Database Information   

Description:

(1642) A principal source of research into the societies and cultures of early Christian and medieval Europe. Includes materials on the lives of the saints in critical editions with commentaries on the source documents.

Date Range:

1642

Updated:

tri-annually

Includes:

Full-text and commentary

Subject Coverage:

Medieval Studies; Religious Studies

Types of Materials Covered:

When completed, will contain complete texts of the sixty-eight printed volumes of Acta Sanctorum, published in Antwerp and Brussels, from the two January volumes published in 1643 to the Propylaeum to December published in 1940

Geographic Scope:

Europe

Content Provider:

Société des Bollandistes

Software Requirements:

Web browser; optimized to operate with Netscape Navigator Version 6.0 or higher, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher. Use of one of these browsers is strongly recommended.

Tips:

• Click on "Help Contents" in the database for more information on how to use it.
• Acta Sanctorum are a principal source of research into the societies and cultures of early Christian and medieval Europe. Our knowledge of this period relies heavily on hagiographical literature, and specifically on this monumental collection of texts, published over a period of three hundred years by the Société des Bollandistes. The Acta Sanctorum bring together materials on the lives of the saints from the beginning of the Christian era to the end of the sixteenth century, in critical editions with commentaries on the source documents; these include Vitae, Passiones, Miracula, Translationes, Gloriae posthumae, inscriptions, etc. The commentaries examine the problems which the biography of each saint can pose, and employ the scholarly methods appropriate to the period of the document.