s successors. There was no room for misconception of Clare’s model of a life in poverty in the same way the Franciscan friars steered away from the ideal after St. Francis’s death. Mueller's concluding pages underline the meaning and the impact of Clare's and Agnes's untiring, eventually successful, efforts; the "privilege of poverty" was not only a social action program, but also a spiritual experience of union with Christ. …show more content…

This well-researched book is the product of an impressive and extensive bibliography that includes both primary and secondary sources. Mueller’s research integrates both male and female Franciscan sources to offer a more cohesive and fair understanding. The “Privilege of Poverty” is not only a significant contribution to the field of religious history, women's history, and medieval studies in general, but it redefines Franciscan