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St. Francis of Assisi (manuscript image)

A page from a medieval illuminated book of hours held by the KB National Library of the Netherlands, with a miniature image connected to Francis.

Connects Francis to later medieval religious books, where he was pictured among saints and devotional images.

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Two facing pages of a medieval illuminated manuscript book of hours in Latin with gold and colored floral borders. The left page has a miniature of a rider on horseback; the right page has a miniature of a kneeling monk in a brown habit beside a seated figure reading a book, with a red rubric heading below.
St. Francis of Assisi, illuminated manuscript page. KB, National Library of the Netherlands.

About this source

What it is

This is an image from an illuminated manuscript in Latin, held by the KB, the National Library of the Netherlands. The record gives no date, maker or detailed description. The image shows two facing pages with gold and coloured floral borders. The left page has a rider on horseback, and the right page has a kneeling monk in a brown habit beside a seated figure reading a book. The item is titled after Francis, but the record does not confirm who is shown.

Why it matters

Illuminated manuscripts were handmade books used for prayer and reading in the Middle Ages. Images like these show how religious stories and saints were copied and passed on in written form, long after Francis lived.

Look closer

  • What evidence on the page tells you it is a religious book, and what does the title claim about the image?
  • Can you tell from the picture alone who the kneeling monk and the seated figure are?
  • Why might a library catalogue give so little information about an object like this?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Saint Francis on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Manuscript page in Latin with black gothic script and red initial letter M and red-highlighted lines, with handwritten marginal notes on the right. The text includes 'Altissimu onnipotente bon signore' and 'Laudes creaturarum', consistent with the Canticle of the Sun.Book

Primary source

Canticle of the Sun

Francis of Assisi · 1226

Photograph of a small, aged parchment sheet sealed in a metal-framed case. It has faded brown ink text in Latin with red headings, a large hand-drawn red and brown Tau cross with a figure-like sketch, and a few lines of writing at the bottom.Document

Primary source

Chartula fratri Leonis

Francis of Assisi · 1224

Book

Secondary source

First Life of Saint Francis

Thomas of Celano · 1230

Gold-background panel painting in a gabled wooden frame. A standing robed friar with a halo holds a book and raises one hand, flanked by two angels above. Smaller framed scenes in the side panels show his life events in colorful architecture.Painting

Secondary source

Saint Francis of Assisi and Scenes of His Life

Bonaventura Berlinghieri · 1235

Aerial view of the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi on a hilltop, with its pink-toned stone walls, a tall bell tower, and a large sloping retaining wall. A parking area and winding road are below, with green valley and hills in the distance under a cloudy sky.Artifact

Secondary source

Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi

begun 1228

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