Golden Legend

The gilded Légende ( Legenda aurea ) is a work written in Latin by Jacques de Voragine between 1261 and 1266 which tells the life of 180 Saint S, holy and Martyr S Christians like certain episodes of the life of the Christ and the Virgin, according to the liturgical calendar.

Sources used

Jacques de Voragine drew from the most authentic sources, drawing aside the legends of local saints: Gospels apocryphal books of Nicodème, the Speculum historiale of Vincent of Beauvais, texts of Gregoire de Tours, holy Augustin, Holy Jerome, Cassien and good of others to carry out this compilation of marvellous or atrocious stories of the beginning of Christendom.

The work

Initially entitled Captioned sanctorum alias Lombardica hystoria , which means literally “what must be read saints”, this work is quickly called Legenda aurea because its contents, of a great value, are as invaluable as gold. In addition to the lives of saints, approximately 40% of the Golden Legend are devoted to the explanations of principal religious holidays, which return to the life of Christ. The whole of the lives of saints and the explanations of religious holidays is presented in the order of the calendar, starting from the Avent. The summary of history of Europe which it gives, starting at the 6th century with the arrival of the Lombards, is worth to him also the name of Histoire lombarde .

Tops colors, largely intended and used by the preachers, these accounts had the role of exalter the faith, because the true subject of the gilded Légende is the combat which God against the evil spirits carries out, expressing itself in particular in the courage of the martyrs which shows finally the impotence of the persecutors. The Golden Legend is thus conceived like an instrument of work, being used for the preparation of Sermon S with destination in particular of urban, more sensitive to the heresies (cathares, of Vaud). It thus provides a collection of exemplary models of life, intended to enamel preachings.

Diffusion

This work knows as of its creation, towards 1261 - 1266, a considerable success. Very quickly, the gilded Légende becomes with the Bible work the most read, the most copied but perhaps also more “increased”: at the 14th century and 15th century, it is not rare to find of them copies not containing less than 400 stories… It is estimated that there is more 1 000 manuscripts, of simplest with the more enluminé, and the arrival of printing works still increases its diffusion.

Influence in Arts

The Golden Legend influence also in a very significant way art of the the Middle Ages, and very often allows “ to explain to it only the majority of the low-reliefs of a cathedral ” (Emile Mâle). Painters like Giotto, Simone Martini, Jan Van Eyck, FRA Angelico, Masaccio, Piero della Francesca, Antonello of Messine, Andrea Mantegna, Hans Memling and well of others still draw largely from this work, putting in scene the life of the saints.

Today the majority of the libraries of the world have at least a specimen of the gilded Légende . The oldest known manuscript, going back to 1282, is preserved at the Staatsbibliothek Munich. The first French translation of this work, carried out by Jean de Vignay at the 14th century, was printed with Lyon in 1476 per Barthélémy Buyer.

Source of imitation

Except the French meaning:

Chronic Anglo-Saxon: ;
Christian Occident: the legend of the King Arthur is diffused in Europe and becomes a medieval epopee enluminant the topic of the cross ;
Islamic Civilization: the corpus from the Tales from the Arabian Nights;

other examples: to see historical Character.

See too

Hagiographie
List of the saints of the '' gilded Légende ''

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