1. St. Francis is famously associated with the birds and animals. Which anecdotes here are particularly informative about his approach to the animals and the natural world? Focusing particularly on his "Canticle of the Sun" [p. 117-18), how would you describe his attitude toward God's creation?

2. What does it mean to be "a fool for Christ"? Which stories most powerfully illustrate this philosophy of St. Francis? Is its purpose largely evangelical and theatrical--the behavior of the "fool" persuades others to follow Christ--or does its purpose have more to do with the individual's relationship with Christ and the effort to abnegate the self?

3. What is the attitude toward the body that was embraced by St. Francis and his followers? Notice that in several stories a cure from illness is shortly followed by a happy death [see p. 101, for instance]. How does St. Francis attempt to instruct us in our attitude toward death?

4. Medieval narratives about the lives of the saints are quite different from what the modern reader is used to, since the medieval author was writing for an audience which believed completely in the miraculous. What aspects of this book seem particularly "naive" in style? What role do visions and miracles play in these tales? In order to be proper readers of this text, do we need to makes ourselves receptive to the miraculous, to suspend our disbelief? Medieval narratives often have a strong moral or didactic purpose. How does the author of these tales attempt to change the lives of his readers? How does he use stories of punishment and reward to warn his readers?

5. The trials of Father John [pp. 104-8] are reminiscent of the story of Job in the Hebrew Bible, in which God tests a seemingly perfect man. What does this story tell us about God's seeming fickleness and cruelty? If you have read Job, how does this story differ from it? In what other tales does the author draw upon precedents from the Bible as a model?