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Introduction
The canonization of Francis of Assisi demanded the development of new liturgical texts for both the Divine Office and for the Mass so that Francis could be fittingly honored on his feast day, October 4. While the texts for the celebration of the Eucharist were taken—according to the practice of the time—from the Common of a Confessor-non-Pontiff, those for the Divine Office were developed with far more flexibility and creativity. The development of these liturgical texts is significant for two reasons. In the first place, it shows the earliest stages through which the memory of Francis was incorporated into the prayer life of the brothers and of the Church. Secondly, it shows how the theological interpretation of Saint Francis moved forward in the first years after his death. While these liturgical texts draw from Thomas of Celano’s The Life of Saint Francis, they in turn would serve as liturgical sources and inspiration for subsequent lives as the images and symbols they contained influenced the thought of his followers.
Thomas of Celano composed The Legend for Use in the Choir in 12301 Julian of Speyer completed the text for The Divine Office of Saint Francis before 12352 Several other liturgical pieces were later inserted into The Divine Office of Saint Francis and added as Sequences or amplifications of the Alleluia of the Mass,3 contributions suggesting the interest and involvement of the papal court in the formation of the liturgical cult in honor of Saint Francis. Pope Gregory IX wrote the hymn for First Vespers Proles de caelo prodiit, as well as antiphons for the Office for the Octave of the feast of Saint Francis4 Cardinal Thomas of Capua (+1243), a curial official in the service of both Honorius III and Gregory IX, composed the responsory for the third nocturn of Matins and a hymn for Second Vespers5 The Cistercian Cardinal Ranieri Capocci, also a curial official of Honorius III and Gregory IX, created a hymn for Lauds, Plaude, turba paupercula.6
Early Franciscan Liturgical Developments: The Divine Office
The second chapter of the Earlier Rule offers the first indication of the early development of a liturgical life among the brothers: ". . . all the brothers, whether clerical or lay, should celebrate the Divine Office, the praises and prayers, as is required of them. The clerical [brothers] should celebrate the office and say it for the living and the dead according to the custom of the clergy."7 The “custom of the clergy” at that time varied from church to church even within the
- The Latin text of LCh can be found in Analecta Franciscana sive Chronica Aliaque Varia Documenta ad Historiam Fratrum Minorum Spectantia edita a patribus Collegii S. Bonaventurae adjutantibus aliis eruditis viriis, Tomus X (Ad Claras Aquas, Florentiae: Collegium S. Bonaventurae, 1895-1946) 119-126; Fontes Franciscani, edited by Enrico Menestò and Stefano Brufani (Sta. Maria degli Angeli: Edizioni Porziuncula: 1995) 427-439.
- The Latin text of The Divine Office of Saint Francis (Officium Rhythmicum Sancti Francisci) can be found in Analecta Franciscana Tomus X 375-404; Fontes Franciscani, 1105-1121. Thomas of Eccleston writes that Gregory IX was present in Assisi for the feast of Saint Francis in 1235 when the brothers chanted The Divine Office of Saint Francis composed by Julian of Speyer (hereafter Off). Cf. Tractatus de Adventu Fratrum Minorum in Angliam, ed. Andrew Little (Manchester: Man- chester University Press, 1951) 90.
- Bernard of Besse indicates that the hymns of Gregory IX and the cardinals were composed before Off, cf. Liber de Laudibus, Prologue, Analecta Franciscana III 666. See Hilarin Felder, Die Liturgischen Reimofficien auf die heiligen Franciscus und Antonius gedichtet und componiert durch Fr. Julian von Speier (+c.1250) (Freiburg, Schweiz: Universitäts Buchhandlung, 1901) 64. For further references within the manuscript tradition that attest to the authorship of these hymns in- serted into Off, see Felder, 49-52.
- Cf. Proles de caelo prodiit [A scion blest came from the skies . . .] Off 3, Sancte Francisce, propere [Saint Francis, come, do not delay . . .] Off 26, I and Plange, turba paupercula [Lament, poor little company . . .] Off 26, III.
- Thomas of Capua (+1243), cardinal of Santa Sabina, was "dictator" at the papal court and wrote an ars dictamini, the art of letter writing. Cf. In caelesti collegio [In that celestial company . . .] Off 8 and Decus morum [Flower of Virtue, chief Friar Minor . . .] Off 24.
- Ranieri Capocci of Viterbo (+1250), was a notary for Innocent III and Gregory IX, served as legate for Innocent IV to Emperor Frederick II, and led the military initiative against Frederick. He was made cardinal of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in 1216. According to Thomas of Celano, he took a prominent part in the celebration of Francis’s canonization. Cf. 1C 125; Plaude, turba paupercula [Poor little cluster, clap your hands . . .] Off 19. See also an antiphon, Caelorum candor splenduit [The skies above in splendor gleamed . . .], for use within the octave and for the commemoration of Saint Francis which is attributed to Ranieri Capocci, Off 26, IV.
- Cf. LR III.