A selection from the works of the Catalan Franciscan, Francesc Eiximenis. Francesc Eiximenis is an outstanding figure in the ranks of the mendicant orders who, in the late Middle Ages, strove to educate the lower echelons of society. Born in Gerona, around 1330, probably to a comfortable middle-class family, Eiximenis entered the Franciscan order at a very early age, studied in Oxford, and probably also in Paris, and obtained the degree of master of theology in Toulouse. Later he combined teaching with the composing of his works. Among these stands out the monumental and widely known Lo Crestia (The Christian), in which Eiximenis aimed to include all contemporary university knowledge, adapted for a lay public whose basic level of instruction was far below that of clerics. The same didactic purpose is seen in the Libro de los angeles (Book of the Angels), the Libro de las mujeres (Book of the Women) and the Vita Christi. Eiximenis, by then bishop of Elna, died in 1409. Among the many themes that recur in his extensive literary production, this anthology concentrates on his ideas on the transmission of knowledge, on education and on culture. The introduction and selection of texts is by David Guixeras and Xavier Renedo. ROBERT D. HUGHES is a translator and researcher with particular expertise in the fields of fine art, the history of ideas and Catalan culture. Published in association with Editorial Barcino
Reviews
This anthology gives a very interesting insight into the medieval attitude to learning. * FRANCISCAN *
Francesc Eiximenis: An Anthology es un recull adrecat a tot tipus de lectors, des mes especialitzats fins als que no ho son tant, que presenta novaament d'una forma sintetitzada, pero alhora completa, els passatges mes interessants sobre l'educacio I la cultura que es troben escampades al llarg del vast corpus de Francesc Eiximenis, en una traduccio que de ben segur contribuira a internacionalitzar la figura del francisca gironi. * MOT SO RAZO *
A welcome contribution to the field of Eiximenis studies to have this anthology in English. [This] volume offers a window onto Eiximenis' world, and more broadly, insights into Franciscans' views on education in the 14th century. * THE MEDIEVAL REVIEW *
The publication of these select texts and their translation into English will certainly go far towards making this Catalan friar known to a still wider world. * COLLECTANEA FRANCISCANA *



Book Information
ISBN 9781855661622
Author Francesc Eiximenis
Format Paperback
Page Count 168
Imprint Tamesis Books
Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Weight(grams) 364g