Shrines, Relics, and Saints: Christian Sanctuaries from Late Antiquity Through the Middle Ages

In Shrines, Relics, and Saints,the eminent medievalist André Vauchez explores the evolution of spaces in Christianity—chapels, monasteries, holy wells, grottos, and other holy places—that are considered sacred because they house the relics of a saint or because they preserve the memory of an appearance by a saint, angel, or the Virgin Mary.

From famous sanctuaries that still attract multitudes of pilgrims—in Jerusalem, Rome, Tours, Assisi, and Compostela—to local shrines in villages, towns,...