Michael Robson examines the evolution of the legend of Saint Francis and asks why the earliest biographers chose to tell the life of Saint Francis in the way that they did.
Instead of simply narrating the life of the saint, Robson looks at Francis through the thoughts and writings of those who knew him: his parents, the local bishop, Pope Innocent III, Cardinal Ugolino, Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Clare. What emerges is a new understanding of the saint.