ABSTRACT
The study of Syriac hagiography offers scholars an important window onto the cultural and religious history of the Middle East. In this article, we examine the features and idiosyncrasies of Syriac hagiographic texts. We will address questions of method and mention tools for the study of these texts. We will then study a few stories in more detail that demonstrate the varieties of Syriac hagiographic texts. We will discuss not just extended saints’ lives (hagiography), but also other forms of hagiographic literature, including apocryphal Acts narratives, metrical homilies, and liturgical hymns on saints, shorter stories about saints contained in larger collections, and martyr romances or passions, including the Persian Martyr Acts.
