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Tau painted by St. Francis.
The image is now kept by the Magdale's chapel
(also called Virgin
Mary's Chapel) in the Franciscan Sanctuary of
Fonte Colombo in
Rieti (Italy). |
"...And in reality the Saint showed great veneration and affection
for the Tau; while speaking he would often recommend it and write it
himself at the foot of the letters he sent, as if his mission consisted,
according to the words of the prophet, in marking the Tau on the foreheads
of the men who wail and weep, honestly being converted to Christ.".
BONAVENTURA DA BAGNOREGIO, The Life
of St Francis of Assisi
(Legenda maior), chap. IV. 1079
The mark of the tau (taw in Hebrew) has got a biblical
origin: it can be found in Genesis (4,15), in Exodus (12,7), in Ezekiel
(9,3-4), in Job (31,35).
In the New Testament it is contained in Apocalypse (7,4 and 9,4). Although
not clearly said, it seems to be understood that in the seal-mark of
the tau, "signum salutis", the cross is foreshadowed.
San Bonaventura da Bagnoregio asserts this hypothesis, too: according
to him, St Francis's predilection for this mark derives from the biblical
texts of Ezekiel and Apocalypse ( see BONAVENTURA DA BAGNOREGIO, The
Life of St Francis of Assisi (Legenda maior) Prologue, 2, chap.
IV, 9; Miracles, chap. X, 6-7) . Nevertheless, many critics maintain
that, as for St Francis's use of the tau, he was influenced by
his contemporary tradition more than by the Holy Scriptures. The symbol
of the tau, in fact, was a central element in his time. Innocent
III opened the Lateran Council IV (1215) preaching about Ezekiel 9,
and inviting all the believers to be witnesses, under the mark of the
tau, of penance and of the cross. The Antoniani who took
care of the plague-stricken, carried on their frocks the cross of abbot
Anthony, which was identical to the tau. As possible figurative
sources of the veneration of the tau are to be considered also
the illuminations of books and in particular the illuminations
of the Roman canon of various missals. This text, addressing
the Father, begins with the expression: "Te igitur, clementissime
Pater (…)". The initial T of the Eucharistic prayer was
usually transformed into a great cross and given prominence by means
of colours; it could remain in the form of a tau or be transformed
into a Latin cross. The latter is the case of the missal of the church
of St Nicholas ( today kept in a museum in Baltimore), which was opened
for three consecutive times (sortes Apostolorum) by Francis ,
by Bernard and by Peter Cattani to know from the Gospel what their lives
were to be like (see The Legend of the three companions, in Franciscan
Sources (Editio minor), par. 28 - 29; see TOMMASO DA CELANO, The
Life of St Francis of Assisi, Life II, part I, chap. X, 15). The
Hebrew taw or the Greek tau was, then, a symbol known
by Francis and it had for him the same meaning as the cross, that is
a mark of salvation and redemption: "More than with any other
marks he was familia with the "tau", by which only he used
to sign his letters and which he used to draw on the cell walls"
(TOMMASO DA CELANO, The Life of St Francis of Assisi, Treatise of
Miracles, chap. II, 3; see LEONARD LEHMANN, Francis, the praying-master,
Capuchin Historical Institute, Rome 1993, pages 284 and following.
Extracted from P. Rossi, Autograph writings of Francis of Assisi.
paolorossi62@libero.it
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