070324 PS BA-Proseminar (2017S)

At the beginning of his account of the life of St Martin of Tours, Sulpicius Severus states that he would rather be silent than tell untruths. In reality, medieval hagiography always occupied a position between historiography and fiction and generally shines more light on the concerns of the author than on those of the saint. With roots in late-antique Lives of martyrs and confessors, hagiography would become one of the most common and richest genres of the entire medieval period.

With the aim of preparing students to write a substantial paper on a hagiographical subject, the Proseminar will see the difficulties involved in dealing with this multi-layered source-type discussed and different approaches to the material outlined. After an introduction to the theoretical underpinnings of the genre there will follow an overview of its chronological development and sub-groups. Excerpts of hagiographical texts will be read through in class with the aim of illustrating different approaches to these sources. Questions regarding the context of a work's composition and transmission will be one focus, while the issue of the historical value of hagiography will be central throughout. The latter concerns not only the factual basis of the texts, but also their status as artefacts of their time, which have the potential to inform us of the concerns and social context of their authors.