The Flower of Saint Francis of Assisi

In the Middle Ages, florilegia (from Latin flora) referred to collections of excerpts from poetic or prose works. Nowadays, such collections are called anthologies. One of the florilegia was dedicated to the life and deeds of the famous Italian saint — Francis of Assisi. The future ascetic was born in the Italian Assisi, into the family of a silk merchant who, often traveling to France on business, named his son Francis. In his youth, he led a debauched life, but after a mystical vision, he became a champion of "the life of poverty" and soon founded the Christian order of the Franciscans. The first life of Francis, based on popular traditions, was written in Latin in the 14th century, that is, at least a century after the saint's death. Most experts believe that the author of this life is Ugolino Brunforte. At the end of the 14th century, a free anonymous adaptation of Brunforte's work appeared in the Tuscan dialect of Italian; it consisted of 53 short chapters. In Russian culture, this florilegium is known as "The Flower of Saint Francis of Assisi." Its text is considered one of the most remarkable literary works of the Middle Ages. "The Flowers" were translated into Russian by Alexander Pechkovsky, who omitted several fragments of the text during his work. In this edition, they have been fully restored.

This edition of "The Flowers" is decorated with ornaments, initials, and colored illustrations by the French symbolist artist Maurice Denis. He was not only a talented illustrator but also a theorist of art, even though his childhood was spent in a completely ordinary family; his father was a railway worker, and his mother a milliner. However, the young man developed a desire for self-education early on. He began studying at the Académie Julian; in the second half of the 19th century, this private institution competed with the famous Paris School of Fine Arts. After classes in the drawing studios, young Maurice rushed off to lectures on philosophy and devoured the works of Schopenhauer. Denis was fascinated by the symbolists, and it was no coincidence that he believed the main role of the artist was in the "visualization of dreams", in the ability to convey certain ideas, sensations, and feelings through pictorial means. Denis was one of the founders of the famous Nabis group; he became its theorist. The artist worked a lot and productively — he drew, made interior paintings, gave lectures, and wrote articles dedicated to art. The illustrations for "The Flowers" demonstrate his favorite painting techniques — intentional simplicity of forms, muted colors, and smooth lines. When Denis turned 62 in 1932, he was awarded the title of academician of painting.