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 church history. In this celebrated biography, now available in English for the first time, the distinguished medieval scholar Jacques Le Goff paints a detailed 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 assesses the dramatic influence of the saint on the medieval church and celebrates his role in the spiritual revival of the Caholic Church.