Francis and Illuminatus before the sultan. Fresco by Giotto.
Illuminatus of Arce (Italian: Illuminato dell'Arce) or Illuminatus of Rieti (Illuminato da Rieti) was an earlier follower of Francis of Assisi.[2]
Illuminatus was born around 1190, probably in Rocca Antica or Rocca Sinibalda, villages southwest of Rieti, or possibly in the region of Arce in the plain around Assisi.[2] In 1219, during the Fifth Crusade, he accompanied Francis on his mission to the court of al-Kāmil, sultan of Egypt.[2][3] In 1224, he was the first to spot the stigmata on Francis at La Verna. He convinced Francis to publicize the miracle. He was living at Greccio in 1246. He is reported to have died either in 1260–1262 or in 1266.[2]
While earlier sources confirm that Francis had a companion in 1219, Bonaventure, in his Legenda maior (c.1260), is the first to name him: "a brother named Illuminatus, a virtuous and enlightened man" (Illuminato nomine, viro utique luminis et virtutis).[2][4] It has been speculated that Illuminatus was one of Bonaventure's informants.[2][5] A letter appended to the Legenda trium sociorum names Illuminatus as a source. Although this Legenda was written in the 1240s, the earliest manuscript dates to 1311 and the letter may be a later addition, perhaps influenced by Bonaventure. It has even been suggested that Bonaventure invented the name Illuminatus ('enlightened one') because he did not know the companion's actual name.[5] There is, however, a 14th-century compilation of Franciscan exempla that includes one attributed to Illuminatus.[6]
In the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, Illuminatus is pictured in the Heaven of the Sun, among the teachers and mystics of the second garland of souls (Paradiso 12.130).[2][3]
Morrison, Molly (2010) [2000]. "Illuminato da Rieti". In Richard Lansing (ed.). The Dante Encyclopedia. Routledge. p.498.
Tolan, John (2009). Saint Francis and the Sultan: The Curious history of a Christian–Muslim Encounter. Oxford University Press.
Related Research Articles
Cimabue, also known as Cenni di Pepo or Cenni di Pepi, was an Italian painter and designer of mosaics from Florence.
Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italian mystic and Catholic friar who founded the Franciscans. He was inspired to lead a life of poverty as an itinerant preacher. One of the most venerated figures in Christianity, Francis was canonized by Pope Gregory IX on 16 July 1228. He is commonly portrayed wearing a brown habit with a rope tied around his waist, featuring three knots that symbolize the three Franciscan vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
The Franciscans are a group of related mendicant Christian religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi, these orders include three independent orders for men, orders for nuns such as the Order of Saint Clare, and the Third Order of Saint Francis open to male and female members. They adhere to the teachings and spiritual disciplines of the founder and of his main associates and followers, such as Clare of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, and Elizabeth of Hungary. Several smaller Protestant Franciscan orders exist as well, notably in the Anglican and Lutheran traditions.
Assisi is a town and comune of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of the 13th century.
The Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by al-Adil, brother of Saladin.
Al-Kamil was a Kurdish Muslim ruler and the fourth Ayyubid sultan of Egypt. During his tenure as sultan, the Ayyubids defeated the Fifth Crusade. He was known to the Frankish crusaders as Meledin, a name by which he is still referred to in some older western sources. As a result of the Sixth Crusade, he ceded West Jerusalem to the Christians and is known to have met with Saint Francis.
The Scrovegni Chapel, also known as the Arena Chapel, is a small church, adjacent to the Augustinian monastery, the Monastero degli Eremitani in Padua, region of Veneto, Italy. The chapel and monastery are now part of the complex of the Musei Civici di Padova.
The Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Assisi, a town in the Umbria region in central Italy, where Saint Francis was born and died. It is a papal minor basilica and one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy. With its accompanying friary, Sacro Convento, the basilica is a distinctive landmark to those approaching Assisi. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.
Francis of Assisi founded three orders and gave each of them a special rule. Here, only the rule of the first order is discussed, i.e., that of the Order of Friars Minor.
John of Parma was an Italian Franciscan friar, who served as one of the first Ministers General of the Order of Friars Minor (1247–1257). He was also a noted theologian of the period.
The Secular Franciscan Order is the third branch of the Franciscan Family formed by Catholic men and women who seek to observe the Gospel of Jesus by following the example of Francis of Assisi. Secular Franciscans are not like the other third orders, since they are not under the higher direction of the same institute. Brothers and sisters of the Secular Franciscan Order make a spiritual commitment (promises) to their own Rule, and Secular Franciscan fraternities can not exist without the assistance of the first or second Franciscan Orders. The Secular Franciscan Order was the third of the three families founded by Francis of Assisi 800 years ago.
Giovanni Parenti, O.F.M. was an Italian Friar Minor and St. Francis of Assisi's successor as head of the order. Parenti had a legal background. He served as Minister Provincial in Spain before being chosen Minister General in 1227. Parenti held a literal interpretation of poverty as it applied to the order; a view that was not shared by everyone. He stepped down in 1232 and was succeeded by Elias of Cortona.
The Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Umbria, has existed since 1986. In that year the historic Diocese of Assisi, known as the birthplace of Francis of Assisi, was combined with the Diocese of Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Perugia-Città della Pieve.
Giotto di Bondone, known mononymously as Giotto and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic and Proto-Renaissance period. Giotto's contemporary, the banker and chronicler Giovanni Villani, wrote that Giotto was "the most sovereign master of painting in his time, who drew all his figures and their postures according to nature" and of his publicly recognized "talent and excellence". Giorgio Vasari described Giotto as making a decisive break from the prevalent Byzantine style and as initiating "the great art of painting as we know it today, introducing the technique of drawing accurately from life, which had been neglected for more than two hundred years".
The Order of Friars Minor is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachings and spiritual disciplines of the founder and of his main associates and followers, such as Clare of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, and Elizabeth of Hungary, among many others. The Order of Friars Minor is the largest of the contemporary First Orders within the Franciscan movement.
The Rieti Valley or Rieti Plain is a small plain in central Italy, where lies the city of Rieti, Lazio. It is also known as Sacred Valley and Holy Valley since saint Francis of Assisi lived here for many years and erected four shrines, which have become the destination of pilgrims.
Illuminato may refer to:
Illuminato da Chieti, in Latin Illuminatus de Theate, was a Franciscan friar who served as the bishop of Assisi from 1274 until his death.
The battle of Fāriskūr was a pitched battle fought between the army of the Fifth Crusade and Ayyubid Egypt on 29 August 1219 outside the Ayyubid encampment at Fāriskūr. It was fought while the siege of Damietta was ongoing. An Ayyubid victory, it had little effect on the course of the war.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
