Abstract

A collective book on Byzantine hagiography hardly needs justification. The study of the literature inspired by the acts, the miracles and the wise sayings of holy men and women has long since become both a self-standing and a fashionable research topic with no shortage of books and articles to its credit. Lives of saints, Passions of martyrs, collections of miracles, Translations of relics and edifying stories are all now regarded as a substantial and exciting part of the Byzantine cultural legacy, and their study, no matter whether it is prompted by their historical or literary interest, has not stopped inspiring scholars and students. ¹ 1

For shorter and longer surveys of Byzantine hagiography and its history as a research field, see ODB 897–9; Dummer, ‘Griechische Hagiographie’; Talbot, ‘Hagiography’; Barnes, Early Christian Hagiography, 1–41, 285–300, 343–59; Acconcia Longo, ‘Vite Passioni Miracoli dei santi’. Ashbrook Harvey’s ‘Martyr Passions and Hagiography’ concentrates on what its title suggests but, all in all, provides a concise and useful overview of the late antique period. The recent re-evaluation of Byzantine hagiography has been discussed by Efthymiadis, ‘New Developments in Hagiography: the Rediscovery of Byzantine Hagiography’ (also containing the announcement of the present collective endeavour).