Palestinian Hagiography (Fourth–Eighth Centuries)

Palestinian hagiography is related to the history of the Churches of the area and their distinctive character. ¹ It must be said that Palestine does not form a coherent entity in terms of language and religion. Hellenic culture dominated urban centres and some cities, such as Ceasarea and Gaza, but a major part of the population, especially in the countryside, were Semitic in language and culture. As for religions, the diffusion of Christianity was not spread in all places in the same proportions. Large zones were dominated by Jews and Samaritans whereas the Saracen peoples of the south of this region were attached to paganism. ² The production of hagiographical texts in late antiquity was concentrated in cities and monasteries where the Greek language prevailed. It was after the Arab conquest in the seventh century that the linguistic situation changed to the effect that texts were sometimes written in Syriac and, more and more frequently, in Arabic. ³