The founder of those Cordelier or Franciscan Friars was Francis of Assium, in Italy, who was born about the year 1140. His parents placed him to school for some time to study the liberal arts and sciences, and afterwards placed him to the trade and occupation of a merchant, which in Italy still, as anciently it was amongst the Jews, is so reputable an employment that even princes themselves are merchants: which trade or occupation Francis followed, with small gain or advantage, in a fair and righteous way, for some time, but growing discontented thereat, and not knowing thereby well how to subsist, he resolved, as others did, to follow indirect arts and practices to get more riches, by stealing the duties of such goods and merchandize as he bought and sold, which then was, and still is, a capital crime in Italy; and accordingly put the same in practice, and much enriched himself thereby, though at length his fraud was detected, himself indicted, tried for his life, and condemned to death for the same. Whereupon, in order to prevent the sentence inflicted upon him, and to avoid the halter, he gave the greatest part of his goods and estate to his prince, to grant or procure his pardon, and the other part to pious uses, in relieving the poor, and re-edifying and endowing three churches. Afterwards he fell into such great horror and trouble of conscience for those facts, and that he was fully informed from Hosea xii. 7 and 8, that a merchant cannot be without guile, nor a victualler without sin, it so wrought upon him, that he did not only renounce his trade of a merchant, but also forsook all worldly affairs, and took upon himself the vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity; and under the habit of a grey cover, or scapula, and a coat of the same, surrounded or girded in the middle with a twisted rope, cord, or halter, in memory of his deliverance from it and the gallows, as aforesaid, with naked legs and discalceated feet, he forsook his house, and went about the country preaching the Gospel gratis, subsisting only on the alms and charity of his hearers, and what was wanting in that particular was made up by downright beggary. And in short time he so far prevailed with the people by his predicatements, that divers brethren went about with him, following the same manner of life, under the rules and habit aforesaid, which gave him occasion or opportunity to lay the foundation of the first convent in Christendom of his order at Assissium aforesaid, and obtained a confirmation of his rule from the Pope; and two years after his death, 4th Aug. 1228, was by him canonized for a saint.