Medieval Hagiography

           Medieval hagiography is most commonly known as a work of literature that tells the tale of a Saint’s life.  Hagiography alone is a genre that has been throughout society for a great deal of time but medieval hagiography is one of the most interesting subdivisions of this genre because of the momentum of Christianity at the time.  Travelling throughout Europe during the Middle Ages has caused this genre of literature to gain a life of its own.  Hagiographies travelled through Europe so easily because they were so closely tied with the Catholic Church.  Wherever the religion went, the stories of the Saints’ lives followed.

            Hagiographies serve many different purposes throughout. Hagiographical texts are argued upon greatly because scholars have very different opinions if these texts should be accredited as historical documents or not.  Many scholars believe that these texts give insight to the social and economic situations of everyday life. When analyzing the texts and images embedded within these texts, histiographers find some useful data that can give them insight on the different aspects of society during their time.  Take Saint Cosmas and Damian for example, both of these saints have hagiographies written about them and art created in their likeness.  These are useful because, “the various surgical instruments of Saint Cosmas and Damian on the Sinai icons in comparison with the preserved object may give information about the state of surgical art in Byzantine times” (Beldekos et al 2031).  Also, many scholars believe, “this literature preserves much valuable information not only about religious beliefs and customs bur also about daily life, institutions, and events in historical periods for which other evidence is either imprecise or nonexistent” (Encyclopedia Britannica).  Other scholars believe that these texts should be treated like a fable, a well-written fable, which descended from oral tradition.  Scholars often see these texts as fables because of their cliché endings and many have some of the same story lines, essentially.  Clary, a scholar that focuses on hagiographies, states, “hagiography lacks historical accuracy and tends to ignore the desultory parts of a subject’s character in order to preserve reputation.  Thus it is untrustworthy history writing” (241).  Also, he argues, “hagiography often shapes the subject’s life to fit with the culture and lessons that the biographer wants to portray, instead of letting the figures of history speak for themselves” (Clary 241).  In comparison, Mayeski believes that hagiographies “are assumed to reflect only popular religiosity and…usually dismissed as uncritical and unrelated to the actual formulation of tradition itself” (691). While both of these arguments are well versed, it is still unclear whether or not these documents can be representative of the society during the time in which they were written.  Looking at hagiographies on a deeper level, what aspects make these documents so powerful?

            Starting in the beginning of these texts, there are many different important aspects to a hagiography.  It is noted that the introduction to a hagiography is quite important.  The prologue to the hagiography gives the hagiographer a chance to put his or her own values and ideas in the work without being criticized for altering the story of the saint’s life.  This also allows, “the author an opportunity to explain the circumstances surrounding the work’s composition, outline the main themes, or chapters, cite his chief sources, or state his philosophical stance” (Goodich 168).  This introductory piece also provides “a good opportunity to speculate on the educational value of saints’ lives” (Goodich 171).  In a more religious sense, the prologue fostering an environment for the author to reflect on the Catholic Church and the definition of sainthood in the overall divine time period of salvation. (Goodich 173).  This section of the Hagiography is very important in the analysis of the entire work but there are smaller aspects that are also regarded as important throughout the actual hagiography. 

            Medieval hagiographies contain some of the same themes and ideals throughout the text, as one would expect.  There is a common theme of lamentation, especially of women, throughout hagiographies in the middle ages.  This theme can be seen throughout many different works is interesting because “scholars frequently point out that Christian theologians repeatedly denounced, and legislated against, noisy demonstrations of grief” (Bailey 537).  These texts, written around the same time period, contain some of the same aspects when looking at the depiction of women and certain themes.

Works Cited

Bailey, Anne E. "Lamentation Motifs In Medieval Hagiography." Gender & History 25.3 (2013): 529-544. Humanities Source. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

Beldekos, Dimitris et al. “The Medical Vestment and Surgical Instruments of Saint Cosmas and Damian on Sinai Icons From the Seventh to the Eighteenth Century” Journal of Religion and Health 54.6 (2015): 2020-2032. ProQuest. 11 Jun 2014. Web. 20 Oct 2015.

Clary, Ian Hugh. “Evangelical Historiography: The Debate over Christian History” Evangelical Quarterly 87.3 (2015): 225-251. EBSCO Host. Web. 20 Oct 2015.

Goodich, Michael. “A Note on Sainthood in the Hagiographical Prologue.” History & Theory 20.2 (2001): 168-174. EBSCO Host. Web. 19 Oct 2015.

“Hagiography.” Encyclopaedia Britannica (2014): Research Starters. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.

Mayeski, Marie Anne. “New Voices in the Tradition: Medieval Hagiography Revisited.” Theological Studies 63.4 (2002): 690-710. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 19 Oct 2015.