Acting as devil's advocate re Christoph Maier's analysis of what
Francis was intending when he met al-Kamil, his new interpretation is
largely based on exempla and other material which are closely linked to
Bonaventure. It could therefore be argued that we are dealing with the
reconstructed Francis of the mid- to late thirteenth century, when mendicant
involvement in the crusades is well established. I think Maier's argument
is tight enough to get round that, and that Francis was comfortable with
crusades, but I suspect one could argue it the other way.
M.Bull
Bristol
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