This joint biography illuminates the lives of Francis and Clare and their way of life. It shows how they were bound together by devotion to God as well as the violent objections of their families to religious life. It explores a variety of issues they faced, including the treatment of lepers in medieval society, corruption in the church, and attitudes toward the created world. You will learn how Clare’s spirituality influenced that of other prominent women, how Francis lost control of his own movement, and why Francis’s body was secretly buried after his death.