New publication: Symbolic Crucifixion and Royal Sainthood: Two Examples from Benedictine Saints’ Lives (c. 985-c. 1120)

 
Today, I was notified of the publication of a collection of article to which I was fortunate enough to contribute with an article of my own. The collection is titled Death, Sanctity, and the Cross - Crucified Saints in Image and Text and it is edited by Barbara Crostini and Anthony John Lappin. The articles explore different ways in which the singular significance of the crucifixion of Christ was negotiated in the cult of saints, where the saints were expected to imitate Christ, but where the boundary between imitation and sacrilegious copying could sometimes be blurry and not a matter of universal consensus. 

The book is published by Viella, and can be purchased from the publisher's website: https://www.viella.it/libro/9791254690024. 


My article, 'Symbolic Crucifixion and Royal Sainthood: Two Examples from Benedictine Saints’ Lives (c. 985-c. 1120)', is an examination of texts from the cults of two saints, Edmund Martyr (d.869) and Knud Rex of Denmark (d.1086). Through a close-reading of the material, I explore how crucifixion imagery was used to amplify the holiness of these two royal saints. I argue that this imagery was employed within a Benedictine context where the holiness of kings was something that could be met with scepticism, due to the many different aspects of the king's office that made holiness very difficult to attain.