Felice Accrocca, a priest in the diocese of the Latina-Terracina-Sezze-Priverno in Lazio, was ordained as the archbishop of Benevento on 15 May 2016. Until recently he was a parish priest and professor of medieval history at the Gregorian University in Rome. He is a prolific writer in scholarly Franciscan circles, with his numerous lectures, articles and books. His work frequently appears in the leading Franciscan journals and the sheer quantity of his writings over a sustained period is exceptional. For this reason he has been honoured by this volume published by the Società internazionale di studi francescani in Assisi, a series reserved for eminent scholars. The monograph chronicles Accrocca's publications between 1988 and 2017, beginning with a paper at a conference on Pope Celestine v in 1988 and closing with a book review published in Collectanea Franciscana in 2017. This rich bibliography of his writings amounts to a prodigious 512 items (pp. xix–lix). The papers published in this collection offer a selection of his varied essays, discussions on the writings and Franciscan hagiography and tributes to leading scholars in the field. They raise key questions about texts and their interpretation. Accrocca's ordination as an archbishop has not, however, brought an end to his scholarly endeavour. A glance at the programme for Franciscan conferences in Italy shows that he remains active in scholarly circles. This book, dedicated to the people of the archdiocese of Benevento, examines hagiographical sources, a study of Franciscan hagiography and discussions of miscellaneous topics.

Four papers comprise the first section. The first of these, ‘Un apocrifo la “Lettera enciclica” di frate Elia sul transito di San Francesco’, illustrates Accrocca's appetite for the fresh appraisal and examination of significant texts. Responding to Chiara Frugoni's call for a renewed debate about the authenticity of this text, Accrocca starts with the literary genesis of the letter, which was published for the first time in 1620 and purported to be sent to Gregory of Naples, the minister provincial of France, to announce the death of St Francis of Assisi. Guglielmo Spoelberch, the editor, maintained that the text of Elias's letter was based upon an exemplar. The text was published with minor amendments by Fr Luke Wadding ofm at St Isidore's College in Rome and enjoyed a wide circulation, notably in volume x of Analecta Franciscana; it was printed again in Fontes Francescani, with a brief introduction by Giuseppe Cremascoli in 1995. There is no trace of a manuscript copy of this letter, but this may merely mean that the original source has been lost through human error or the confiscation and destruction of a friary's archive. Spoelberch's claim to have seen this text in the friary of the Recollects of Valenciennes in northern France is scrutinised by Accrocca. Jordan of Giano records that Elias dispatched a letter to announce the death of the saint in 1226. The letter, however, played no part in the polemical exchanges about the stigmata. It was viewed within the context of Thomas of Celano's Vita prima and Julian of Speyer's Vita s. Francisci and the polemics about St Francis as the alter Christus. Accrocca is inclined to the belief that Elias's letter is not the one which has passed into the Franciscan corpus of texts.

The second section contains six studies on distinguished scholars in the realm of Franciscan hagiography and history, providing valuable appraisals on their influence. This is illustrated by ‘Rigore ed eleganza: gli studi francescani di Edith Pásztor’. Pásztor was born in Budapest in 1925 and lived in Italy from November 1946. She lectured for many years at the University of Rome, La Sapienza, becoming first a collaborator with and then an esteemed colleague of Raoul Manselli. Her contribution to Franciscan studies was acknowledged by the Società internazionale di studi francescani in the volume Francesco d'Assisi e la ‘questione francescana’, which was published in 2000. On the Franciscan question, she was faithful to the interpretations championed by Manselli in his Nos qui cum eo fuimus: contributo alla questione francescana, which he published in 1980. Her analysis of Bonaventure's Legenda maior displayed a theological sophistication, as did her exchanges with Jacques Bougerol ofm. She shows that the order's relations with the bishop of Assisi were close, but, as the friars moved into several countries of Western Christendom, tension arose between the order and the episcopate, leading some prelates to place restrictions on the former's ministry.

There are ten contributions in the third section, ‘Scritti di Francesco e storia del francescanesimo: l'edizione degli Scripta curata da Carlo Paolazzi’. The writings of the founder have been edited and translated afresh across the generations. This contribution is examined in the context of more recent scholariship and editorial activity in general and the new edition of Paolo Paolazzi ofm, in particular. Accrocca begins with the recollection that the first printed edition of the writings of St Francis was undertaken by Fr Wadding in 1623. Fr Kajetan Esser's magisterial edition was published in 1976. None the less, there were abiding concerns about the inclusion of some materials which were deemed to be open to question. A quarter of a century after the death of Fr Esser ofm, a conference was held at the Antonianum in Rome and reopened debate; this triggered the process, leading to the appointment of Fr Carlo Paolazzi ofm to produce a new edition which was completed in 2009 to commemorate the eighth centenary of the foundation of the order.

This foregoing is a sample of the materials which are addressed in the three sections of this collection. This attractive volume brings together diverse strands of the contribution made by the present archbishop of Benevento to Franciscan studies over the last three decades and will be valued by historians of the order.