New Book Explores Saint Francis in Literature and Art

By Melyssa Allen

“Finding Saint Francis in Literature and Art,” a book co-edited by Meredith Professor of Art History Beth Mulvaney, has recently been published.

The book is described by the publisher as a “critical re-discovery of the artistic and textual narratives of Francis of Assisi [that] contributes to our cultural memory by reflecting on the continuities and changes in the way Francis is understood.” 
The project was an outgrowth of a National Humanities Fellowship (NEH) that Mulvaney held in the summer of 2003.

“These summer seminars are composed of 15 college or university faculty who have applied to work on a particular topic,” Mulvaney explains. “We were focused on ‘Saint Francis in the 13th Century’ and we lived in Siena, Rome and Assisi ... through our many conversations at all hours of the day and night, we learned about each other’s projects.”
Mulvaney’s co-editors are Cynthia Ho, a professor of literature and language at UNC-Asheville, and John K. Downey, professor of religious studies at Gongaza University. The trio attended the NEH seminar and worked to have “something more to come out of the experience,” Mulvaney said.

Subsequent accomplishments included presenting papers at a conference in Hawaii in 2005, and at a symposium on St. Francis in October of 2005.

“While at the symposium, those of us present held an initial meeting that focused on putting a book together,” Mulvaney said. “Cynthia, John Downing and I volunteered to pitch the project to a publishing house and to edit the book.”

The process from the book’s conception to publishing was lengthy. Mulvaney spent spring breaks in 2007 through 2009 on intensive editing of the manuscript.

“I can’t imagine what I will do with all my time this spring,” Mulvaney said.

In addition to editing the collection, Mulvaney contributed an essay, “Standing on the Threshold: Beholder and Vision in the Assisi Crib at Greccio.”

“My essay continues to develop ideas I was exploring in my 2005 Faculty Distinguished Lecture. My interests are focused on reception theory coupled with trying to understand the devotional practices of the late 13th century,” Mulvaney said.

“The fresco cycle devoted to St. Francis in the Upper Church of San Francesco in Assisi is one of the earliest Italian cycles to break from the medieval approach to imagery because the painter is able to suggest a coherent spiritual and spatial realm comparable to the viewer’s physical world. In analyzing the cycle, I also draw upon correspondences with the contemporary persuasive elements found in devotional manuals, such as “The Meditations on the Life of Christ,” or literary forms such as Thomas of Celano’s and Bonaventure’s biographies of Francis, and the influence and performance of sacred dramas.”

“Finding Saint Francis in Literature and Art” is published by Palgrave Macmillan. More information on the book is available at http://us.macmillan.com/findingsaintfrancisinliteratureandart.

Mulvaney has been a member of Meredith’s faculty since 1995. A specialist in Italian late Medieval and early Renaissance art, Mulvaney teaches all periods of art history, ranging from antiquity to contemporary, as well as art history theory and methods. She is also the director of Meredith’s Honors Program.