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

Jacket Description/Back: Soldiers of Christ brings together for the first time in one volume eleven critical writings about the saints from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Each text is newly annotated and prefaced by the editors, and a general introduction on saints and saints' lives makes the volume ideal for students and general readers. Marc Notes: Originally published in various magazines, 1954-1979; Includes bibliographical references (p. [363]-369) and indexes. Publisher Marketing: Soldiers of Christ brings together for the first time in one volume eleven critical writings about the saints from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. To understand European culture and society in the Middle Ages it is essential to understand the role of Christianity. And there is no better way to understand that role than to study that religion's greatest human heroes, the saints. For if Christians regarded God as their king, then the saints were the Christian nobility, human members of the divine court. To use one much-repeated phrase, they served as "soldiers of Christ." The purpose of this volume is to present in English translation some of the most significant records of the lives of those people considered to be saints. In exploring these works the reader will be presented with rich evidence about the development of religion and society in western Europe from the late Roman empire to the great changes that transformed European society around the year 1000. Each text is newly annotated and prefaced by the editors, and a general introduction on saints and saints' lives makes the volume ideal for students and general readers. Included are lives of Martin of Tours, Augustine of Hippo, Germanus of Auxerre, Boniface of Crediton, Sturm, Willibrord, Benedict of Aniane, Leoba, Willehad of Northumbria, and Gerald of Aurillac, as well as the Hodoeporicon of Saint Willibald.

Contributor Bio:  Noble, Thomas F X After receiving his Ph. D. from Michigan State University, Thomas Noble taught at Albion College, Michigan State University, Texas Tech University, and the University of Virginia. In 1999 he received the University of Virginia's highest award for teaching excellence and in 2008 Notre Dame's Edmund P. Joyce, C. S. C., Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. In 2011 he received the Charles Sheedy, C. S. C., award for excellence in teaching and scholarship from Notre Dame's College of Arts and Letters. In 2001 he became Robert M. Conway Director of the Medieval Institute at the University of Notre Dame and in 2008 chairperson of Notre Dame's history department. He is the author of Images, Iconoclasm, and the Carolingians, which won the 2011 Otto Grundler Prize, and The Republic of St. Peter: The Birth of the Papal State, 680-825. He has edited six books. He was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in 1994 and the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in 1999-2000. He has been awarded fellowships by the National Endowment for the Humanities (three times) and the American Philosophical Society (twice). He was elected a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America in 2004. In 2012 he served as president of the American Catholic Historical Association. Contributor Bio:  Head, Thomas Thomas Head is Assistant Professor of History at Washington University in St. Louis and the author of Hagiography and the Cult of the Saints: The Diocese of Orleans, 800-1200 (1990).