Conclusions

Summary

This book has explored four aspects or dimensions of the manuscripts written and read by Franciscan friars in the convents of the city of Padua from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. The first aspect is the ideal that these manuscripts should aim for, as expressed by the regulations on study and the use of books. To do so, the first chapter has explored the development of these regulations and has shown how the Franciscan rule constructed a specific ideal relationship with books and a specific image of the book allowed into the community. The ideal did not envisage dedication to study. After the death of Francis, in order to provide space for study and continuous learning within the order, Franciscans interpreted the rule in many different ways, although always with reference to what they perceived as Francis's original ‘intentio’. As a consequence, there was a set of official explanations or interpretations of what the rule really meant to say, as well as more detailed regulations such as the general and provincial chapters which were meant to clarify these issues. The analysis has shown that even the interpretations of the most rigorous movements of reform found a place for study and the use of books within the order, and there was always a space of legitimacy for learning in the preparation for preaching and pastoral care. The extent of the Franciscans’ intellectual achievement nevertheless surpassed their declared intentions, and this resulted in a gap between the ideal book, as proposed by the Franciscan rule, and the actual books used by the friars. The ideal book should be produced outside the community, be intended to support the performance of the divine offices and be available only to those friars who were already able to read at the moment of their arrival in the order. The most eloquent statements of the distance from such an ideal were the Franciscan libraries themselves, which were places where the original ideal developed, changed and adapted to the needs of a community who shared devotional, pastoral and intellectual expectations.

The second dimension explored is the space, represented by the Franciscan libraries. In fact, there is need of studies to compare the Franciscan book collections of the Community and the Observant reform at different levels.