The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Fifth Edition Revised by David Farmer
This is far more than a dry hagiographical account of the lives of saints. This entertaining dictionary breathes life into its subjects and is as browsable as it is informative. Critically acclaimed in its many editions, this fifth edition is fully updated and revised with over 100 new saints. The entries are concise accounts of the lives, cults, and artistic associations of over 1,400 saints, from the famous to the obscure, the rich to the poor, and the academic to the uneducated. From all walks of life and from all periods of history, the wide varieties of personalities and achievements of the canonized are reflected. Featuring a new maps of pilgrimage sights in Europe and fully updated appendices, this remains the standard reference paperback in its field. New saints include the Martyrs of Korea, Vietnam, and the Spanish Civil War, Andrew of Crete, and Emily Rodat, a female hermit of the 7th century.