A Short Reader of Medieval Saints (review)

Mary-Ann Stouck has assembled this short reader of medieval saints with selections from Medieval Saints: A Reader, her previous and much larger work on the same topic (Peterborough, Canada, 1999), in response to requests of both students and instructors for a representative sample of medieval saints’ lives that could be used in a general course on medieval culture and history. The texts (all excerpts) included from her previous reader of medieval hagiography include the Passion of Perpetua and Felicity, the life of St. Antony of the Desert, the life of St. Benedict, the life of St. Radegund, and St. Francis of Assisi’s conversion by Thomas of Celano and an account of his stigmata by St. Bonaventure. Included also is a text regarding the theft of relics (Ss. Marcellinus and Peter) and excerpts from the Pilgrim’s Guide to Compostella. New to this reader are four lives taken from the Golden Legend by James of Voragine (Ss. Agnes, Mary of Egypt, Christopher, and James the Dismembered), as well as an excerpt from Raymond of Capua’s Life of Catherine of Siena and a selection of her letters.

Each text is preceded by a short introduction by the editor describing the author, the historical context, and its significance, including a reference to the source from which it is taken. All of the excerpts included are taken from standard existing translations.

There are some drawbacks. The volume lacks an introduction to the study of hagiography in general and medieval hagiography in particular, and no bibliography is provided. There are no Cistercian sources included, among others; no scriptural references within the texts themselves; and no references to the practice of borrowing from previous vitae (the issue of intertextuality). Given these limitations and the expressed purpose of the reader, it would be suitable for an undergraduate course on medieval religion and culture, as it provides a good collection of primary sources in translation from antiquity through the fourteenth century and presents a broad cross-cut of perceptions of the Christian life and holiness through time.