Known for speaking with the birds, for professing poverty, receiving the stigmata and for initiating the Franciscan order, Francis of Assisi is one of the most radical and inspiring figures in Christianity. In this outstanding and celebrated biography, the distinguished medievalist Jacques Le Goff paints a fascinating picture of the life of Francis of Assisi. Locating Francis in the feudal world of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and exploring the social and political changes taking place at the time, Le Goff assess the dramatic influence of the saint on the medieval church and celebrates his role in the spiritual revival of the Catholic Church. This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Foreword by Sean L. Field.