
Christian hagiographers
A hagiography (from Ancient Greek ἅγιος, hagios 'holy', and -γραφία, -graphia 'writing') is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might consist of a biography or vita, a description of the saint's deeds or miracles (from Latin vita, life, which begins the title of most medieval biographies), an account of the saint's martyrdom (called a passio), or be a combination of these.
3 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Alcuin
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the cleric, educator and poet from York who put learning for its own sake at the heart of the Carolingian Renaissance
30 January 2020
Featuring: Joanna Story, Andy Orchard, Mary Garrison
HistoryAnglican saintsScholastic philosophersMedieval Latin-language poetsMedieval English theologiansChristian hagiographers9th-century philosophersGrammarians of LatinAnglo-Saxon poets, Anglo-Saxon writers, 8th-century English writers, 8th-century Christian theologians, 8th-century writers in LatinGerald of Wales
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the medieval scholar Gerald of Wales, the author of colourful and influential works about his journeys around Ireland and Wales.
4 October 2012
Featuring: Henrietta Leyser, Michelle Brown, Huw Pryce
The Venerable Bede
Melvyn Bragg discusses the Venerable Bede, who revolutionised history and scholarship, and became adopted by Rome as the last of the founding fathers of Christian religion.
25 November 2004
Featuring: Richard Gameson, Sarah Foot, Michelle Brown
ReligionAnglican saintsLutheran saintsTrope theoristsMedieval English theologiansNorthumbrian saintsChristian hagiographersDoctors of the ChurchEnglish Christian theologiansHistory of Catholicism in England, English Roman Catholic saintsAnglo-Saxon poets, Anglo-Saxon writers, 8th-century English writers, 8th-century Christian theologians, 8th-century writers in Latin