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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, Bartletts account is an unmatched examination of an important and intriguing part of the religious life of the past - as well as the present.
About the author
Robert Bartlett is professor of mediaeval history at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Summary
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
Additional text
"The author of this study has produced what is to this reviewer's knowledge the first textbook on the premodern cult of the saints and at--I cannot resist the temptation--a miraculously low price. Luckily, Robert Bartlett is more than equal to the task. . . . Bartlett's writing is measured and deft, as one would expect from a scholar of his caliber."---David Defries, The Historian
