Feminine sanctity against patriarchy: lives of «virtuous women» in the «Flos sanctorum»

Abstract

The Flos sanctorum, also known as the Legenda aurea, the original version of which was elaborated by the Dominican Iacopo da Varazze during the second half of the 13th century, is a compilation of the lives of saints ordered according to the calendar Roman liturgical. Many of these stories are dedicated to virtuous women who, because of their faith and the decisions it makes about their bodies and their existence, are martyred by men who represent established male power. Most of these narratives, especially in the case of the martyrs of the first centuries of Christianity, start from a similar scheme that is based on a confrontation between these women (who reject marriage, motherhood, social invisibility or illiteracy guided by a faith that liberates them) and those male figures who want to subjugate them, such as fathers, brothers, spouses or imperial representatives. The aim of this work is to study some of the cases of this confrontation from the lives of some of the most popular saints, such as Saint Agueda, Saint Barbara, Saint Lucia, Saint Agnes, Saint Margaret, etc. based on the texts that appear in the Catalan translation of Flos sanctorum.