ABSTRACT
A number of vitae begin by identifying the saint’s “noble” genealogy—frequently providing the names of the mother and father as well as other notable family members. The lives also frequently describe the special circumstances surrounding the conception and birth of the saint. After a discussion of the saint’s birth and early years, one of the pervasive themes found in the early medieval vitae is that of the young saint’s renunciation of the world and espousal of a life of virginity. In contrast to patterns of flight from temptation/women or that of courting temptation, many of the vitae of male saints describe the holymen quietly adopting programs of mortification of the flesh. From a collective study of saints’ lives of the Latin West from the sixth through the eleventh century, enough information is available to form a rather rough evaluation of ecclesiastical attitudes toward sex.
