This course examines the literature and art that grew up around the cult of the saints in the Catholic tradition. Students read accounts of the lives and miracles of the saints (hagiographies), paying close attention to the various literary forms they take (memoir, letter, sermon, romance, etc.) and the ways in which history has informed and changed the understanding of the holy and role of the saint. The course also considers the evolving theological arguments for and against the veneration and depiction of the saints in a variety of historical and political contexts.