The cult of the saints : its rise and function in Latin Christianity / Peter Brown.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brown, Peter, 1935- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christian saints--Cult--Europe--History.

Christian saints.

Christian saints--Cult.

History.

Europe.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xxxv, 187 pages ; 22 cm

Edition:

Enlarged edition.

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, [2015]

Summary:

In this groundbreaking work, Peter Brown explores how the worship of saints and their corporeal remains became central to religious life in Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. During this period, earthly remnants served as a heavenly connection, and their veneration is a fascinating window into the cultural mood of a region in transition. He illuminates the fierce hopes, the loyalties and the poignant sense of the presence of invisible companions that flourished among Christians of all classes and levels of culture-worshippers or pilgrims beggars or grand donors-as they sought healing, justice, beauty, and hope beyond the grave at the shrines of the saint in the era of late antiquity. Brown also challenges the long-held "two-tier" idea of religion that separated the religious practices of the sophisticated elites from those of the superstitious masses, instead arguing that the cult of the saints crossed boundaries and played a dynamic part in both the Christian faith and the larger world of late antiquity. An essential text by one of the foremost scholars of European history, this expanded edition includes a new preface from Brown, which presents new ideas based on subsequent scholarship. Book jacket.

Contents:

The holy and the grave

"A fine and private place"

The invisible companion

The very special dead

Praesentia

Potentia.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780226175263

022617526X

OCLC:

881387028

Publisher Number:

99960758347