SAINTS' LIVES AS GENRE: HAGIOGRAPHIC CONVENTIONS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO NARRATIVE

Abstract

The genre of saints’ lives, commonly referred to as hagiography, occupies a significant place in religious and literary traditions. Hagiographic narratives emerged as biographical accounts of holy individuals whose exemplary lives served both devotional and didactic purposes. This article examines saints’ lives as a literary genre, focusing on the conventions that characterize hagiographic writing and the ways these conventions contribute to narrative construction. Through an analysis of key hagiographic elements—including miracles, ascetic practices, divine intervention, martyrdom, and moral exemplarity—the study demonstrates how these motifs shape narrative coherence and audience engagement. The article employs a qualitative literary approach and comparative textual analysis to investigate representative hagiographic texts from Christian traditions. Findings indicate that hagiographic conventions function not merely as religious embellishments but as essential narrative devices that establish character development, reinforce communal values, and structure plot progression. The study further argues that hagiography contributes significantly to the development of narrative techniques found in later biographical and fictional literature. By examining saints’ lives through the lens of genre studies and narrative theory, this research highlights the enduring literary importance of hagiography and its influence on storytelling traditions across cultures and historical periods.