Canticle of Brother Sun (Canticum or Laudes Creaturarum)
The Canticle of Brother Sun: A Poetic and Spiritual Masterpiece
The Canticle of Brother Sun, also known as the Canticum or Laudes Creaturarum, is a poetic composition by Francis of Assisi written around 1226. It is universally recognized as the oldest poetic text in Italian literature.
It is a hymn to life that unfolds through the works of God: a prayer permeated by a profoundly positive vision of nature and creation, in which the very image of the Creator is reflected.
Praise to "Lord Brother Sun"
Umbrian Vernacular Version (Original Text)
Laudato sie, mi signore,
com tucte le tue creature,
spetialmente messor lo frate sole,
lo qual (è) iorno et allumini noi per loi.
Et ellu è bellu e radiante cum grande splendore:
de tè, altissimo, porta significatione.
Modern English Version
Praise be to You, my Lord,
together with all Your creatures,
especially through Brother Sun,
who brings the day and lights us with his light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor:
and of You, Most High, he is the symbol and witness.
The Meaning of the Sun in the Poetry of St. Francis
Francis called this composition the "Canticle of Brother Sun" because he considered and said that the sun is the most beautiful of all creatures and that it best reflects the likeness of our Lord. The sun is not seen and imagined only as a "brother," but also as a "great lord."
For this reason, it is the first and privileged creature of the Canticle, and the entire poem seems to be placed under its sign. As Francis himself stated: "In the morning, at the rising of the sun, every man should praise the Lord who created it for our use, since through it our eyes have light by day."
Francis exulted and rejoiced in the light of the sun. Reading this celebration of solar glory, one cannot help but think of his eyes, now so inflamed by illness that he could no longer bear the light of day and the radiance of the sun.
And yet these eyes do not curse the light, they do not kill the sun. The words blossoming from Francis's poetic meditation recreate the radiant matter of the sun, its beauty, and its great splendor.
"They are simple words steeped in the childhood of life, which express values of enchantment. Their rhythm of beauty has the task of leaving room for reflection, of allowing the radiant matter of the sun to condense in the imagination into a symbolic unity."
The absolute simplicity of the composition is the mark of a youth, it is the privilege of a childhood that lives the wonder and the enchantment of the unveiling of the world, every day in the morning light, at the rising of the sun.
The Sun as a Symbol of Christ
The poetic image of the sun is not built with fantastic elements, but is dreamed in the very substantiality of the radiant matter. The sun in Francis's poetic image does not rise from the night and does not set into the night.
Its instant immobilizes the flow of time and becomes a symbol of the eternal instant. The new sun is Christ: the new and supernatural sacrament, the new sun that outshines the sun of visible creation.
The message of Francis, expressed in this praise to the Lord, is for the consolation and edification of the Christians of this time, provided they know how to recover it within themselves. The sun, radiant with great splendor, represents the Most Holy One who brings about our sanctification.