Francis of Assisi, whose Gospel performance captured the imagination of his day, fostered a movement of men and women who were fascinated by the transformative power of the embodied Word. Learned or unlettered, theologian or penitent, their shared conviction took form in various gestures, languages, and literary genres. For their part, medieval artisans and craftsmen reflected this Franciscan predilection to preach in architecture, frescoes, and reliquaries. In Franciscans and Preaching, scholars from Europe and North Amercia offer the first extensive English language study of medieval...