Introduction to the Authors, Narratives, and Audiences in Medieval Saints’ Lives Special Collection

Abstract

Medieval hagiographical narratives were often used in the construction of identity, both institutional and individual, and also demonstrate the permeability of the supposed boundaries between communities such as Latinate and vernacular readers and religious and lay audiences. This introduction to the “Authors, Narratives, and Audiences in Medieval Saints’ Lives” Special Collection provides a brief overview of the role of saints’ lives in medieval literary culture and identifies some intersections between hagiographical writing and other areas of medieval life and literature.