Audiobook · read by volunteers
God's Troubadour, The Story of St. Francis of Assisi
Sophie Jewett (1861–1909)
Read by Sean McKinley · 16 chapters · 2 h 30
About the book
Francis grows up in a prosperous Italian merchant's household, dreaming of knights, songs and glory. His father returns from his travels with troubadour tales, and the boy resolves to become a knight himself. But a journey into war and its suffering begins to change what he wants. Sophie Jewett follows him from a lively, pleasure-loving youth to the choice that made him one of the best-loved figures in Christian history: a life of poverty, joy and care for the poor, lived among the birds, the animals and the people of the Umbrian hills. Told in an affectionate, simple style, this short biography draws on the legends and early stories that grew around the saint, and presents him as a poet and a gentle revolutionary of the thirteenth century.
Introduction
Sophie Jewett (1861-1909) was an American poet and teacher who taught English literature at Wellesley College. Her book God's Troubadour: The Story of St. Francis of Assisi appeared in 1910, shortly after her death, and presents the life of the saint in a form accessible to a general reader.
Francis of Assisi, who lived in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, remains one of the most widely admired figures of medieval Christianity. He gave up his family's wealth, founded the order of the Franciscans, and became known for his love of poverty, his preaching, and his affection for the natural world. His story has been told many times, from early medieval biographies to modern studies, and each age has found something different in it.
Jewett's approach is that of a literary writer rather than a historian. She keeps close to the traditional narratives, including the stories that have a legendary flavour, and she shapes them with a poet's feeling for rhythm and image. The title, which calls Francis a troubadour, picks up an idea that runs through the whole account: that the saint was in many ways a singer, a wanderer and a lover of beauty.
The recording has sixteen short chapters and lasts about two and a half hours. It is read by a LibriVox volunteer. Whether you come to the subject out of religious interest, a love of medieval history or simple curiosity about a figure who has fascinated people for eight centuries, this short account offers an approachable, warm and well-paced introduction to his life.
Public domain
Sophie Jewett died in 1909: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text