Medieval hagiography comprises narratives that recount the saints' lives (vitae). Typically, these texts include the deeds and miracles associated with the saint, the conditions of their death (passio or passion) and martyrdom.
The hagiographical literature, which often describes a saint's life in graphic detail, is a vital source for medieval social, cultural and intellectual history. The resources below include a very small selection of basic tools for researching the lives of the saints. Both primary sources and secondary sources are available via the UGA Libraries.
For even further reading on the subject, the following websites are especially comprehensive:
Internet Medieval Sourcebook: Saint's Lives
http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/Halsall/sbook3.asp
Ménestrel
http://www.menestrel.fr/spip.php?rubrique427&lang=en
Guide to Internet resources about Medieval hagiography, in a web site dedicated to the Middle Ages and run by a group of French and Belgian historians. (The website has an English version, linked above.)
(Image Credit: Saint Margaret with a Lady Donor. Attributed to the Luçon Master, ca. 1405, Princeton University Art Museum, http://artmuseum.princeton.edu/)
