Franciscan Studies
Clare’s childhood home – the knightly, fortified Offreduccio tower-like palace – ascended in the upper part of Assisi. It rivaled the height of the façade and bell tower of the adjacent cathedral of San Rufino then being refurbished. The women of the household – Lady Ortolana, Lady Pacifica, Lady Bona Guelfuccio – were working quietly at their chores with the girls when Clare’s uncle Monaldo abruptly burst through the door to their chamber. He looked terrified as he shouted, “The emperor is dead! Henry VI suddenly died! We’re finished!” Clare’s mother, Ortolana, became alarmed and immediately started reciting prayers. So did the others. Clare’s younger sister, Catherine, started crying.
Clara, Chiara, Clare – light, clear, clarity. She had always been devoted to the holy life, even as a child. She was only four years old, but understood things far beyond her age. She knew what could happen as a result of the young emperor’s untimely death. Her family was one of only 20 very prominent families in Assisi. The Offreduccios were knightly, and they traced their ancestry to Charlemagne and King Pepin. They were part of the ruling class in Assisi, the Majores (Greaters), who were aligned with the (now deceased) German emperor. He would be succeeded by a powerless three-year-old son. With a vacuum of power in Germany, Assisi stood to lose imperial protection. Some of the disenfranchised citizenry of Assisi – particularly the Minores (Minors – middle-class merchants and artisans) could use this as a perfect opportunity to rebel. Or the papacy could assert itself and try to annex Assisi into the papal territories, already strong in Umbria. The Offreduccios and other Majors now faced exile or worse. Clare, too, began to pray with the others.
Their fears were soon realized. In the spring of 1198 there was, indeed, a rebellion led by the Minors. There was nothing that could be done, but surrender the Rocca fort – the castle towering above Assisi from which the feudal powers ruled over its citizens. Conrad of Urslingen, the count of Assisi who represented the emperor, had already abandoned the castle. He had quietly returned to Germany, leaving the Majors to fend for themselves. Previously, no one would have dared lift a finger against the fort, for that would have incurred the wrath of the powerful emperor. But now there was no emperor. Immediately, many of the noble Majors fled to nearby Perugia, vacating their tower-like households, which were soon razed by the Minors along with the Rocca fort.
The Minors declared Assisi an independent commune – a republic free of any feudal domination. Commune was named after them – the commoners. Such stand-alone city-states were by then already widespread in central and northern Italy. The Minors moved the center of government from the Rocca down to the piazza near the marketplace where the common people lived – in the center of town. They then used the stones to reinforce the city walls for protection against reprisals from either the Majors or the Perugians. Some Majors stayed and switched allegiance to the Minors, recognizing the new government. Clare’s family preferred to wait and see if there could be a compromise. But when it was obvious that they would have no place in the new government, the Offreduccios left Assisi for Perugia in the year 1200. Clare was six years old.