St Francis And The Wolf
Apr. 7th, 2026 03:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poliphilo St Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio by Stefano di Giovanni, better known as Sasetta
It illustrates one of the stories in the Fioretti (Little Flowers) of St Francis.
The town of Gubbio is being terrorised by a man-eating wolf. The citizens appeal to St Francis to do something about it. He approaches the beast's lair and when it comes out to him makes the sign of the cross. The wolf immediately becomes tractable, Francis shakes it by the paw and makes the following covenant with it- that if the wolf will stop eating people the towns people will feed it. The placid beast accompanies Francis to the town square where the terms of the agreement are restated. Thereafter the wolf becomes a beloved pet, wandering round the town and in and out of the houses.
Just a pretty story? In 1872 a grave at the church of San Francesco della Pace which had always been supposed to be that of the wolf was dug up and there- right enough- lay its bones
The grave, with its ornate gravestone, is still to be seen in the crypt of the church.
It illustrates one of the stories in the Fioretti (Little Flowers) of St Francis.
The town of Gubbio is being terrorised by a man-eating wolf. The citizens appeal to St Francis to do something about it. He approaches the beast's lair and when it comes out to him makes the sign of the cross. The wolf immediately becomes tractable, Francis shakes it by the paw and makes the following covenant with it- that if the wolf will stop eating people the towns people will feed it. The placid beast accompanies Francis to the town square where the terms of the agreement are restated. Thereafter the wolf becomes a beloved pet, wandering round the town and in and out of the houses.
Just a pretty story? In 1872 a grave at the church of San Francesco della Pace which had always been supposed to be that of the wolf was dug up and there- right enough- lay its bones
The grave, with its ornate gravestone, is still to be seen in the crypt of the church.
