Women of the Streets

Early Franciscan Women and Their Mendicant Vocation

This book about Mendicant women outside the cloister is unique in its content. Rose of Viterbo, Angela of Foligno, Margaret of Cortona, and Sancia, Queen of Naples, were all born within the first century of the Franciscan Order. As women who pursued their religious vocation of voluntary poverty, itinerancy, and preaching outside of monastic walls—in the streets and in their homes—they could very well be called the first generation of mendicant women.