Why Can the Dead Do Such Great Things?: Saints and Worshippers from the Martyrs to the Reformation
A sweeping, authoritative, and entertaining history of the Christian cult of the saints from its origin to the Reformation

From its earliest centuries, one of the most notable features of Christianity has been the veneration of the saints—the holy dead. This ambitious history tells the fascinating story of the cult of the saints from its origins in the second-century days of the Christian martyrs to the Protestant Reformation. Robert Bartlett examines all of the most important aspects of the saints—including miracles, relics, pilgrimages, shrines, and the saints' role in the calendar, literature, and art.

The book explores the central role played by the bodies and body parts of saints, and the special treatment these relics received. From the routes, dangers, and rewards of pilgrimage, to the saints' impact on everyday life, Bartlett's account is an unmatched examination of an important and intriguing part of the religious life of the past—as well as the present.

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Why Can the Dead Do Such Great Things?: Saints and Worshippers from the Martyrs to the Reformation
A sweeping, authoritative, and entertaining history of the Christian cult of the saints from its origin to the Reformation

From its earliest centuries, one of the most notable features of Christianity has been the veneration of the saints—the holy dead. This ambitious history tells the fascinating story of the cult of the saints from its origins in the second-century days of the Christian martyrs to the Protestant Reformation. Robert Bartlett examines all of the most important aspects of the saints—including miracles, relics, pilgrimages, shrines, and the saints' role in the calendar, literature, and art.

The book explores the central role played by the bodies and body parts of saints, and the special treatment these relics received. From the routes, dangers, and rewards of pilgrimage, to the saints' impact on everyday life, Bartlett's account is an unmatched examination of an important and intriguing part of the religious life of the past—as well as the present.

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Why Can the Dead Do Such Great Things?: Saints and Worshippers from the Martyrs to the Reformation

Why Can the Dead Do Such Great Things?: Saints and Worshippers from the Martyrs to the Reformation

by Robert Bartlett
Why Can the Dead Do Such Great Things?: Saints and Worshippers from the Martyrs to the Reformation

Why Can the Dead Do Such Great Things?: Saints and Worshippers from the Martyrs to the Reformation

by Robert Bartlett

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Overview

A sweeping, authoritative, and entertaining history of the Christian cult of the saints from its origin to the Reformation

From its earliest centuries, one of the most notable features of Christianity has been the veneration of the saints—the holy dead. This ambitious history tells the fascinating story of the cult of the saints from its origins in the second-century days of the Christian martyrs to the Protestant Reformation. Robert Bartlett examines all of the most important aspects of the saints—including miracles, relics, pilgrimages, shrines, and the saints' role in the calendar, literature, and art.

The book explores the central role played by the bodies and body parts of saints, and the special treatment these relics received. From the routes, dangers, and rewards of pilgrimage, to the saints' impact on everyday life, Bartlett's account is an unmatched examination of an important and intriguing part of the religious life of the past—as well as the present.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780691169682
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 09/15/2015
Pages: 816
Product dimensions: 5.70(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Robert Bartlett is professor of mediaeval history at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations xv

Preface xvii

Part I Developments 1

Chapter 1 Origins (100-500) 3

The Martyrs 3

The Religious Revolution of the Fourth Century 7

Translations 10

Rituals of Commemoration and Invocation 13

Confessor Saints 16

The Birth of Hagiography 19

The First Miracle Books 22

Chapter 2 The Early Middle Ages (500-1000) 27

The View from the 590s 29

Gregory the Great 43

The Benedictine Centuries 47

New Christendoms: Eastern and Northern Europe 52

Chapter 3 The High and Later Middle Ages (1000-1500) 57

Papal Canonization 57

Mendicant Saints 65

Lay Female Saints 71

New Devotions 77

Chapter 4 The Protestant Reformation 85

Part II Dynamics 93

Chapter 5 The Nature of Cult 95

Name, Body, Text 95

Patronage and Invocation: The Mutual Relationship 103

Chapter 6 Saints' Days 113

Liturgy 113

The Hierarchy of Feast-days 120

Saints' Days and Local Identity 129

Holy Days and Holidays 133

Chapter 7 Types of Saint 137

Counting Saints 137

Categorizing Saints 150

Saints as Patrons 221

Chapter 8 Relics and Shrines 239

Body Parts 239

Contact Relics 244

The Shrine in the Church 250

Running a Shrine 259

Reliquaries 263

Relic Collections 276

Relics in Movement 282

Relics in Law and War 311

Relics in Dispute 324

Chapter 9 Miracles 333

The Meaning of Miracle 333

Patterns of Miracles 342

Healing Miracles 349

Miracles of Provision 365

Visions, Prophecy, and Rapture 368

Saints in War 378

Saints and Demons 383

Saints and Animals 390

Liberation 398

Punitive Miracles 401

Chapter 10 Pilgrimage 410

Origins and Definitions 410

Pilgrim Garb and Status 417

Motives 421

The Shrines of Medieval Christendom 425

Logistics 433

Pilgrim Guides and Pilgrim Badges 439

Chapter 11 Dedications and Naming 444

Dedication of Churches and Altars 444

Place Names 454

Personal Names 459

Chapter 12 Images of the Saints 471

The Image in Early Christianity 471

Byzantine Iconoclasm 475

Images in the Medieval West 480

Chapter 13 The Literature of Sanctity 504

Types of Hagiography 504

Reasons for Writing 510

The Hagiographers 513

The Life 518

Legendaries 546

Miracle Books 558

Sermons 570

The Literature of Canonization Proceedings 576

Vernacular Hagiography 578

Chapter 14 Doubt and Dissent 587

Early Polemics 587

Western Heretics 591

Sceptics and Scoffers 596

Policing the Saints 602

Chapter 15 Reflections 609

Saints and Gods 609

Saints and Nature 618

Saints and the Dead 621

Tomb-shrines in Judaism and Islam 626

Saints and Ancestors 630

Comparisons and Conclusions 633

Glossary 639

Bibliography of Works Cited 641

Index 735

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"The whole of medieval life is contained in Robert Bartlett's history of the cult of saints. Wisely combining a chronological account and thematic explorations, Bartlett surveys the whole of Europe and its vastly diverse people. This is a remarkable feat that takes the medieval passion for saints and their relics not as a given, but as an intellectual challenge. Bartlett shows that as Christian Europe lost the ancient gods of nature it gained a landscape marked by those great things that only very special dead people could do."—Miri Rubin, Queen Mary University of London

"This massive and encyclopedic survey is a remarkable guide to the complexities of medieval sanctity. It is so hard for modern readers to understand the role of medieval saints from within; this book makes it possible."—Chris Wickham, University of Oxford

"This is a great book, a bold work by an outstanding scholar and writer. Tackling the vast subject of medieval sainthood, Robert Bartlett has managed to produce a distinctly original account that is also an enjoyable and entertaining read, seasoned with humor. Bartlett has a keen eye for significant, and often paradoxical, quotations, situations, and personalities. I know of no other book that has attempted to grasp the entire subject of medieval sainthood. Its publication is a major event."—Gábor Klaniczay, Central European University

"Comprehensive, up-to-date, and highly readable, this ambitious survey of medieval sainthood is, in its scale and range, unlike any other book on the subject. Robert Bartlett successfully balances an astute analysis of the underlying and universal dynamics driving the medieval conception of, and response to, sanctity, with an imaginative depiction of chronological and regional variation and particularity. And he has a remarkable eye for telling and offbeat details. This is major book."—Alan Thacker, University of London

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