Product Description

This is far more than a dry hagiographical account of the lives of saints. This entertaining and authoritative dictionary breathes life into its subjects and is as browsable as it is informative. Critically acclaimed in its many editions, the dictionary is now reissued into the rebranded best-selling Oxford Paperback Reference series. The entries are concise accounts of the lives, cults, and artistic associations of over 1,400 saints, from the famous to the obscure, the rich to the poor, and the academic to the uneducated. From all walks of life and from all periods of history, the wide varieties of personalities and achievements of the canonized are reflected. Featuring maps of pilgrimage sights in Europe and fully updated appendices, this remains the standard reference paperback in its field. Recently-added saints include the Martyrs of Korea, Vietnam, and the Spanish Civil War, Andrew of Crete, and Emily Rodat, a female hermit of the 7th century. There are also more Scottish and Irish saints, and ancient Welsh saints; more European saints from all centuries, as well as more saints from Eastern Europe; more recently canonized saints and female saints from the USA.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25389 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 606 pages

The Times
"this delightful array . . . the sort of thing that gives hagiography a good name."

Review
this delightful array . . . the sort of thing that gives hagiography a good name. (The Times )

compulsive reading (The Tablet )

excellent and readable (The Guardian )

Even those who do not believe in saints . . . will be able to enjoy and to profit from this splendid book. (Economist )

The Guardian
"excellent and readable"

Customer Reviews

An excellent book to own
I bought this book using money I had recieved on my 21st birthday, I did not buy it because I needed it for a course of anything like that, I bought it just out of interest. I must say I do not regret buying this book one bit, as it is just so interesting.
The names of Saints are something which I frequently encounter in day to day live and until I purchased that book is something I did not give much thought to. The book opened my eyes to how interesting the topic of Saints is and a greater insight into their significance in the modern world. Overall this is an excellent book to own and I would recommend it to anybody who is interested in religion, history, or to anybody who is simply curious about the signifiance of saints.

eminently readable and informative
I borrowed this book and was fascinated by the excellence and depth of the descriptions. It is also a good read - an unbeatable combination! (which is why I am ordering this title)

An excellent resource for the interested and the curious
I purchased this volume alongside that of Popes and Christian Art. None have failed to delight.

This particular book is alphabetical, and takes care to avoid confusion over local/ancient spellings of names. Each article is well reasearched, and the bibliography is listed at the end of each, allowing the reader the immediate opportunity to pop back on Amazon and purchase the next volume (guilty as charged!). Obviously, given the vast number of saints, the book focuses on those who are 'more important', and British saints. The Appendices are well ordered - saints by town, patron, feast day etc, and there are some maps for those who crave pictures in books.