La simplicitas come dispositivo drammatico e antifinzionale

This essay explores the concept of sancta simplicitas as a central interpretive key to understanding Francis of Assisi’s spiritual identity and his mode of representation. Building on existing scholarship, the study examines the interrelated figures of the ioculator Domini (jester of God), the novellus pazzus (new holy fool), and the simple man (simplex), focusing particularly on simplicity as the only one of these motifs explicitly used by Francis in his own writings. Drawing from biblical sources and the Christian theological tradition, the essay traces the semantic evolution of simplicitas, emphasizing its role in transforming both the gaze and action within the Christian conception of representation. Through close readings of texts by Peter Damian, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Caesarius of Heisterbach—who first coined the term ioculator Domini—the study highlights how simplicitas functions as an anti-simulacral, performative posture. Finally, the essay compares the genesis of the Cantico di frate sole with selected sermons by William of Auvergne, where the jester of God becomes the explicit figure of the simple man who sings the praises of the Creator.