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Bringing the skills of a literary historian to the subject, Brian Moloney considers the genesis of Saint Francis of Assisi´s Canticle of Brother Sun to show how it works as a carefully composed work of art. The study examines the saint´s life and times, the structure of the poem, the features of its style, and the range of its possible meanings.

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Il cantico di frate sole (Italian text and facing translation) Il cantico di frate sole (An alternative translation) 1. Introduction 2. A man of his time 3. Praise and pain: the composition of the Canticle 4. Words and meanings 5. Form and structure 6. Francis´s Mysticism and the Canticle 7. ´My Sister Death´ 8. The Canticle and its contexts 9. The ´Knight of Christ´: Christian chivalry in the Canticle 10. A Commentary on the Canticle 11. Conclusion

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"[Moloney´s] book is comprehensive, well informed, and clearly presented. It certainly serves the purpose of introducing first-time readers to the canticle by offering all the essential ingredients to interpret and analyse it from a literary, theological, and spiritual point of view." - Modern Language Review

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Brian Moloney is Emeritus Professor at the University of Hull and the University of Wollongong.

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