Ugolino Brunforte
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Ugolino Brunforte (c. 1262 – c. 1348) was an Italian
Friar Minor , 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 = , ...
and chronicler, known principally as the author of the ''Fioretti'' or ''Little Flowers of St. Francis''.


Life

Few details of Ugolino's life are known. His father Rinaldo, Lord of
Sarnano Sarnano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italy, Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona and about southwest of Macerata. Sarnano borders the following municipalities: Amandola, Bolognola, Fiastra ...
in the
Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...
s, belonged to an ancient and noble family from which had sprung the famous Countess
Matilda of Tuscany Matilda of Tuscany ( it, Matilde di Canossa , la, Matilda, ; 1046 – 24 July 1115 or Matilda of Canossa after her ancestral castle of Canossa), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as th ...
. Ugolino entered the
Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...
at the age of sixteen. He served his novitiate at the convent of
Roccabruna Roccabruna (; oc, La Ròcha de Draonier or ; pms, La Ròcia ëd Droné) is a commune in the Province of Cuneo and the Italian region of Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about northwest of Cuneo. Roccabruna borders the following m ...
, but passed most of his life at the convent of Santa Maria in Monte Giorgio, whence he is often called ''Ugolino of Monte Giorgio''. In 1295 he was chosen Bishop of
Abruzzi Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...
(Teramo) under
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 ...
, but before his consecration Celestine had resigned and
Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani family was of baronial ...
, who suspected Ugolino as belonging to the ''
zelanti {{unreferenced, date=April 2014 In Roman Catholicism, the expression ''zelanti'' has been applied to conservative members of the clergy and their lay supporters since the thirteenth century. Its specific connotations have shifted with each reapplic ...
'', annulled the appointment with the bull ''In supremae dignitatis specula''. Nearly fifty years later he was elected provincial of
Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza ri ...
.Robinson, Paschal. "Ugolino Brunforte." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 15 Jun. 2016
At the time of his death in 1348, was provincial of the Friars Minor in the March.


''Fioretti''

Most scholars are now agreed that Ugolino was the author of the ''
Fioretti The ''Little Flowers of St. Francis'' ( it, Fioretti di San Francesco) is a florilegium (excerpts of his body of work), divided into 53 short chapters, on the life of Saint Francis of Assisi that was composed at the end of the 14th century. The ...
'', or ''Little Flowers of St. Francis'', in their original form. Ugolino was probably one of several collectors of traditions in the Marches. The ''Fioretti'' appears to have been written sometime between 1322 and 1328. In some ways the ''Fioretti'' says as much about its author as its subject. "Ugolino, it is true, draws himself when he draws his master. It is a singularly, fresh, simple, child-like character with its unfailing belief in the love of God, and the essential goodness of all he has created."Hutton, William Holden. ''The Influence of Christianity Upon National Character Illustrated by the Lives and Legends of the English Saints'', W. Gardner, Darton & Company, 1903
/ref>
Filled with the romance of his native country, the simple friar, so pure in his insight, and so vivid in his realization, painted an immortal picture of the Saintly life as it was lived in the Middle Ages, on the background of the enchanted country between the Apennines and the Adriatic, the land of Monte Giorgio, the heart of Italy.Sabatier, Paul. ''Fioretum S. Francisci'' (Paris, 1902), preface
Although the Latin original has not come down to us, we have in the ''Actus B. Francisci et Sociorum Ejus'', edited by
Paul Sabatier Paul Sabatier may refer to: *Paul Sabatier (chemist) (1854–1941), French chemist and Nobel Prize winner *Paul Sabatier (theologian) Charles Paul Marie Sabatier (3 or 9 August 1858 – 5 March 1928), was a French clergyman and historian who prod ...
in ''Collection d’Études'' (Paris, 1902, IV), an approximation to it which may be considered on the whole as representing the original of the ''Fioretti''. That Ugolino was the principal compiler of the ''Actus'' seems certain; how far he may be considered the sole author of the ''Fioretti'' is not so clear. His labour, which consisted chiefly in gathering the flowers for his bouquet from written and oral local tradition, appears to have been completed before 1328.


References


Sources

*
Luke Wadding Luke Wadding, O.F.M. (16 October 158818 November 1657), was an Irish Franciscan friar and historian. Life Early life Wadding was born on 16 October 1588 in Waterford to Walter Wadding of Waterford, a wealthy merchant, and his wife, Anastasia ...
, ''Scriptores Ordinis Minorum'' (1650), 179 * Giovanni Sbaralea, ''Supplementum et castigatio ad scriptores trium ordinum S. Francisi'' (8106), addenda 727 *Luigi da Fabriano, ''Disquisizione istorica intorno all' autore dei Fioretti'' (Fabriano, 1883) *''Cenni cronologico-biografici dell' osservante Provincia Picena'' (Quaracchi, 1886), 232 ''sqq.'' *
Alessandro Manzoni Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni (, , ; 7 March 1785 – 22 May 1873) was an Italian poet, novelist and philosopher. He is famous for the novel '' The Betrothed'' (orig. it, I promessi sposi) (1827), generally ranked among the maste ...
, ''Fioretti'' (2nd ed., Rome, 1902), prefazione *Candido Mariotti, ''I Primordi Gloriosi dell' ordine Minoritico nelle Marche'' (Castelplanio, 1903), VI *Arnold, ''The Authorship of the Fioretti'' (London, 1904) *Camillo Pace, "L'autore del Floretum in Rivista Abruzzese", ann. XIX, fasc. II *François Van Ortroy, in ''Analecta Bollandiana'', XXI, 443 ''sqq.''


External links


''The Little Flowers of Saint Francis''
text, in English * ---- ''This article incorporates text from the 1913 ''
Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
'' article
Ugolino Brunforte
by Paschal Robinson, a publication now in the
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Brunforte, Ugolino 1262 births 1348 deaths Italian male writers 14th-century Latin writers 14th-century Italian historians Italian Friars Minor Italian chroniclers