Jacopone da Todi,
O.F.M. (ca. 1230 – 25 December 1306) was an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...
from
Umbria
it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, ...
. He wrote several
''laude'' (songs in praise of the
Lord
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage ...
) in the local vernacular. He was an early pioneer in Italian
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...
, being one of the earliest
scholars
A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...
who dramatised
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
subjects.
Life
Born Jacopo dei Benedetti, he was a member of a noble family. He studied
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
in
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...
and became a successful
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...
. At some point in his late 20s, he married a young noblewoman, named Vanna according to some accounts, who was a pious and generous woman. Due to his reputation as a worldly and greedy man, she took it upon herself to
mortify her flesh in atonement for his behavior.
Not long after their wedding, Benedetti urged his wife to attend a public tournament. In the course of the spectacle, she was killed when part of the stand in which she was sitting gave way. Rushing to her side, he discovered that she had been wearing a
hairshirt. Shocked, he realized that she had performed this penance for his sake.
Benedetti gave up his legal practice, gave away all his possessions and from about 1268 lived as a wandering
ascetic
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
, joining the
Third Order of St. Francis
The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi.
The preaching of Francis and his disciples caused many married men and women to w ...
. During this period, he gained a reputation as a madman, due to his eccentric behavior, acting out his spiritual vision, earning him the nickname he was to embrace of Jacopone. Examples of this behavior included appearing in the public square of Todi, wearing a saddle and crawling on all fours. On another occasion, he appeared at a wedding in his brother's house, tarred and feathered from head to toe.
After about ten years of this life, Benedetti sought admission to the Friars Minor, but they were reluctant to accept him due to his reputation. He soon composed a beautiful poem on the vanities of the world, which led to his admission into the Order in 1278. He chose to live as a
lay brother
Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choir, ...
.
By this time, two broad factions had arisen in the Franciscan Order, one with a more lenient, less
mystical
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...
attitude and one being more severe, preaching absolute poverty and
penitence (known as the "Spirituals" or ''
Fraticelli
The Fraticelli (Italian for "Little Brethren") or Spiritual Franciscans opposed changes to the rule of Saint Francis of Assisi, especially with regard to poverty, and regarded the wealth of the Church as scandalous, and that of individual church ...
''). Jacopone was connected with the latter group and in 1294 they sent a deputation to
Pope Celestine V
Pope Celestine V ( la, Caelestinus V; 1215 – 19 May 1296), born Pietro Angelerio (according to some sources ''Angelario'', ''Angelieri'', ''Angelliero'', or ''Angeleri''), also known as Pietro da Morrone, Peter of Morrone, and Peter Celes ...
to ask permission to live separately from the other friars and to observe the Franciscan Rule in its perfection. The request was granted but Celestine resigned the papacy before action was taken and was succeeded by Pope Boniface VIII, who opposed the more rigorous views.
[McNamara, Fr. Robert F., St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Irondequoit, New York]
/ref> During the struggle that followed, Benedetti publicized the Spirituals' cause by writing verses highly critical of their opponents, the pope included. When two brother-cardinals, the Colonnas, sided with the Spirituals and with the king of France against Pope Boniface, and Benedetti gave his support to the Colonnas, politics and even war entered upon the scene.[ The pope ]excommunicated
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
them. A battle between the two rival parties ensued, ending with the siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...
of Palestrina
Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pre ...
and the imprisonment and excommunication of Jacopone in 1298. He was freed in 1303 upon the death of Boniface, having been specifically excluded from the Jubilee Year of 1300 by papal bull.
Broken and in poor health, Benedetti retired to Collazzone, a small town situated on a hill between Perugia
Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia.
The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part ...
and Todi, where he was cared for by a community of Poor Clares
The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare ( la, Ordo sanctae Clarae) – originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and later the Clarisses, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Second Order of Saint Francis ...
. His condition deteriorated toward the end of 1306, and he sent word requesting that his old friend, John of La Verna, come to give him the last rites
The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. They may be administered to those awaiting execution, mortall ...
. John arrived on Christmas Eve and comforted him, as he died about midnight.
Benedetti's body was originally buried in the monastery church. In 1433 his grave was discovered and his remains transferred to a crypt in the Franciscan Church of San Fortunato in Todi.
Poetry
Benedetti's satirical and denunciatory Laude witness to the troubled times of the warring city-states
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
of northern Italy and the material and spiritual crisis that accompanied them. The laude
The ''lauda'' (Italian pl. ''laude'') or ''lauda spirituale'' was the most important form of vernacular sacred song in Italy in the late medieval era and Renaissance. ''Laude'' remained popular into the nineteenth century. The lauda was often as ...
are written in his native Umbrian dialect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety of a language that is ...
and represent the popular poetry of the region. Many hundreds of manuscripts attest to the broad popularity of his poems in many contexts - although anonymous poems are often attributed to him by the tradition. Other laude extol the spiritual value of poverty.
Some of his laude were especially in use among the so-called Laudesi and the Flagellants
Flagellants are practitioners of a form of mortification of the flesh by whipping their skin with various instruments of penance. Many Christian confraternities of penitents have flagellants, who beat themselves, both in the privacy of their dw ...
, who sang them in the towns, along the roads, in their confraternities and in sacred dramatical representations. With hindsight, the use of the laude may be seen as an early seed of Italian drama that came to fruition in later centuries.
The Latin poem ''Stabat Mater Dolorosa'' is generally attributed to Benedetti, although this has been disputed. It is a fine example of religious lyric in the Franciscan tradition. It was inserted into the Roman Missal
The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of th ...
and Breviary
A breviary (Latin: ''breviarium'') is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times.
Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such ...
in 1727 for the ''Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary'', celebrated on the Friday before Good Friday
Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Holy ...
. Following changes by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
, it now appears on the ''Feast of Our Lady's Sorrows'' celebrated on 15 September. Many composers have set it to music, including Josquin des Prez
Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez ( – 27 August 1521) was a composer of High Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he was a central figure of the ...
, Giovanni Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina ( – 2 February 1594) was an Italian composer of late Renaissance music. The central representative of the Roman School, with Orlande de Lassus and Tomás Luis de Victoria, Palestrina is considered the leading ...
, Alessandro Scarlatti
Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian Baroque composer, known especially for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the most important representative of the Neapolitan school of opera.
...
, Domenico Scarlatti, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Gioacchino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...
, Toivo Kuula
Toivo Timoteus Kuula (7 July 1883 – 18 May 1918) was a Finnish composer and conductor of the late-Romantic and early-modern periods, who emerged in the wake of Jean Sibelius, under whom he studied privately from 1906 to 1908. The core of Ku ...
, Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...
and Ernő Dohnányi
Ernő or Erno is a Finnish and Hungarian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Ernő Balogh (1897-1989), Hungarian pianist, composer, editor, and educator
* Ernő Bánk (1883-1962), Hungarian painter and teacher
* Ernő B ...
.
Veneration
From the time of his death, Benedetti was considered to have been a saint by his followers, both within and outside of the Franciscan Order. He is honored as Blessed
Blessed may refer to:
* The state of having received a blessing
* Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified
Film and television
* ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...
within the Order.
Several attempts were made over the centuries to have the Catholic Church recognize his sanctity. In the 17th century, both the City Council and the cathedral chapter
According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...
of Todi petitioned the Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
to do so. In the 19th century, the Postulator for the causes of saints of the Order of Friars Minor collected documents for this step.
To date, however, the church has never formally approved this devotion. One possible reason for this may be the conflict between Benedetti and Pope Boniface VIII.
Legacy
Benedetti was steadfast in condemning corruption, especially through his satirical Italian poems. Benedetti would not recant his position on the requirement of ascetic poverty, believing that the mainstream church had become corrupt and that its ministers were not interested in the welfare of the poor. This criticism is echoed in the contemporary Alleluia Movement. It was a time of famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...
and poverty in Italy and many mystics and preachers like Gioacchino da Fiore
Joachim of Fiore, also known as Joachim of Flora and in Italian Gioacchino da Fiore (c. 1135 – 30 March 1202), was an Italian Christian theologian, Catholic abbot, and the founder of the monastic order of San Giovanni in Fiore. According to the ...
anticipated the end of the world and the coming of Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
. They also said kings and clergy had become too attached to material goods and too interested in their personal wars rather than the welfare of the country.
Benedetti's preaching attracted many enthusiasts and Dante
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
praised him in his Paradiso.
See also
*Christian mystics
Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" ...
*Christian poetry
Christian poetry is any poetry that contains Christian teachings, themes, or references. The influence of Christianity on poetry has been great in any area that Christianity has taken hold. Christian poems often directly reference the Bible, while ...
*Saint Francis of Assisi
Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a Mysticism, mystic Italian Catholic Church, Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most vener ...
References
Sources
*Giudice, A. e Bruni, G. ''Problemi e scrittori della letteratura italiana''. Torino, Paravia, 1981.
*Sapegno, N.'' Santo Jacopone''. Torino, Edizioni del Baretti, 1926, p. 30.
*Novatti, F. ''Freschi e minii del Dugento''. Milano, Cogliatti, 1925, pp. 202–204.
Bibliography
* Venuti, Lawrence. '' Translation Changes Everything''. Routledge, 2012. Chapter 4: Translating Jacopone da Todi: archaic poetries and modern audiences.
External links
*
*
*
Underhill, Evelyn. ''Jacopone da Todi, Poet and Mystic'', J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd, London, 1919
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacopone da Todi
1236 births
1306 deaths
People from Todi
Members of the Third Order of Saint Francis
Medieval Latin poets
Italian male poets
Italian dramatists and playwrights
Italian Friars Minor
Roman Catholic religious brothers
Franciscan mystics
13th-century venerated Christians
14th-century venerated Christians
13th-century Christian mystics
14th-century Christian mystics
Burials in Umbria
13th-century Latin writers
13th-century Italian poets