ABSTRACT
The major tradition concerning the life of John of Beverley was that created by Bede and augmented by Folcard and subsequent hagiographers, namely, that John had been imbued with piety from an early age and had always lived a holy and saintly life. Through the eyes of the Christian Church everyone is a sinner, but in none of the hagiography relating to John is it anywhere made explicit, or even implied, that John was in any way, or had any time, been a conspicuous sinner. Despite this, there are indications that an alternative tradition existed in the late Middle Ages that he was a reformed sinner.
