Spring/Summer 2005 - University of Toronto Press Publishing

GENERAL INTERESTSaints in Medieval ManuscriptsGreg BuzwellDevotion to the saints played a crucial role in thereligious life of the Middle Ages. Kings and queens,merchants and craftsmen, beggars and thieves – allwere alike in drawing inspiration, reassurance, andsolace from the lives of holy martyrs and pious confessors.Saints were much loved because they held aunique position in the hierarchy of Heaven; theyhad the power to intercede directly with God onbehalf of the living.Familiar though many saints may be, some elementsof their history are not immediately obvious.How does one become a saint? Who were the firstsaints? Why was the devotion to saints so passionate?Why did certain individuals, professions,towns, and countries adopt particular saints as theirpatrons? Why were a saint’s relics so important andwhy were pilgrimages to their shrines so important?In Saints in Medieval Manuscripts, GregBuzwell documents how saints were represented inthe manuscripts of the Middle Ages. He focuses onthose saints whose cults were based in the LatinWest, including the well known, like St Sebastianand St George, as well as many less familiar ones.The book is beautifully illustrated with examplestaken primarily from the British Library’s collectionof medieval western manuscripts. Buzwell also discussesthe particular nature of these manuscriptsand their importance in medieval religious life.Greg Buzwell is the manuscripts loans curator in theDepartment of Manuscripts at the British Library.MEDIEVAL STUDIES / RELIGIOUS STUDIES64 pp / 7 x 9 1 /2 / May 200550 colour illustrationsPaper ISBN 0-8020-3795-X $19.95 TNORTH AND SOUTH AMERICAN RIGHTS ONLY.CO-PUBLISHED WITH THE BRITISH LIBRARY.St. Catherine of Alexandria. The British Library, Add. MS54782, f.68v.10