1. Historical outline. St. Francis of Assisi was against the life of study, seeing in it a threat to devotion. Learning, he said, leaves the heart arid and does not serve love. But his Testament shows that he thought highly of genuine theology: “We must esteem all who are learned in the things of God and honour them as men who dispense spirit and life.” Despite some initial resistance, Franciscan studies were flourishing remarkably early. By 1250 the Order already had some 30 schools. Franciscans …