The sarcophagus of Empress Helena (4th c.), Musei Vaticani, Rome, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:011-_Sarcofago_di_Sant%27Elena,_310-320_d.C._-FG.jpg , CC BY-SA 4.0 BY Fabrizio Garrisi. Empress Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine I (306-337), died around 329 after a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. According to the historian Eusebius of Caesarea (4th c.), Helena was buried “in the imperial city,” that is, in Rome. However, later Eastern writers transformed this “im

Prophet Ezekiel as depicted in the manuscript Paris, Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève 21 (14 e s.), f. 77r, https://initiale.irht.cnrs.fr/decor/52768 , CC BY-NC 3.0. According to popular piety, a mysterious letter fell directly from the sky to draw attention to Sunday observance. After remaining suspended in the air for three days, the letter descended among the faithful. It contained harsh words for those who did not attend church on Sundays. Although rightly contested by e

The Virgin Mary and the ordeal of the bitter water, wall painting in the church of Santa Maria foris portas in Castelseprio, Italy (ca. 9th c.), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maestro_di_castelseprio,_storie_dell%27infanzia_di_cristo,_datazione_incerta_tra_l%27830_e_il_950_dc_ca.,_12_prova_delle_acque_1.jpg#mw-jump-to-license , CC 3.0 BY Saliko. According to Jewish tradition, the husband who suspected his wife of adultery brought her to the Temple in Jerusalem, where

The Martyrdom of the Three Children Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, as depicted in the manuscript Vatican, BAV gr. 1613 (10th/11th c.), f. 251 (detail), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ananias,_Azarius_and_Misael_(Menologion_of_Basil_II).jpg . In ancient times, losing one’s head was not an exceptional occurrence. Wars, conflicts of all kinds, and punishments could easily result in death by decapitation. Among those condemned to this type of death, hagiographic texts pr

The translation of Josaphat’s relics by King Barachiah, as depicted in the manuscript Los Angeles, Getty Museum, Ludwig XV 9 (15th c.), f. 375, https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/103SC6 Tales, like proverbs, have always traveled, knowing no borders. It is the case of an ancient Indian legend that, transformed into an edifying tale and then a hagiographic text, enjoyed great success in the Middle Ages. From the 11th century, its hero, the Hindu prince Siddhartha Gaut

Image of Thecla on a Coptic eulogy ampulla (6th/7th c.), Paris, Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts de Byzance et des Chrétientés en Orient, MNC 1926, https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010280955 According to ancient writings that refer to her end, Saint Thecla (September 24) did not die but miraculously disappeared into the rock or underground. The event would have taken place near Seleucia (present-day Silifke, Turkey) in the ancient province of Isauria. In realit