Hagiography

Quick meaning: Hagiography is a noun meaning (uncountable) The study of saints and the documentation of their lives.

Meaning

(uncountable) The study of saints and the documentation of their lives.

More Meanings

1. (countable) A biography of a saint.
2. (countable, by extension) A biography which expresses reverence and respect for its subject.
3. (derogatory) A biography which is uncritically supportive of its subject, often including embellishments or propaganda.

Example Sentences

Churchill revisionism, of course, is almost as much of a cottage industry as Churchill hagiography.

For an obsequious hagiography of [William] Byrd, see L. Wright 1940. For a more critical assessment, see Lockridge 1987, 1992.

The second half of the eleventh century saw a notable surge of interest in hagiography throughout England, which meant that many of the Anglo-Saxon saints of earlier eras were furnished, often for the first time, with a Latin Vita.

Between 2000 to 2019, 55% of leading actor and actress Oscars went to performances in a biopic. Over the past four years, the genre has been responsible for 63 Oscar nominations. Yet at the same time, hagiography has resurfaced as a pre-requisite for success.

Word Forms

• hagiographies

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include hagiology, historiography, heresiology, mystoriography, martyrology, storiology.

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