ABSTRACT
Middle Eastern Christians have been producing hagiographical texts in the Arabic language since the second half of the eighth century, 1 and continue to do so in our own days. This statement already points to the necessary limitations of the present chapter. In the first place, it will deal with Arabic Christian literature (even though, of course, the Islamic tradition has its own hagiographical tradition in Arabic, as well as in other Islamicate languages). In the second place, the focus here must be on the older hagiographical literature (eighth–fifteenth centuries), although at appropriate points the continuing liveliness of the Arabic-language hagiographical enterprise will be noted. Even within these limits, it will not be possible to offer a complete bibliographical survey; that would require an entire book.
