, also called Bartholomew of Pisa, was born in the fourteenth century
, also called Bartholomew
of Pisa, was born in the fourteenth century at Rivano in
Tuscany, and was of the order of the Franciscans, or
Friars minorites; and derived much fame in the eyes of
his brethren by a work in Latin, on the “Conformity of
St. Francis with Jesus Christ,
” which he presented to the
chapter of his order in 1399. (See Albert, Erasmus.)
The impiety of this work may be partly guessed from the
title; but as Tiraboschi has thought proper to blame the
Protestants who either answered it seriously, or turned it
into ridicule, and according to him raised a clamour against
the friars, who could not be supposed responsible for the
act of an individual, it may be necessary to remind the
readers of that learned historian, that the friars did in fact
take upon them a very high degree of responsibility. They
not only bestowed the highest praise on Albizzi; but after
receiving his book in a full chapter, the representatives of
the whole order, they presented him with a complete dress
which St. Francis wore in his life-time. This foolish book,
which not only raises St. Francis above all other saints, but
impiously compares him with the Saviour, was first printed
at Venice, fol. without date, or printer’s name. The second edition, which Dr. Clarke calls the first, was printed
at Milan, 1510, a folio of 256 leaves in the black letter,
and sells on the continent at from ₤5. to ₤20. The
third was also printed at Milan, 1513, in the same form,
and type, with a new preface by Mapelli, a Franciscan.
All these are uncommonly scarce, and hardly ever to be
found complete. Jeremy Bucchi, another Franciscan,
published a new edition at Bologna in 1590, in which he
omitted many passages, and added the lives of the illustrious men of the order of St. Francis; but as this did not
sell, the first two leaves were cancelled, and it was again
published in 1620, as a new work. It contains the approbation of the chapter-general, dated Aug. 2, 1399. This
work, with more alterations and omissions, was again published at Cologn in 1632, under the title “Antiquitates
Franciscanae, sive Speculum vitae B. Francisci et sociorum,
”
&c. The last we shall notice is that of father Valentine
Maree, ' or Marcus, a reco^let, or reformed Franciscan,
entitled “Traite de conformites du disciple avec le maitre,
c'est a dire, de S. Francois avec J. C. en tout le mysteres
de sa naissance, vie, passion, mort, &c.
” Liege,