Saint Francis before the Sultan (Trial by Fire)

Saint Francis before the Sultan, or the Trial by Fire, occupies the middle register of the right wall of the Bardi Chapel and corresponds, in the horizontal reading of the cycle, to the Apparition at the Chapter of Arles opposite. Giotto depicts an episode from Saint Bonaventure's Legenda maior connected with Francis's journey to the East and his encounter with the Sultan of Egypt. The composition is organized around the confrontation between Francis and the Muslim priests.

The saint stands calm and resolute, willing to undergo the ordeal by fire to demonstrate the truth of his faith, while his opponents retreat and refuse to participate. The sultan occupies an elevated central position and acts as arbiter of the scene. Francis, by contrast, remains stable and frontal.