But what about interreligious
hagiography? Is there such a sub-genre?
Although the book seems to have been written with an undergraduate audience in mind (which would explain the rather rudimentary definitions of
hagiography, relics, ex-votos, and the like), even more advanced scholars will find something to appreciate in Saints Alive.
Collins locates the explanation for the German humanists' creative vigour in the field of
hagiography in their desire to use saints' lives as vehicles for the reforms of religious and moral life that they sought to promote.
Eller has offered us something more than a
hagiography. In many respects, Recalling a Buddha, when seen in its ideal form in theaters with a community, comes closer to being something like the votive stupa of the Buddhist traditions.
To provide evidence for his thesis, Kleinberg examines several saints' lives in detail while spending intervening chapters analyzing changes in the genre of
hagiography. For instance, Athanasius' Life of St.
In the chapters on
hagiography, Martin adduces several examples of 'the virtuous Jew', existing alongside a range of other types, such as those of the sincere but deluded truth-seeker, the wicked sorcerer, or the bloodthirsty murderer.
The reader gets a heavy dose of Olson's devotion to Flacius and revulsion of Melanchthon, leading this reviewer to wonder whether Olson tends toward presenting a
hagiography rather than a biography.
A combination of biography, philosophy, and story, The Great Mission is an
hagiography which is unique from the many books previously written about Ball Shem Tov who founded the Chasidic movement.
Despite this, the book is not an exercise in
hagiography but an attempt to rescue the family from 'scholarly neglect'.