Overview

Title first published in 2003. Christian authors of the Late Antique period deliberately set themselves the ambitious goal of revolutionizing the world of Latin letters, particularly concerning the questions of warfare and sanctity. Focusing on the body of early English Christian literature from the arrival of Roman Christianity in England through the period of the Crusades, the author documents the changing ethos from rejection of warfare to formal accommodation with and eventually active participation in wars considered just or holy. From Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica, through the works of Alcuin and Alfric, to the South English Legendary, the author traces the subtle evolution in Christianity from the celebration of pacifist saints to the glorification of the new breed of holy warrior who not only died but fought for Christ.

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9781138710818

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'... recommended to those interested in both literary history and the debate over the validity of using violence to resist an enemy.' Christianity and Literature '... an excellently written account of attitudes to warfare revealed in early medieval hagiographical and related texts, chiefly from Anglo-Saxon England... underpinned by mastery of a wide range of key secondary literature... Soldiers Saints and Holy Warriors is an important book, bringing our understanding of martial themes in Anglo-Saxon literature onto a new and higly sophisticated level... Damon combines sharpness of focus with breadth of coverage to produce a welcome and throught-provoking contribution to the study of early medieval literature and culture.' Anglia 'This book pursues a methodological approach to medieval hagiography, rooted in literary criticism but of immediate interest to historians... The book's importance for the development of ideas about warfare leading up to the crusades is considerable, and Damon underlines the fact that it does not conform to Carl Edermann's classic thesis about the rise of ideas of holy warfare. Both Damon's conclusions and his methodological approach deserve the closest attention.' Ecclesiastical History '... presents a detailed and accurate overview of the tensions present in the conceptualization of war in Anglo-Saxon hagiography...' PEER English '... this study, the first of its kind as far as I can tell, draws needed attention to a crucial topic and proposes interesting new ways of reading the politics and culture embedded in the Latin and vernacular hagiography of early-medieval England.' Speculum

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