Soldiers of Christ: Saints and Saints Lives from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages

Pennsylvania State University Press, January 1995. Paper Back. New. A collection of original sources, <i>Soldiers of Christ</i> surveys the saints of Western Europe from (roughly) the fall of the Roman Empire through the year 1000 A.D. In the introduction, editors Noble and Head seek not only to track the changing face of sainthood during this period but also to understand the ways in which European identity was formed from Roman, Christian, and Germanic elements. They point out that studying the lives of the saints during this time helps to unlock the ideals of early medieval Christianity, much like the epic <i>Beowulf</i> provides keys to the ideals of Germanic culture. The definition of hagiography (quoting André Vauchez) as a genre that 'aims precisely at blurring the individual's traits and transforming his or her lifetime into a fragment of eternity' is helpful in understanding the lives of the saints that follow, though Noble and Head are quick to point out that models of sanctity changed considerably over time as martyrs segued into monastics which segued into a breed of saintly bishops. The saints' texts are preceded by short introductions that supply essential details about the author as well as important matters pertaining to the text's composition. Their worthy host include Martin of Tours, Augustine, Germanus of Auxerre, Boniface, Willibald, Sturm, Willibrord, Benedict, Leoba, Willehad, and Gerald of Aurillac.