Bonaventure

Lore & Background

Bonaventure was born at Civita di Bagnoregio, near Viterbo. Almost nothing is known of his childhood except his parents' names. He reported that in his youth he was saved from death by the prayers of Francis of Assisi, which motivated him to write Francis's vita. He was elected Minister General of the Franciscan Order after defending the order against the anti-mendicant party.

Reader's Guide

Bonaventure steered the Franciscans on a moderate and intellectual course, making them the most prominent order until the Jesuits. His theology integrated faith and reason, viewing Christ as the 'one true master' who offers knowledge beginning in faith, developed through rational understanding, and perfected by mystical union with God. He wrote on almost every scholastic subject, with no exclusively philosophical work, illustrating the interpenetration of philosophy and theology. His thought shows Augustinian influence, with Aristotelian principles added, and contrasts with contemporaries like Roger Bacon and Thomas Aquinas by emphasizing mystical and Platonizing speculation. His major work is the Commentary on the Sentences, written at age twenty-seven. The only extant relic is the arm and hand with which he wrote his Commentary on the Sentences, conserved at Bagnoregio.

Did You Know?

• Bonaventure was saved from an untimely death in his youth by the prayers of Francis of Assisi, which motivated him to write Francis's biography.
• The only extant relic of Bonaventure is the arm and hand with which he wrote his Commentary on the Sentences, now at Bagnoregio.
• Many medieval writings once attributed to him are now reclassified under the name 'Pseudo-Bonaventure.'