The rule of penance of the seraphicall father S. Francis: approued and confirmed by Leo the X. for religious persons of the 3. order of S. Francis : together with a declaration of each point of the Rule, profitable not only to the religous of this order, but also to all religious women / by Br. Angelus Francis, friar minour.

What she did in the time of her Marriage. § 2.

IN the fourteenth yeare of her age she is forced by the obe∣dience

she owed to her Father to marry, and thereby perhaps must mitigate somewhat of this great feruour. But nothing lesse; for her heart was firme and stable in those graces that God had giuen her, more and more sheweing forth her feruour of spirit, dayly en∣creasing in the study of vertuous actions, feeding her minde with the contemplation of celestiall things, and excerciseing her body in watchings, prayers, and fasts, oftentimes cautiously riseing frō her husbands side in the night to pray. And when she could get op∣portunity, she would lie on the bare ground, and to preuent all rebellion of the flesh, she chasti∣sed her tender body euery fryday with disciplines, & in the lent of∣tener. Vnder her silkes and sattins she ware continually a haireshirt,

yea many times permitted her maides to discipline and chastise her when she could think that she had done ought amisse. A rare par∣terne in so great a princesse.

To all this we may adde her great charitie, wherein she spent the greater part of her time, now labouring by word and workes to draw others to amendment of life, by reason whereof many la∣dies forsooke the vanitie of the world, some by her counsell ma∣keing vowes of chastitie, others entering into religiō, others who had not receiued the faith by her good counsell and instruction brought to be baptized, she her selfe going to be their God-mo∣ther at the font. Other whiles going forth to visit poore sicke woemen, comforting and cheri∣shing them with all things neces∣sarie, which she alwayes brought

with her. And indeed she was al∣wayes-mercifull to the poore, not disdaining secretly to dresse their fores and botches, yea their scald-heads and scurfes, where of being sometimes reprehended she ioy∣fully answered, that she had ra∣ther please Christ than mē. And to auoid idlenesse the mother of all mischiefe, being vacant from the aforesaid works of piety she vsed with her maydes to spinne, and therewithall she cloathed the poore. And that her charitie might neuer cease, she caused a faire hospitall to be built, wherein she gaue order that all things ne∣cessarie should be prouided for the poore that were weake and sick, which hospitall (although it were on a high mountaine some∣what painfull to ascend) she did ordinarily visit euery day, going with great humilitie to each one

that was there, enquiring whe∣ther they wanted any thing, or what they desired, and with her owne hands did feed those that were not able to helpe them∣selues, taking them out of their beds, bearing thē in her armes, and composeing their beds for them. Most louingly would she embrace the poore little chil∣dren, carrieing them in her armes, and shewing her tender affection to them, as if she had beene their mother: so that ordinarily she was called the Mother of the poore. She neuer regarded their defor∣mitie, diseases, scabs or filth, but louingly receiued all as if they had beene her owne. In this hos∣pitall she had alwayes 28 persons for whom she prouided, although she were forced sometimes for their sakes to substract necessa∣ries

from her selfe. Besides there were 900. beggars daily nouris∣hed by her almes; but aboue all she tooke speciall care for the fu∣neralls and burials of such poore people as were not able to pro∣uide for themselues.

These acts of so notable cha∣rity God almighty shewed both to be gratefull to himselfe, and also not preiudiciall to her hus∣bands state; as the following ex∣amples will shew. For once being much importuned by some poore people for almes, and hauing not any other thing to giue, she gaue them her mantell which was very rich, which the Prince misseing asked for it, the Sainct confidently answered that it hung thereby, as expe∣rience did verify. At another time the prince being in great anxietie

of mind, for that she had not ap∣parell beseeming her qualitie, especially in such a time as there came vnto him an Embassadour from the king her Father, she willed him not to be troubled, for that she did neuer care for such vanities; But the time being come, that she must descend to the Embassadour, loe she appeares in very rich apparell, adorned with such beauty that euery one was strucke into admiration, especially the prince, to whom demāding the reason she smiling said, our lord doth know how to prepare such things when he pleaseth. About the yeare 1225. there fell a great dearth through the whole country, when her husband being abroade she ga∣thers all the corne she could get, and most bountifully imparts it

to the poore, so that she emptied all the princes barnes, and store∣houses, which notwith standing were found to be as they were before.

It is too hard to expresse her great deuotion at Masse and other diuine offices, her feruent and pious aspirations, her pietie in the time of communion, whe∣rein she was many times seene to shine with a great light and bri∣ghtnesse. And although she spent her whole time very religious∣ly, yet more particularly she obserued the lent with fastings, almes, and prayers, adding fre∣quent disciplines; and on maundy thirsday poorely clad she visi∣ted the churches, washing with great deuotion the feet of twelue poore woemen, and after ward gaue them liberall almes. Shee

oftentiues went the processions barefoot.

The fame of these and such like vertues came to the eares of our seraphicall S. Francis, who for her comfort by the comman∣dement of the Cardinall prote∣ctour sent her his cloake, which she most deuoutly receiued. It seemes to me that this cloake was a misticall signe of what she was to be, to wit, not only one of his children, but a mother and pa∣tronesse of this third order, which the holy Father by this signe doth commend vnto her.