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The Medieval Church · 1221

The Earlier Rule

Regula Non Bullata

Francis of Assisi · 1181/82–1226

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What it is

The unapproved rule: a patchwork of gospel texts and instructions on begging, on working with one's hands, on going among the Saracens, and on owning nothing whatever.

Why it lasted

Francis's own vision before it was made administratively workable — much of what the approved rule left out is here.

Scripture it works from

Where to read it

Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.

These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.

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