The Franciscan Story is varied and engrossing work which spans more than eight centuries. Beginning with St Francis, Maurice Carmody examines: How the first Order grew rapidly after the time of St Francis (1182-1226), and how a simple brotherhood became an organised religious order which spread throughout Europe and beyond to implement papal policy in Church reform, missions, higher education and diplomacy. How disagreements over whether Francis would have approved led to division and, from the sixteenth century onwards, how new orders formed - Conventual, Observant and Capuchin Franciscans as well as Riformati, Recollects and Alcantarines. How women of the second Order, founded by Clare of Assisi (1194-1253) and her friend St Francis, have adapted and shared Franciscan ideals in a monastic setting since the thirteenth century. How the third Order, which comprised laity and vowed religious men and women living in community, embraced the same values - a simple lifestyle, respect for creation and peaceful living - in ways that often profoundly influenced the society in which they lived. The Franciscan Story is an in-depth and deeply researched account of a religious movement that has influenced both Church and society in many countries since St Francis, il poverello, began it eight hundred years ago.