The saints form a huge part of our world's history, on both a religious and secular level. Their shrines have attracted millions of pilgrims throughout the centuries, and their relics continue to be venerated today. In North America, even atheists and non-Christians know to bury a statue of St. Joseph in their yards for a quick sale of their property. On February 14th, the love-struck and lonely-hearted of the world declare their crushes with a card or gifts to the object of their affections, signing in the name of St. Valentine. But how did people become saints? What role does sainthood continue to play in our institutional beliefs and traditions? And how does their significance in the Christian ideology translate into other cultures and belief systems? The Saints: A Short History explores the treatment of saints in literature and art and the way they have been used in politics, analyzing them as examples of idealized male and female heroism. Simon Yarrow considers the similarities between Christian Saints and holy figures in other religious cultures, including Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, and asks whether and how saints continue to be a powerful presence in the modern word. In nine succinct chapters, Simon Yarrow introduces the origins of sainthood and sanctity and examines the part the saints have played in our society and culture, from the ancient world to the modern day.
Author
Dr Simon Yarrow BA, MA, D.Phil. Oxon Dr Yarrow is a Senior Lecturer in Medieval History in the School of History and Cultures at the University of Birmingham, England. Simon read for his BA and MA in History at the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. He then moved to Oxford and read for a D.Phil. on saints’ cults in twelfth century England (1995-1998). In 1999 he taught medieval history at St Mary’s University College, Strawberry Hill, before teaching at Birkbeck College, University of London, for two years (2000-2002). In 2000 Simon was awarded the Past and Present Research Fellowship. He spent two rewarding years at Liverpool University (2002-2004), in an AHRC post-doctoral research fellowship, working with a team of young scholars on Anglo-Norman historiography, before taking his current post at Birmingham in the autumn of 2004.
