Saints : a very short introduction / Simon Yarrow.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Yarrow, Simon, author.

Series:

Very short introductions ; 580.

Very short introductions ; 580

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christian saints.

Saints.

Physical Description:

xviii, 149 pages : illustrations ; 18 cm.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2018.

Summary:

"The idea of saints and sainthood are familiar to all, irrelevant of religious faith. Simon Yarrow looks at the origins, ideas, and definitions of sainthood, sanctity, and saints in the early Church, tracing their development in history and explaining the social roles saints played in the ancient, medieval, and modern worlds. Along the way Yarrow considers the treatment of saints as objects of literary and artistic expression and interpretation, and as examples of idealised male and female heroism, and compares Christian saints and holy figures to venerated figures in other religious cultures, including Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. He concludes by considering the experiences of devotees to saints, and looking at how saints continue to be powerful presence in our modern world." -- Publisher's description

Contents:

Introduction

Inventing the saints

Saints in the Middle Ages

Early modern sainthood

Gendering the saints

The Blessed Virgin Mary

Writing the saints

Globalizing sanctity

Saints in the modern world.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 133-138) and index.

ISBN:

9780199676514

0199676518

OCLC:

925499974

Publisher Number:

99982233003