A collection of essays by leading scholars in the field of hagiography divided into three parts: I. "Hagiography and History" focuses on the sociological and historical aspects of twelfth- and thirteenth-century hagiography. II. "The Language of Religious Discourse" examines how religious discourse legitimizes or questions the temporal order and how it was shaped by oral and vernacular traditions III. "Saintliness and Gender" addresses the issue of gender in male and female spirituality and saintliness.