Francis's Distemper

(St.). Impecuniosity; being moneyless. Those of the Order of St. Francis were not allowed to carry any money about them.

“I saw another case of gentlemen of St. Francis's distemper.” —Rabelais: Pantagruel, v. 21.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894

Francesca da Rimini

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