The thirteenth century Italian chronicler Jacobus de Voragine was the author of ‘The Golden Legend’, a collection of 153 hagiographies, narrating the colourful adventures of Christian saints. The most widely read book after the Bible in the late Middle Ages, it recounts for the first time some of the most famous exploits of the saints, including the valiant St. George slaying the dragon, the life of St. Barbara and the legendary adventures of Mary Magdalen, among many others. In spite of its dubious historicity, ‘The Golden Legend’ remains one of the most important sources for the analysis of Christian iconography, offering an invaluable window into the beliefs and spiritual wonders of the medieval world. Delphi’s Medieval Library provides eReaders with rare and precious works of the Middle Ages, with noted English translations and the original texts. This eBook presents Jacobus’ 'The Golden Legend', with illustrations, an informative introduction and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Jacobus’ life and works * Features the ‘The Golden Legend’ in English translation, with key selections from the original Latin text * Features William Caxton’s translation, revised by Frederick Startridge Ellis in 1900 * Concise introduction to the text * Images of famous paintings that have been inspired by Jacobus’ works * Excellent formatting of the texts * Easily locate the ‘Lives’ you want to read with individual contents tables * Special ‘Highlights’ contents table, allowing you to browse easily the more famous ‘Lives’ * Features two bonus biographies — discover Jacobus’ medieval world CONTENTS: The Translation The Golden Legend (1265) Highlights from ‘The Golden Legend’ Detailed Table of Contents The Original Text Selections from the Latin Text The Biographies Jacobus de Voragine (1911) Blessed Jacopo de Voragine (1913) by Michael Ott

How The Golden Legend shaped the medieval imagination It is impossible to understand the Middle Ages without grasping the importance of The Golden Legend, the most popular medieval collection of saints' lives. Assembled in the thirteenth century by Genoese archbishop Jacobus de Voragine, the book became the medieval equivalent of a bestseller. In Search of Sacred Time is the first comprehensive history and interpretation of this crucial book. Jacques Le Goff, who was one of the world's most renowned medievalists, provides a lucid and compelling account that shows how The Golden Legend Christianized time itself, reconciling human and divine temporality. Authoritative, eloquent, and original, In Search of Sacred Time is a major reinterpretation of a book that is central to comprehending the medieval imagination.

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This is volume I of the first scholarly edition of the Golden Legend, the largest and most elaborate production of the first printer in English, William Caxton. It is an English translation of Jacobus de Voragine's Legenda aurea (ca. 1267), a collection of legends for the feasts of saints (the Sanctorale) and other major days of the liturgical year (the Temporale). The Legenda aurea was one of the most popular and influential books in the later medieval Western world; it circulated widely, and was repeatedly translated into many vernacular languages. This volume reproduces Caxton's original text of the Temporale with modern punctuation and capitalization, notes on content, syntax and lexis, a detailed glossary, and an index of proper names. Caxton's complex combination of sources is given particular attention: the principal one was a little-known reworking of the French translation made by Jean de Vignay, but he also used the Latin original and a previous English translation, the Gilte Legende, and made some personal additions. The Introduction considers the structure of the entire book that Caxton created, but focuses on the Temporale and the set of Old Testament legends that will follow in volume 2. It discusses their sources and language, highlighting the differences between the first two volumes and the notable number of new words and senses. It also gives a detailed bibliographic account of this printing in its historical context and descriptions of all surviving copies.

This sumptuously illustrated volume analyzes artists' representations of angels and demons and heaven and hell from the Judeo-Christian tradition and describes how these artistic portrayals evolved over time. As with other books in the Guide to Imagery series, the goal of this volume is to help contemporary art enthusiasts decode the symbolic meanings in the great masterworks of Western Art. The first chapter traces the development of images of the Creation and the Afterworld from descriptions of them in the Scriptures through their evolution in later literary and philosophical works. The following two chapters examine artists' depictions of the two paths that humans may take, the path of evil or the path of salvation, and the punishments or rewards found on each. A chapter on the Judgment Day and the end of the world explores portrayals of the mysterious worlds between life and death and in the afterlife. Finally, the author looks at images of angelic and demonic beings themselves and how they came to be portrayed with the physical attributes--wings, halos, horns, and cloven hooves--with which we are now so familiar. Thoroughly researched by and expert in the field of iconography, Angels and Demons in Art will delight readers with an interest in art or religious symbolism.

Michael Alan Anderson explores the political implications of music devoted to St Anne in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.