1st Edition
The Late Medieval Cult of the Saints Universal Developments within Local Contexts
This is a book that explores the nature of sainthood in a region at the margins of medieval Latin Christendom. Defining the model of sanctity that characterized Transylvania between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, the study considers how the cults of saints functioned within specific local social and cultural contexts. Analyzing case studies from a multi-ethnic region influenced by both the Latin and Eastern Christian traditions, this book provides a close reading of little-surveyed primary sources and offers a comprehensive understanding of sainthood in Transylvania, enhancing the broader study of medieval saints’ cults and their relationship to social power structures.
It will be of great interest to scholars of medieval religion, researchers in medieval studies, and religious studies scholars engaged in comparative research.
Introduction
1. … For Those Diligent Servants of God and His Saints … The Transylvanian Episcopate and the Cult of the Saints
The Apparition of St. Michael
Universal Growth
Local Developments
Artisans of Dynastic Cults
Sainted Women and Their Devotees
The Golden Age of Late Medieval Sainthood
2. Competing Cults in Late Medieval Transylvania: The Mendicant Case
Multiplication
Adaptability
… and the Challenges of Innovation
3. The Dynamic of Saintly Patronage
Die Kwnígen Maria
Civic Promotion of Sainthood in Corona
A Distant Patron Saint
Urban Identity and Parish Patronage: The Criss-Crossing
Conclusion
Biography
Carmen Florea is a lecturer in the Department of Medieval, Early Modern and Art History, Faculty of History and Philosophy at Babeş-Bolyai University, Romania.