This question has already elicited a number of good suggestions, but one
indication that that prenatal signs of sanctity are typical of Christian
hagiography generally and not just Irish works can be found in Hippolyte
Delehaye, The Legends of the Saints: An Introduction to Hagiography
(There are several English versions in addition to the original French. I
have at hand the translation by V. M. Crawford, University of Notre Dame
Press, 1961). There (pp. 97-98) Delehaye describes the standard contents
of a vita, "When a complete biography of a saint is desired the life
divides itself into three parts. Before his birth: his nationality, his
parents, his future greatness miraculously prophesied; his
life: childhood, youth, the most important events in his career, his
virtues, his miracles; lastly his cultus and miracles after
death." Another good summary of standard elements in hagiography is
Michael Lapidge, "The Saintly Life in Anglo-Saxon England," in Malcolm
Godden and Michael Lapidge, eds., The Cambridge Companion to Old English
Literature (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), pp. 243-263.
On the related question of saints as models for imitation vs. inimitable
ideals, Paul Anthony Hayward has some sueful comments in "Demystifying the
Role of Sanctity in Western Christendom," in James Howard-Johnston and
P. A. Hayward, eds, The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity and the Middle
Ages: Essays on the Contribution of Peter Brown (Oxford: OUP,
1999) 115-142, at p. 123.
Best wishes,
John
John M. McCulloh [log in to unmask]
History Department 785-532-0373
Eisenhower Hall (Note new area code!)
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506
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