I335J
ALLEGORIES
23
sentatives of the three Orders are climbing the hill,
with a gracious welcome. On the right, a novice is
baptised by angel’s hands, and the penitent is de-
fended by warrior maidens ; while Repentance, armed
with a scourge, drives out carnal Desire, and Death
hurls the naked form of Passion into hell-flames. In
the third compartment we have the Marriage of
St. Francis with Holy Poverty, the bride of his choice,
that memorable scene which, originally described by
Bonaventura and the Franciscan poet Tacopone, has
been celebrated in a famous passage of Dante’s
Paradiso. Giotto himself was no religious enthusiast,
and his shrewd worldly sense and genial humour led
him to look with little sympathy upon the voluntary
poverty which Francis held to be the crown of all
virtues. But in this beautiful fresco he has entered
fully into the spirit of glowing devotion which ani-
mated the Saint, and has left us a representation of
the subject worthy to rank with Dante’s immortal lines.
The wedding takes place in the courts of Heaven,
Love and Hope are the bridesmaids, Christ Himself
the priest who speaks the nuptial blessing. The
bride’s robe is torn and ragged, the boys throw stones
and the little dogs bark at her, but the thorns that
tear her bare feet, blossom into roses about her brow,
and the face of Francis beams with love and rapture,
as he places the ring upon her finger. In the fore-
ground we have practical illustrations of the parable.
On the left, an angel smiles approval on a young man
in the act of giving his cloak to a beggar; on the right,
another richly-clad youth with a falcon on his wrist
turns scornfully away, and a miser clutches his bags
of gold more tightly between his hands. In the air
ALLEGORIES
23
sentatives of the three Orders are climbing the hill,
with a gracious welcome. On the right, a novice is
baptised by angel’s hands, and the penitent is de-
fended by warrior maidens ; while Repentance, armed
with a scourge, drives out carnal Desire, and Death
hurls the naked form of Passion into hell-flames. In
the third compartment we have the Marriage of
St. Francis with Holy Poverty, the bride of his choice,
that memorable scene which, originally described by
Bonaventura and the Franciscan poet Tacopone, has
been celebrated in a famous passage of Dante’s
Paradiso. Giotto himself was no religious enthusiast,
and his shrewd worldly sense and genial humour led
him to look with little sympathy upon the voluntary
poverty which Francis held to be the crown of all
virtues. But in this beautiful fresco he has entered
fully into the spirit of glowing devotion which ani-
mated the Saint, and has left us a representation of
the subject worthy to rank with Dante’s immortal lines.
The wedding takes place in the courts of Heaven,
Love and Hope are the bridesmaids, Christ Himself
the priest who speaks the nuptial blessing. The
bride’s robe is torn and ragged, the boys throw stones
and the little dogs bark at her, but the thorns that
tear her bare feet, blossom into roses about her brow,
and the face of Francis beams with love and rapture,
as he places the ring upon her finger. In the fore-
ground we have practical illustrations of the parable.
On the left, an angel smiles approval on a young man
in the act of giving his cloak to a beggar; on the right,
another richly-clad youth with a falcon on his wrist
turns scornfully away, and a miser clutches his bags
of gold more tightly between his hands. In the air