The Saints' Life was one of the most popular forms of literature in medieval England. This volume offers crucial information for an understanding of the genre.The saints were the superheroes and the celebrities of medieval England, bridging the gap between heaven and earth, the living and the dead. A vast body of literature evolved during the middle ages to ensure that everyone, from kings to peasants, knew the stories of the lives, deaths and afterlives of the saints. However, despite its popularity and ubiquity, the genre of the Saint's Life has until recently been little studied. This collection introduces the canon of Middle English hagiography; places it in the context of the cults of saints; analyses key themes within hagiographic narrative, including gender, power, violence and history; and, finally, shows how hagiographic themessurvived the Reformation. Overall it offers both information for those coming to the genre for the first time, and points forward to new trends in research. Dr SARAH SALIH is a Lecturer in English at the University of East Anglia. Contributors: SAMANTHA RICHES, MARY BETH LONG, CLAIRE M. WATERS, ROBERT MILLS, ANKE BERNAU, KATHERINE J. LEWIS, MATTHEW WOODCOCK

Introduction: Saints, Cults and Lives in Late Medieval England - Sarah SalihHagiography in Context: Images, Shrines, Miracles and Festivals - Samantha RichesCorpuses and Manuscripts, Authors and Audiences - Mary Beth LongPower and Authority - Claire WatersViolence, Community and the Materialisation of Belief - Gender and Sexuality - Anke BernauHistory, Historiography and Re-writing the Past - Katherine J LewisCrossovers and Afterlife - Matthew Woodcock