The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages Essays on the Contribution of Peter Brown

This book of essays explores the characteristic traits and diverse functions of holy men and the fashioning of saints out of a small minority of holy men and other individuals of high social status with more dubious spiritual credentials. These themes are looked at across a wide range of social and cultural milieux. Peter Brown has transformed historians' ways of looking at early Christian saints and his work forms a constant point of reference throughout the book.