Naked before the father

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This book examines the dramatic confrontation in 1206 between Francis of Assisi and his father, Pietro di Bernardone: renouncing property, Francis left civil life and ultimately founded a new religious order. Carefully examining the documentary and artistic evidence to understand this event, Trexler determines that the conflict between the men was actually over women's property - that of Francis's mother, Pica. In a meticulous study of the early biographers, he also discovers that they created two different tales of the renunciation to match different notions about Franciscan poverty. The study is a significant contribution to women's, religious, and art history.