An Example of 13th century Fioretti, Little Flowers of St. Francis

St. Francis in all the acts of his life was like Christ, our blessed Lord. Even as Christ when he began to preach chose twelve apostles whom he taught to renounce all worldly things and follow him in poverty and other virtuous deeds, so St. Francisalso chose in the beginning of the foundation of his order twelve companions, who vowed to live in abject poverty. As one of the twelve apostles was reproved by God and went out and hanged himself by the neck, so one of the twellve companions of St. Francis, the same who was called Brother John, did turn apostate and hang himself by the neck.... And as those holy apostles were a wonder to all men because of their sanctity and humility...so too was the sanctity of the most holy companions of St. Francis. From the days of the apostles down to the present time the world has known no such wonderful and holy men. Indeed, as St. Paul was snatched up into the third heaven, so too was a certain follower of St. Francis, Brother Guy (Ozment, 108-9).

Ozment, Steven, Age of Reform. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1980