Winter Newsletter
Volume 2 | Issue 2
Welcome to the latest edition of our Newsletter! In this edition we begin a new and groundbreaking series on 'The True Story of Jacopone da Todi', extending over seven centuries; we look at two new books that will appeal to anyone who is interested in Jacopone; and in the lead-up to Christmas, we present a laude of Jacopone that has been described as an “outburst of Christmas joy”.
Stories from Todi
Of Stones and Love
“Trenta anni (thirty years)”. That was Daniele’s answer to my question, “How long have you and Piero worked together?”
I was stunned! I would have guessed Daniele to be 34. He moves brick and stone and buckets of mortar like a young man in his prime. Wherever you find Piero – a person with some of the best manners and kindest smiles I have ever encountered – there you find Daniele. If there are two men in the whole of Italy with a more robust, energetic, and positive disposition toward their work than Piero and Daniele, you will be hard pressed to find them.
Stabat Mater
Stabat Mater Dolorosa: A Journey Through Seven Centuries of Music
Our friend Hannie van Osnabrugge has, for almost 30 years, been running the wonderful Ultimate Stabat Mater Website. As the name implies, this is the definitive source of information on the Stabat Mater and particularly on the huge number of musical versions and recordings, through many centuries.
Now Hannie has produced a book, Stabat Mater Dolorosa – A Journey Through Seven Centuries of Music.
The Real Jacopone
Admired, Cancelled, Rediscovered: The true story of Jacopone da Todi, c1270-2024. Part 1.
This is the story of Jacopone, not just in his lifetime but over the seven centuries since his death. We call it the ‘true story’ of Jacopone because it is based on documented facts (nothing invented), including a lot of forgotten or suppressed information. In some ways it’s like reconstructing a jigsaw, having found all the missing pieces.
Our story is divided into three periods titled Admired (c1270-1590), Cancelled (c1590-1900) and Rediscovered (1900-2024).
Book Review
Iacopone da Todi : The Power of Mysticism and the Originality of Franciscan Poetry
We are pleased to present in this issue of the Newsletter an extraordinary book, published in English this year (2024) by Brill Publishers of Leiden and Boston. The book is edited by two eminent scholars, Matteo Leonardi, Professor of Italian Literature at the University of Turin and Alessandro Vettori, Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature at Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA, who conclude their Introduction as follows:
Laudi
Laude LXIV. O novo canto/A new song
Clement A. Miles, in his book Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan (1912) wrote:
Not till the close of the thirteenth century do we meet with any vernacular Christmas poetry of importance ... The first real outburst of Christmas joy in a popular tongue is found in Italy, in the poems of that strange “minstrel of the Lord,” the Franciscan Jacopone da Todi…
An “outburst of Christmas joy” perfectly describes this laude,…
Other News
La Casa Dipinta: A work of art in progress
One of the many links between Todi and Ireland is La Casa Dipinta (‘the painted house’), the house where the Irish artist Brian O’Doherty and his wife, art historian Barbara Novak, lived in Todi for several decades from 1975. Over many years O’Doherty turned the entire house into an artwork, covering most surfaces with unique wall paintings and distinctive rope drawing installations. It is now one of the most popular attractions for visitors to Todi.
Dana K. Greene 1942 – 2023
We were deeply saddened to lose Dana Greene at the end of 2023. We first encountered Dana in 2018, in planning the International Conference for the 100th anniversary of Evelyn Underhill’s 1919 biography of Jacopone. Ambitiously, we wanted to have the world’s greatest living expert on Evelyn Underhill as a speaker at our conference. Only a little research was needed to identify that person as the American scholar, Dana Greene.
Podcast
Claudio Peri has produced a podcast series reviewing various aspects of the life, work and mysticism of Jacopone da Todi. In each issue of this newsletter, we will present two episodes of this podcast, recorded both in Italian and in English.
Episode 7:
The Last Battle: Jacopone’s indignation at unfaithfulness within the Church led to excommunication and harsh imprisonment, yet in that dark place he managed to achieve a complete change of mindset. His identification with the crucified Jesus brought him peace, love and an ability to transcend and forgive the injustices done to him.
Episode 8:
Sopr’onne lengua Amore. Love beyond all telling. The final years of Jacopone's life, after his release from prison, were characterised by peace and joy, founded on the love of Jesus - a "love beyond all telling", as he described it. From this came some of his most beautiful poetry.
Resources
Database now published online
Some years ago we began a systematic search for all publications dedicated to Jacopone produced since the beginning of the 20th century. By the end of 2020, we had collected more than 1000 references. These are now available in a searchable database here.
St. Patrick and Jacopone
At this time of year the figure of St Patrick features very largely in Ireland. St Patrick’s Day (17 March) is not just the religious feast of a saint – it’s also Ireland’s national holiday, the focus of a major festival and a worldwide celebration of Irishness. But this year I have found myself thinking about the comparison between Patrick and Jacopone da Todi.
What have they in common? Both are real people who became legends. Patrick was transformed into a heroic wonder-worker, battling kings, demons and pagan deities. And, of course, banishing the snakes out of Ireland! Jacopone was not so lucky – he became a dour, angry extremist, a half-mad fanatic doing crazy things on the streets and piazzas of Todi. But what they really have in common is this: in both cases the real person, the true story, is far more interesting than the legend!
Spring Newsletter
Volume 2 | Issue 1
Welcome to the latest edition of our Newsletter! In this edition we begin a new and groundbreaking series on 'The True Story of Jacopone da Todi', extending over seven centuries; we look at two new books that will appeal to anyone who is interested in Jacopone; and in the lead-up to Christmas, we present a laude of Jacopone that has been described as an “outburst of Christmas joy”.
Stories from Todi
A Tapestry of Faith
My mother had just died and her funeral was two weeks previous to my arriving in Todi in 2018. We have spent two weeks each year in Todi for the past decade. I was still grieving her loss but I was in Todi and – as I had discovered each year that we came here – a sense of peace and quiet joy settled in my heart. This year was no exception. However, this year in Umbria had yet to extend another special gift to me.
The Real Jacopone
Spirituality and Mysticism
Jacopone the Mystic
We often refer to Jacopone as a mystic, as well as a poet, emphasising that one cannot fully appreciate Jacopone’s poetry without understanding something about his mysticism.
But what is mysticism?
Mysticism means different things to different people but at its simplest, it is the search for an experiential knowledge of God, as opposed to purely intellectual, traditional or ritual approaches.
The laudi of ecstasy
Very different definitions of ecstasy exist. Some psychologists, not empathetic towards religious experience, classify ecstasy among mental disorders such as schizophrenia, hysteria and paranoia. Most dictionaries and encyclopedias define it approximately as: “a state of isolation and escape from reality, in order to be absorbed in a single object; an internal and exclusive perception”. This definition does not reflect the technical meaning of the word, which derives from Greek ex-stasis, “to be outside”, that is to stand outside of oneself – the very opposite of being closed up in oneself.
Jacopone, mysticism and psychoanalysis
Why would psychoanalysts Carlo Brutti and Rita Parlani Brutti organise seminars on the figure of Jacopone da Todi in their Institute? What relationship have they been able to establish between Psychoanalysis and Mysticism?
Resources
Database now published online
Some years ago we began a systematic search for all publications dedicated to Jacopone produced since the beginning of the 20th century. By the end of 2020, we had collected more than 1000 references. These are now available in a searchable database here.
Laudi
Laude LXXXIX. Amor de caritate
In this laude Jacopone expresses the emotions that ecstasy aroused in him and that now, writing the laude, are renewed vividly in his memory. Evelyn Underhill considered it Jacopone's masterpiece, reaching a peak rarely equalled in Italian religious poetry. Other great saints, close to Jacopone in sensitivity and experience, expressed themselves in language strongly echoing the sentiments of this laude.
Laude XC. Sopr’onne lengua, Amore
The opening lines of this laude are the verses of a great poet who, after a life of struggle and pain, had achieved the perfect joy of St Francis and the bliss that Jesus promised to the poor in spirit. Have you ever met a happier person than the one described in these verses? This exhilarating condition is what Edgar Morin describes as “the feeling of fusion with the Absolute”.
Podcast
Claudio Peri has produced a podcast series reviewing various aspects of the life, work and mysticism of Jacopone da Todi. In each issue of this newsletter, we will present two episodes of this podcast, recorded both in Italian and in English.
Episode 7: The Last Battle
Jacopone’s indignation at unfaithfulness within the Church led to excommunication and harsh imprisonment, yet in that dark place he managed to achieve a complete change of mindset. His identification with the crucified Jesus brought him peace, love and an ability to transcend and forgive the injustices done to him.
Episode 8: Sopr’onne lengua Amore (‘Love beyond all telling’}.
The final years of Jacopone's life, after his release from prison, were characterised by peace and joy, founded on the love of Jesus - a "love beyond all telling", as he described it. From this came some of his most beautiful poetry.
Getting to know Jacopone through recommended reading
A major new book on Jacopone has just been published!
Iacopone da Todi : The Power of Mysticism and the Originality of Franciscan Poetry, edited by Matteo Leonardi and Alessandro Vettori and published by Brill (Leiden/Boston), is described as "the first ever collection of essays in English on Iacopone da Todi by a diverse group of international scholars".
Although it is a scholarly, academic volume, this book will be important for all who are interested in Jacopone. We hope to include a more detailed comment on it in the next Newsletter.
Newsletter Winter 2023
Volume 1 | Issue 1
Getting to know the real Jacopone through suggested readings
Laude LXXVI, “O iubelo del core / O exultation of the heart”
Podcast Episode 1: Crisis and Episode 2: Conversion
Events - Upcoming: Sunday 12th March a meeting entitled: “The two Easters of Jacopone da Todi” will be held in Casatenovo.
Meet the team
Newsletter Spring 2023
Volume 1 | Issue 2