Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: The Legendary ‘The Lives of the Saints’ became a medieval bestseller soon after it was composed in the early 15th century. This success was due to its simple, standardised language and its theological programme aimed at promoting a collectively lived spiritality. However, different concepts of holiness or narrative elements such as exorbitantly cruel martyrdoms, the ascetic isolations or mystical excess challenged this homogeneity. The article shows that the redactor was very conscious of these elements and made an effort to even them out. In this way, the Legendary partially counteracts its sources by narrating against a self-sanctification of the human being. Thus, it corresponds to the ideas of the Dominican Observance by developing a kind of literary asceticism.
Authors: Beatrice von Lüpke, Daniela Blum
Institutions: University of Vienna, RWTH Aachen University
Language: English
Subfield: Classics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4381429165