THE GOLDEN LEGENDJACOBUS DE VORAGINE - A Catholic Classic! - 170 Lives of the Saints, Over 615,000 Words - Includes an Active Index, Table of Contents and Layered NCX Navigation - Includes Illustrations by Gustave DoreThe Golden Legend Paperback Editions:Volume 1: 978-1-78379-436-2Volume 2: 978-1-78379-437-9Volume 3: 978-1-78379-438-6The Golden Legend is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that became a late medieval bestseller. This collection of about 170 lives of the Saints was the most read book during the Ages of Faith, second only to the Holy Bible. It is one of the all-time Catholic classics, of immense unction, and is the basis of much iconography. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived. It was likely compiled around the year 1260, although the text was added to over the centuries. Initially entitled Readings of the Saints, it gained its popularity under the title by which it is best known. Over eight hundred manuscript copies of the work survive, and when printing was invented in the 1450s, editions appeared quickly, not only in Latin, but also in every major European language. Caxton's version appeared in 1483 and his translation was reprinted, reaching a ninth edition in 1527.

In 1900, the Caxton version was translated by Frederick Startridge Ellis. PUBLISHER: CATHOLIC WAY PUBLISHING.