Question on St. Clare of Assisi

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Mtatum1958

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I have read different accounts of the defense of the convent at San Damiano from the Muslim Crusaders and Frederick II. Clare holding up a monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament in her bed as she prayer, holding it up to the invaders on the convent wall, and the nuns lying prostate adoring the Blessed Sacrament, all causing the invaders to flee.

Does anyone know which is more probable? Writing the story in a book for our granddaughter.
 
First, there were no Muslim crusaders in Italy. San Damiano and Assisi were attacked by the forces of Frederick II after he settled his army returning from the 6th Crusade in Italy and proceeded to pillage the peninsula because they received very little wealth in the Crusade. Unfortunately, the story concerning Clare was passed down in florilegium format (short excerpts written down from oral tales after her death). As such, the various people who orally passed down the stories before they were written allowed the true story to be obscured. All we know is that the monastery and city were saved through St. Clare doing something with the Blessed Sacrament. What specifically that was has been lost to time.
 
Thank you very much for the reply. I thought that might be the case, but I am not a very good student of history.
 
OK a correction needs to be made here. You are correct that Muslim invaders never reached Assisi or San Damiano which is basically outside of Assisi.
However they did try to invade Italy more precisely at Otranto which is to the South of Italy in the Province of Lecce, Region Puglia or Apulia as it is called in English.
It is by the way the place of the now recognized “Miracle of Otranto” where 813 Martyrs were Canonized.

Peace!
 
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