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Product Details
Hardcover: 200 pages
Publisher: Baylor University Press (October 16, 2012)
Dr. Adam English, a scholar who specializes in the early Christian church, devoted several years of research to assembling and sorting through all the latest research into the life of the man who would transform into our modern Santa Claus. For those serious readers wanting to dig much deeper into the history of St. Nicholas of Myra, English provides his own roadmap for further reading in more than 30 pages of notes at the end of this book. But most of us simply will enjoy his own delightfully written 200-page overview of this saint who literally moved the whole world to greater compassion toward the poor.
If you already have history-of-Christmas books on your shelf, you will be pleased to know that this is not another tour of Santa Claus in popular culture. This time, the real St. Nicholas isn't relegated to a single chapter in a book that is more interested in Clement Moore's poem and Coca-Cola icons of the jolly old elf. No, English focuses entirely on bringing us the dramatic story of the humble bishop from Turkey who became so beloved that relics of his saintly body wound up traveling around the world. His first sacred shrine was in Turkey, but eventually the bulk of his skeleton made its way to Italy, a finger bone traveled to France and some assorted teeth made it all the way to Spain.
If that sounds a bit too much like an episode of TV's CSI or Bones for you, rest assured that this all is placed in the context of a fascinating story about a man who, English documents, became a worldwide inspiration. As remarkable as this may seem to modern Christians, Nicholas took the world by storm largely because his heart was focused on helping the most needy and vulnerable in his day. Back in that era, civic and religious leaders did not assume that was their role in the world.Read more ›
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I few years ago I set out to preach an Advent series of sermons on the real Nicholas of Myra and wound up reading a half dozen books on the subject (most of which were useless). I have also visited Myra (Demre), in modern Turkey. That gives me a slight advantage in evaluating books on Nicholas.
English's book is very good. In fact, it is probably the best balance of readability and accuracy of any book I have encountered. He does a good job not only of trying to separate fact from fiction, but of describing how some of the confusion came about. The book is also very well footnoted, a necessity for any serious book on history.
If a reader wanted a good book on who "Santa Claus" really was, this would be the book I would recommend. His observations of the Nicholas statues in Demre in chapter six gives an interesting insight of Nicholas' complex legacy many would miss.
I deducted one star for two problems I found in the book. First, the book is filled with many presuppositions that the author does not support in any way. For example, page 96:
"At the first signs of spring, Myra's civil administrators approached Nicholas to ask what materials and manpower he would need to build his new church."
Where does this `fact' come from? It seems that English assumed that every town in the Roman Empire was receiving Imperial funds for buildings; something that did happen, but apparently not universally, and may or may not have happened in Myra. He often takes assumptions that may have been possible and fit historically and states them as simple fact. Not good history.
Second, in my only slightly learned opinion, the author comes to rely on the accuracy of Michael the Archimandrites "Life of Saint Nicholas" a little too much.Read more ›
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I found this book to be very informative about the history and traditions surrounding St. Nicholas. If you have ever wondered how Nicholas grew to become Santa, then this well-written and researched book will provide the answers.
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I usually try to read an upbeat book during advent directed at the Christmas season. I started this book last year at that time, unfortunately it was not quite what I was looking for, so I went onto something else and set this book aside to and ended up finishing it this year. Nonetheless, it is a valuable book. It is a historical review that looks at the legend of Saint Nicholas and compares it to research about the era and locale where he lived. The results are quite interesting.
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In The Saint Who Would Be Santa Claus, Adam English argues that Nicholas of Myra embodies the tension between an historic figure and a mythical symbol. English argues that Nicholas actually lived, against at least a century of doubt among scholars and the more pressing problem of the existence of a mythical symbol called Santa Claus that overshadows any discussion about the historic figure for the broader pubic. English insists that substantial evidence for Nicholas exists. Additionally, the legendary stories that circulated throughout the medieval period and that even influenced the modern American Santa Claus, generally hold some kernel of truth, grounded in the historic person.
English does not set out to define the development of the Santa Claus myth; this work is a quest for the historic Nicholas. He argues that most people “know that the beloved patron of Christmastime wish-granting has his origins in a vaguely historical personage” (2). He aims to bring this person to light. However, the myth and the man are so closely intertwined that his task is daunting. More importantly, he admits that there is “no early documentation of the man—no writings, disciples, or major acts” (3). English combs through the earliest documents that do exist and key later sources. Additionally, he makes inductive arguments based on extensive background analysis to give greater form to the authentic Nicholas. The historic Nicholas was a man of generosity, conviction, boldness, and was a social, civil, and religious servant.
English notes his dissatisfaction with recent works on his topic. Authors have contributed little “substance” in terms of historical research, instead being content with mainly repeating folklore (9).Read more ›
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This item: The Saint Who Would Be Santa Claus: The True Life and Trials of Nicholas of Myra
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