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2 - The sources

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2010

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Summary

THE LEGENDS OF THE SAINTS

In the making of a cult the preservation or acquisition of relics and the establishment of a shrine was but a first step. The success of the shrine was dependent upon continuing effective publicity; and that dependence generated a specialised literature whose function was to document the earthly career of the individual and to demonstrate the authenticity and efficacy of the relics there venerated. Among sources for the history and interpretation of the cults of the saints that literature occupies a place of prime importance. For the great majority of cults hagiography provides the earliest and by far the most complete evidence; for some it provides the only evidence. More than this, because it was generally written in association with the promotion of a cult, hagiography was itself a product of the phenomenon which it describes: it opens a unique window on the meaning which the cult held for its promoters and for its clients. The problems inherent in the genre, however, have caused it to be viewed with deep suspicion by generations of historians: it is the purpose of the following pages to review some of those problems and to propose a working model for the constructive use of the legends of the saints.

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The Royal Saints of Anglo-Saxon England
A Study of West Saxon and East Anglian Cults
, pp. 8 - 73
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1989

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  • The sources
  • Susan J. Ridyard
  • Book: The Royal Saints of Anglo-Saxon England
  • Online publication: 11 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511560187.003
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  • The sources
  • Susan J. Ridyard
  • Book: The Royal Saints of Anglo-Saxon England
  • Online publication: 11 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511560187.003
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The sources
  • Susan J. Ridyard
  • Book: The Royal Saints of Anglo-Saxon England
  • Online publication: 11 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511560187.003
Available formats
×