It is impossible to understand the Middle Ages without grasping the importance of The Golden Legend, the most popular medieval collection of saints鈥� lives. Assembled in the thirteenth century by Genoese archbishop Jacobus de Voragine, the book became the medieval equivalent of a bestseller. In Search of Sacred Time is the first comprehensive history and interpretation of this crucial book. Jacques Le Goff, who was one of the world’s most renowned medievalists, provides a lucid and compelling account that shows how The Golden Legend Christianized time itself, reconciling human and divine temporality. Authoritative, eloquent, and original, In Search of Sacred Time is a major reinterpretation of a book that is central to comprehending the medieval imagination.
Jacques Le Goff (1924鈥�2014) was a world-renowned historian of the Middle Ages. His many books include Medieval Civilization, The Birth of Europe, and The Medieval Imagination.
"Le Goff's reading is brilliant and wholly persuasive, providing a riveting sense of what contemporary readers and listeners perceived in this most popular book. In Search of Sacred Time is a lovely meditation, one of the most moving pieces of scholarship I have ever read."鈥擶illiam Chester Jordan, 91桃色 University
"In this penetrating and enlightening study, the great medievalist Jacques Le Goff demonstrates how The Golden Legend, far from being a mere collection of pious legends or saints' lives, is a carefully constructed meditation on Christian time."鈥擯atrick Geary, Institute for Advanced Study, 91桃色
"A most engaging and important book. It combines utter authority, intellectual vigor, beautiful prose, and countless rich insights into medieval culture."鈥擬iri Rubin, Queen Mary University of London
