Soldier Saints and Holy Warriors: Warfare and Sanctity in the Literature of Early England

By John Edward Damon

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 +lfric, 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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1138710814
• ISBN13: 9781138710818
• Release Date: December 2023
• Publisher: Routledge