Author Description

Contains a series of anecdotes about the lives and cults of Christians who suffered and usually died for their beliefs. These anecdotes provide important historical evidence, first, for the ways bishops and their congregations manipulated traditions about the development of the early Church, and second, for the contemporary functions and meanings of the cults of saints during the sixth century. The spontaneity and literary modesty of many of the anecdotes make them especially valuable for modern historians intent upon understanding the early Frankish Church. In addition to the translation, this volume includes an introduction and commentary. The introduction summarizes essential information about the chronology, composition and purposes of the "Glory of the Martyrs", and also discusses other relevant topics, such as the role of these anecdotes in the celebration of the liturgy and the contrast between 'rusticity' and correct behaviours and belief. The commentary provides only basic identifications, dates, background and references to other secondary scholarly literature.