Hagiography
Definition
A branch of theology and literary history dealing with the study, analysis, and composition of the lives of saints; the entire body of religious literature dedicated to the lives, martyrdom, and miracles of canonized individuals. In a structural and figurative sense, the term describes an excessively laudatory secular biography, lacking critical spirit, which tends to turn a historical or political figure into a flawless idol.
Bilingual Equivalents
- Hagiography
- Idealized biography
Grammatical & Source Details
| Inflection Type | Feminine noun, regular singular-plural case patterns for academic and literary disciplines. |
| Formation | Neologism derived from French 'hagiographie', combining Greek components for 'sacred' and 'writing'. |
| Spelling / Pronunciation | [a.dʒo.ɡra.ˈfi.e] |
| Source | Glossary of Theological and Medieval Studies |
Contextual Usage Examples
RO: Această agiografie medievală reprezintă o sursă documentară esențială pentru înțelegerea mentalităților din acea epocă.
EN: This medieval hagiography represents an essential documentary source for understanding the mindsets of that era.
RO: Cartea sa de memorii a căzut în capcana unei simple agiografii, ignorând complet greșelile politice din timpul mandatului.
EN: His book of memoirs fell into the trap of a simple hagiography, completely ignoring the political mistakes during his mandate.
RO: Cursul de agiografie creștină explorează evoluția textelor sacre de la primele secole până la marile sinaxare.
EN: The course on Christian hagiography explores the evolution of sacred texts from the early centuries to the great synaxaria.
Idioms & Phrases
Agiografie politică / Political hagiography
RO: Scriere publicistică sau istorică realizată la comandă pentru a glorifica un lider de partid sau un dictator.
EN: A journalistic or historical piece written to order to glorify a party leader or a dictator.
Agiografie laică / Secular hagiography
RO: Biografie modernă care idealizează excesiv o celebritate din artă sau sport, transformând-o într-un mit impecabil.
EN: A modern biography that overly idealizes an art or sports celebrity, turning them into a flawless myth.
Element de agiografie / Hagiographic element
RO: Motiv literar stereotip dintr-un text (cum ar fi viziunile mistice sau asceza extremă) specific scrierilor despre sfinți.
EN: A stereotypical literary motif in a text (such as mystical visions or extreme asceticism) specific to writings about saints.
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