For generations, the work of early Franciscan intellectuals has been regarded as relatively unoriginal: a mere attempt to codify and systematize the ideas of earlier authorities, above all, Augustine.1 Thus, the tradition of thought that was founded by the first scholar-members of the Franciscan order has been almost entirely neglected in scholarly literature. By contrast, the work of later Franciscans like John Duns Scotus and William of Ockham has garnered considerable attention, on the ground that they supposedly broke from their predecessors to develop innovative ideas that laid the foundations for the rise of modern theology and philosophy.2 The present volume proposes to make a case for the innovativeness of early Franciscan theology, that is, the theology that was formulated by first-generation Franciscans. These scholars flourished in the 1230s and 40s at the University of Paris, which was the centre for theological study at the time.