L’edizione di una compilazione francescana da testimone unico

Saint Francis was one of Claudio Leonardi’s latest research interests: he is, as far as we can see, the first medieval character arising in a three-dimensional form, along the three Cartesian axes of the writings by the hand, by and about the Saint of Assisi. neverthless, it is only around the axis of the writings about Fran- cis that has fed the so-called “Franciscan question”, growing enormously but remaining essentially unanswered. only in the last century the manuscript tra- ditions of these hagiographical sources have greatly increased and have been complicated by the discovery of new codices, which often transmit them in frag- mentary and highly altered forms, making them, in many instances, codices unici. Compared to these sources, the critical editions produced so far have proved to be temporary and unreliable; therefore it’s essential to draw attention to the need for a renewed editorial season dedicated to these, wondering how the neo-Lachmannian method can be applied to the study of these traditions and how to use the tools of philology. A significative case of study is represented by the so- called Compilatio Little, still waiting for a complete critical edition.