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Saints and Society: The Two Worlds of Western Christendom, 1000-1700

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This work takes into account that the study of Medieval hagiography (stories and veneration of saints) helps us get a glimpse of social trends and values in medieval Europe. I have a great interest in medieval European culture, especially daily life aspects. I took a course on Medieval saints at Columbia Univeristy, and Saints & Society was one of the recommended books on the syllabus. Before I read this book, I had never thought much about looking to medieval saints stories as a way of learning about medieval society; in my mind, sacred and secular were kept separate, however these things were more closely wedded in medieval culture. As this book points out, Medieval tellings of saints' stories often include elements from the writer's daily life (role of women, care of children, relationships within a community). This book examines a variety of saints' legends in order to draw conclusions about the tellers' culture. Quite interesting. It has definitely awakened my interest in hagiography, which I now think should be as closely wedded to general medieval studies as the sacred was to daily life in the Middle Ages.