TY - BOOK AU - Herrick,Samantha Kahn TI - Imagining the Sacred Past: Hagiography and Power in Early Normandy T2 - Harvard Historical Studies SN - 9780674273689 U1 - 274.4/204 22/eng/20231120 PY - 2007///] CY - Cambridge, MA PB - Harvard University Press KW - Christian hagiography KW - Christianity and politics KW - France KW - Normandy KW - HISTORY / Medieval KW - bisacsh N1 - Frontmatter --; Contents --; Acknowledgments --; Map: Eleventh-Century Normandy --; Genealogical Chart: Rulers of Normandy and Their Connections, 911–1087 --; Introduction --; 1 Placing the Texts in Time --; 2 Individual Appeal Explaining the Interest in Taurinus, Vigor, and Nicasius --; 3 Imagining the Past of the Évrecin The Vita Taurini --; 4 Reshaping History in the Bessin The Vita Vigoris --; 5 Claiming the Heritage of the French Vexin The Passio Nicasii --; 6 Broader Perspective The Norman Vision of the Distant Past and Contemporary Hagiography --; Conclusion --; Appendix 1 Manuscripts of the Vita Taurini and Vita Vigoris --; Appendix 2 Transmission of the Passio Nicasii --; Notes --; Bibliography --; Index; restricted access N2 - In 911, the French king ceded land along the river Seine to Rollo the Viking, on condition that he convert to Christianity. Over the next century and a half, Rollo and his descendants would become powerful and pious Christian rulers of the mighty European territory, Normandy. In 1066, Rollo's descendant William would conquer England, with papal sanction. Investigating the role of religious tradition in the legitimation of power and the establishment of identity, Samantha Kahn Herrick illuminates the often murky early history of the duchy of Normandy. Central to this religious heritage stood the region's traditional saints, whose deeds, recorded in Latin lives, were celebrated regularly. Herrick focuses on the neglected figures Taurinus of Evreux, Vigor of Bayeux, and Nicasius of Rouen, saints with particular resonance in areas central to the Norman dukes' territorial ambitions. In elaborating a vision of the past that helped explain the present, the saints' stories sanctioned the dukes' rule. Innovative in its historical use of hagiographical literature, this work advances our understanding of early Normandy and the Vikings' transformation from pagan raiders to Christian princes. It also sheds light on the intersection of religious tradition, identity, and power UR - https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674273689?locatt=mode:legacy UR - https://www.degruyter.com/isbn/9780674273689 UR - https://www.degruyter.com/document/cover/isbn/9780674273689/original ER -