The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity and the Early 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.