Saints, Sanctity, and Crisis in Medieval and Early Modern Hagiography

This book explores the relationship between sanctity and crisis in the medieval and early modern periods in a European context, revealing the multifaceted roles of holy figures in times of personal, collective, environmental, political, and socio-cultural upheaval.

It offers a nuanced understanding of the dynamic relationship between hagiography and crisis. Chapters reconsider the historical meanings of "crisis" in pre-modern contexts, analyze diverse hagiographic textual forms across genres, and demonstrate how venerated individuals were central to navigating moments of instability. The interdisciplinary approach combines literary analysis, historical inquiry, and cultural studies to expand current scholarship on both sanctity and crisis, offering fresh perspectives on how medieval and early modern communities understood and responded to disruption through the lens of the sacred.

Intended for researchers in the field of medieval and early modern history, Renaissance studies, religious studies, theology, hagiography, and literature, this book will appeal in particular to those interested in the cultural history of crisis, the social functions of sanctity, and interdisciplinary approaches to pre-modern European studies.

Nikolas O. Hoel is an Instructor of History at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, USA. His research interests focus on the religious and intellectual history of Late Antiquity.

Lydia M. Walker is the Assistant Professor of History and Religion and the Leman and Marie Barnhill Endowed Chair in Religious Studies at Barton College, USA. She examines gender, exegesis, hagiography, and crusading ideology in the thirteenth century.