This course will introduce students to the study of Franciscan Hagiography and will include an investigation of the nature, purpose and method of medieval hagiography in general, and of the Franciscan hagiographical texts of the thirteenth century in particular. The material for this course will focus on the "official" hagiographical texts concerning Francis of Assisi written between 1226 and 1263, as well as on the early texts concerning Anthony of Padua and Clare of Assisi. Students will be introduced to the "Franciscan Question," its history and implications, as well as to the hermeneutical questions which arise in the process of the interpretation and contemporary retrieval of these medieval texts.