it has been the most popular account of his life and relates many colourful anecdotes, miracles and pious examples from the lives of Francis and his followers (such as Brother Juniper). These poetic stories shed much light upon the genesis and development of the following of Saint Francis. Some stories contained in the Fioretti can be found in much earlier works. Fioretti di San Francesco, Chapter 13: Preaching to the Birds relates that Francis, Friar Masseo and Friar Agnolo traveled to and preached at a city called Saburniano (Cannara). Those that heard them were so inflamed by their message that they desired to leave the city and follow these friars into the wilderness. Francis told them that such a thing was not necessary, but instead he established the Third Order "for the universal salvation of all people". Francis had already been concerned about the expansion of his order at the expense of families. He refused entrance to his order by married men (and the women from admission to the Poor Clares) who sought to follow the Franciscan way, because families should not suffer. Francis preaching to the birds was described by Fra Masseo, and written of by the Englishman Roger of Wendover, in 1236. The vernacular version is written in Tuscan and is reckoned among the masterpieces of Italian literature. Arthur Livingstone, author of a 1930s edition of the Little Flowers, characterizes it as "a masterful work of folk literature from the Middle Ages". The earliest manuscript is dated 1390, and is in Berlin. The Italian translation was first printed at Vicenza in 1477. In popular culture The text was the inspiration for the Roberto Rossellini's 1950 film Francesco, giullare di Dio (Francis, God's Jester), which was co-written by Federico Fellini. It was also used as a source for the libretto of Olivier Messiaen's opera Saint-François d'Assise. See also Ugolino Brunforte References eBook Francis of Assisi, The Little Flowers (fioretti), London, 2012. limovia.net External links The text in English at Christian Classics Ethereal Library The text, in Italian, is available in plain text and/or rtf format from the Liber Liber: biblioteca e audioteca digitali ad accesso gratuito site, which also provides a brief description of the text. 14th-century books 14th-century Christian texts Francis of Assisi