A Saint and the Natural World: A Motif of Obedience in Three Early Anglo-Saxon Saints’ Lives

Abstract

Saints’ interactions with the natural world (with beasts and birds as well as the elements) as represented in hagiographical literature constitute an integral part of a much wider theme concerning Christian perceptions of nature and the place of humankind in it. While being in line with the general Christian ideas on creation, hagiographical accounts of the saints’ relationship with nature may reveal different aspects of such ideas and perform diverse narrative functions in various traditions and texts. This paper will look at the Anglo-Saxon hagiographical tradition which was enriched in its development by Irish, Continental and Eastern influences. Thus analysis of Anglo-Saxon saints’ Lives is an essential part of a broader study of medieval hagiographical literature, both Eastern and Western.