"Brown has an international reputation for his fine style, a style he here turns on to illuminate the cult
of the saints. Christianity was born without such a cult; it took rise and that rise needs chronicling. Brown has
a gift for the memorable phrase and sees what the passersby have often overlooked. An eye-opener on an important
but neglected phase of Western development."
--The Christian Century
"Brilliantly original and highly sophisticated. . . . [The Cult of the Saints] is based on great learning
in several disciplines, and the story is told with an exceptional appreciation for the broad social context. Students
of many aspects of medieval culture, especially popular religion, will want to consult this work."
--Bennett D. Hill, Library Journal
Submitted By Publisher, March, 2005
Summary
Following the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, the cult of the saints was the dominant form of religion
in Christian Europe. In this elegantly written work, Peter Brown explores the role of tombs, shrines, relics, and
pilgrimages connected with the sacred bodies of the saints. He shows how men and women living in harsh and sometimes
barbaric times relied upon the merciful intercession of the holy dead to obtain justice, forgiveness, and to find
new ways to accept their fellows. Challenging the common treatment of the cult as an outbreak of superstition among
the lower classes, Brown demonstrates how this form of religiousity engaged the finest minds of the Church and
elicited from members of the educated upper classes some of their most splendid achievements in poetry, literature,
and the patronage of the arts.
Table of Contents
1. The Holy and the Grave
2. "A Fine and Private Place"
3. The Invisible Companion
4. The Very Special Dead
5. Praesentia
6. Potentia
