The Making of Christian Myths in the Periphery of Latin Christendom (C. 1000-1300)

Mythology is usually reserved for non-Christian religions. However, the adoption of Christianity in Northern and East-Central Europe between c. 1000 and 1300 can be adequately described as a myth-making process: local saints were added to the Christian pantheon in all regions entering Latin Europe. The present collection explores the links between local sanctity and the making of national myths in medieval historical writing. By bringing together specialists in history and literature of the European periphery in question, the case is made that the writing of history and saints lives from this pioneering period should been analysed together as mainly successful attempts at creating cultural foundation myths. The book is based on a conference held in Bergen in November 2003 on Historiography and the Holy and forms part of the research programme at the interdisciplinary Centre of Medieval Studies (CMS) at the University of Bergen.