G. K. Chesterton called theirs “a pure and spiritual romance,” and that’s what it was. We find it too tough to believe, these days, but Francis and Clare were the most intimate of friends without sexual tension.
Nikos Kazantzakis was the first to popularize the myth of a lost romance between these two, with his novel, Saint Francis (1962). According to the Greek novelist, Clare was one of the girls that Francis had wooed like a troubadour before his conversion. Also, we see Francis struggling with his latent lust for the younger Clare.
Franco Zeffirelli followed suit with his popular film, Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972). We watch as Francis pursues an only slightly reluctant Clare through poppy fields and into caves. Later on, when Clare comes to join Francis’s young movement in the middle of the night, the scene is filled with sexual tension.
Don’t believe it. None of this is to be found in the original sources.
To pursue this more, check out my recent book, Light in the Dark Ages: The Friendship of Francis and Clare of Assisi.
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