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An examination of hagiographical traditions and their impact.
Icelanders venerated numerous saints, both indigenous and from
overseas, in the Middle Ages. However, although its literary elite
was well acquainted with contemporary Continental currents in
hagiographic compositions, theological discussions, and worship
practices, much of the history of the learned European networks
through which the Icelandic cult of the saints developed and
partially survived the Lutheran Reformation remains obscure. The
essays collected in this volume address this lacuna by exploring
the legacies of the cult of some of the most prominent saints and
holy men in medieval Iceland (the Virgin Mary along with SS Agnes
of Rome, Benedict of Nursia, Catherine of Alexandria, Dominic of
Caleruega, Michael the Archangel, Jon of Holar, THorlakr of
Skalholt, Larentius of Holar, and Gudmundr the Good), using
evidence drawn from Old Norse-Icelandic and Latin hagiographic
literature, homilies, prayers, diplomas, sacred art, place-names,
and church dedications. By placing the medieval Icelandic cult of
the saints within its wider European context, the contributions
trace new historical routes of cultural transmission and define the
creative processes of the accommodation and adaptation of foreign
hagiographic sources and models in medieval and early modern
Iceland. They provide a clear picture of an Icelandic hagiographic
literature and culture that celebrates the splendour of the saints;
they also show how an engaging literary genre, which became
immensely popular on the island throughout the Middle Ages and
beyond, was created.
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