1This book is a tribute to the movement begun by Fancis of Assisi (1182-1226), saint and founder of the Franciscan Order, wonderfully radical commitment to Gospel life. Four nearly eight hundred years the world has been filled with wonder at the charity and good works advanced by Franciscans everywhere. Less obvious is our wonder at their intellectual and creative genius. The following introductory survey is a work chronicling and examining the sense of wonder that began and today informs the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition.