Far more than a dry hagiographical account of the lives of saints, this entertaining and authoritative dictionary breathes life into its subjects and is as browsable as it is informative. First published in 1978, the Oxford Dictionary of Saints offers more than 1,700 fascinating and informative entries covering the lives, cults, and artistic associations of saints from around the world, from the famous to the obscure, the rich to the poor, and the academic to the uneducated. From all walks of life and from all periods of history and from around the world, the wide varieties of personalities and achievements of the canonized are reflected. An updated introduction explains the steps towards becoming a saint, the processes of beatification and canonization. This revised fifth edition includes appendices containing five maps of pilgrimage sites, a list of saints' patronages and iconographical emblems, and a calendar of principal feasts, as well as a new appendix on pilgrimages.

About the Author
David Hugh Farmer, formerly Reader in History at Reading University, is the author or editor of nine books. One of these was Magna Vita Sancti Hugonis: The Life of St Hugh of Lincoln by Adam of Eynsham, which he edited with Decima L. Douie for the Oxford Medieval Texts series. Others have been in the related fields of monasticism, Bede and his age, and medieval spirituality.

Reviews
fact-packed, readable publication * Methodist Recorder *
It is a fascinating book and highly readable * Gazette and Herald *
the best compact reference book on the subject * Church of England Newspaper *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199596607
Author David Farmer
Format Paperback
Page Count 528
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 383g
Dimensions(mm) 195mm * 133mm * 33mm