Fifteenth-Century Lives - 9780268108533

Fifteenth-Century LivesWriting Sainthood in England\nAuthor(s): Karen A. Winstead\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: University of Notre Dame Press, United States\nImprint: University of Notre Dame Press\nISBN-13: 9780268108533, 978-0268108533\nSynopsis\nIn Fifteenth-Century Lives, Karen A. Winstead identifies and explores a major shift in the writing of Middle English saints' lives. As she demonstrates, starting in the 1410s and '20s, hagiography became more character-oriented, more morally complex, more deeply embedded in history, and more politically and socially engaged. Further, it became more self-consciously literary and began to feature women more prominentlyand not only traditional virgin martyrs but also matrons and contemporary holy women. Winstead shows that this literature placed a premium on scholarship and teaching. Hagiography celebrated educators and scholars to a greater extent than ever before and became a vehicle for educating readers about Christian dogma. Focusing bo.