The Voice of a Medieval Woman: St. Elizabeth of Hungary as a Franciscan Penitent in the Early Sources for Her Life

In this fascinating literary and historical detective story, Dr. Pieper explores the sources for the life of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and how our knowledge of her is affected by the discovery and reconstruction of a new Franciscan life of her from the end of the thirteenth century that contains lost portions of her canonization process.

This work, known as the Anonymous Franciscan, gives us many new details about Elizabeth's life, her relationship with the friars and her Franciscan vocation from the people who knew her.

The author places the Anonymous Franciscan in the context of the other known sources, showing how it contributes to our knowledge of Elizabeth as a person, and of the way people of her time understood the penitential life in the nascent Franciscan Third Order.

About author(s):Lori Pieper, OFS, received her Ph.D. in Medieval History from Fordham University, where she specialized in women's history, hagiography and Church history. The Voice of a Medieval Woman is a revised and updated version of her 2001 doctoral dissertation. Her other historical works include The Greatest of These is Love: The Life of St. Elizabeth of Hungary (2007).