“In Christi Crucifixi Similitudinem Tansformandum” : a representação de S. Francisco de Assis em alguns textos em prosa no Portugal Moderno

Abstract

Just after the death of St. Francis of Assisi in 1226 he was identified as a perfect copy of Christ. This aspect was intensified by the reception of the stigmata that he would have received and that artistic and literary tradition emphasized over the years. At the same time, this saint was also associated with the apocalyptic angel of the sixth seal that would appear at the end of the world. With the expression “wounded seraph” we refer to these two forms of characterizing him, which in fact are interrelated. This paper aims to examine this saint’s hagiographic representation in some texts in prose of the literature of spirituality published in Portugal between the 16th and 18th centuries.

Keywords

• St. Francis of Assisi
• Stigmatization
• Portuguese hagiography
• Allegory
• Christian hermeneutics