Cette étude s’efforce de comprendre de quelles manières la figure biblique d’Étienne (Actes 6-8) s’est transmise et a été reçue dans le christianisme des six premiers siècles de notre ère. Du texte des Actes des apôtres à la translation de ses reliques à Rome en 589, notre enquête tente de saisir les mécanismes conduisant à la construction d’Étienne comme un saint dont le culte fut central dans l’histoire du christianisme. Nous nous attachons en particulier à l’étude des diverses formes que son culte a revêtues après la découverte de ses reliques, en Palestine au ve siècle, et de sa rapide diffusion en Méditerranée orientale et occidentale. À cette fin, nous examinerons l’ensemble des pièces du dossier hagiographique d’Étienne à la lumière des recherches les plus récentes sur le culte des saints, l’hagiographie et l’histoire de la Palestine dans l’Antiquité tardive. Au terme de cette étude, nous espérons surtout exposer les motivations idéologiques de l’usage des reliques du saint dans un contexte où s’entrecroisent controverses doctrinales, topographie sacrée, antijudaïsme et construction de la mémoire chrétienne. / This study aims at understanding in what ways the biblical figure of Stephen (Acts 6-8) was transmitted and received in Christianity during the first six centuries of our era. From the text of the Acts of the apostles to the translation of his relics to Rome in 589, our investigation attempts to grasp the mechanisms that led to the construction of Stephen as a saint whose cult was central in the history of Christianity. In particular we shall concentrate on the various forms of his cult that appeared after the discovery of his relics, in Palestine in the vth century, and on its rapid spreading in the eastern and western parts of the Mediterranean. With this aim in view, we shall examine all the documents of the hagiographical dossier of Stephen in the light of the most advanced research on the cult of saints, hagiography and the history of Palestine in Late Antiquity. At the end of this study, we hope, above all, to expound the ideological motives of the use of the saint’s relics in a context in which doctrinal controversies, sacred topography, antijudaism and construction of the Christian memory intersect.

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Depuis les premières publications d’époque coloniale, qui s’attachaient surtout à en démontrer le caractère folklorique et endémique, le culte des saints au Maghreb a fait l’objet de nombreuses études portant tant sur son origine que sur son évolution diachronique. La première phase de son développement qui va du XIIe au XVe siècle est bien connue. Toutefois, cette dévotion s’attache avant tout aux tombes des figures révérées qui n’ont fait l’objet d’aucune étude portant spécifiquement sur leur matérialité. Cette recherche se propose donc de restituer les étapes de construction de pôles de dévotion autour de ces sépultures saintes dont le paroxysme est atteint au XIVe siècle. Elle s’inscrit dans unedémarche d’archéologie du disparu, et s’attache donc à l’analyse des sources écrites pour tenter d’approcher une réalité physique inaccessible autrement.La première approche est formelle. Il s’agit de comprendre quels sont les aménagements opérés sur les tombes de saints et pour quels usages, dans une démarche chronologique. La formation des sanctuaires est ensuite envisagée dans son contexte social, avant de considérer la façon dont ces tombes s’inscrivent dans un espace donné, et participent même d’une écriture symbolique du territoire de la ville.La mise en place de ces pôles de dévotions funéraires n’est cependant pas un phénomène isolé, puisqu’il peut être constaté à l’échelle du dār al-islām. Le Maghreb s’inscrit donc pleinement dans l’histoire de l’architecture religieuse médiévale du monde musulman. / Since the fi rst publications dated from colonial times, which mostly sought to show its folk and endemic character,the cult of saints in North Africa has been the subject of numerous studies both dealing with its origins as itsdiachronic evolution. The fi rst stage of development that goes from the twelfth to the fi fteenth century is well known.However, this worship is committed to the graves of revered fi gures and there have been no studies specifi cally focusingon their materiality. This research then intends to reconstruct the building stages of real poles of devotion around theholy tombs whose climax is reached during the fourteenth century. This approach is in line with archaeology of the lost,and therefore focuses on the analysis of written sources in order to approach a physical reality, otherwise unattainable.The fi rst step is formal. The point is to understand what is erected over the tombs of the saints and for whatpurposes, in a chronological way. The constitution of shrines is subsequently considered in its social context, beforeanalysing how these burials inscribe themselves in a given space, and even participate in a symbolic writing of the city’sterritory.The set up of these funerary poles of devotion is not an isolated phenomenon, since it can be seen across the dāral-Islām. The Maghreb is therefore fully inscribed in the history of medieval religious architecture of the Muslim world.

This thesis will examine the iconography of late-thirteenth- through fifteenth-century images of St. Veronica's veil, also known as vernicles. In the late Middle Ages, vernicle iconography changed from iconic representations of Christ's face toward graphic imagery of Christ's suffering during his Passion. These passionate transformations, as I have called them, were affected by the Roman Sudarium relic, popular devotion to Christ's suffering and humanity during his Passion, and the Catholic ritual of Mass. This thesis will consider how the function of vernicle images during Mass was reflected in their iconography throughout Europe between 1250 and 1500.

This thesis takes the hagiographical texts written in the diocese of Liège between approximately 700 and 980 and examines them in their political, social and cultural context. It analyses the texts by paying particular attention to how the authors expressed their concerns about issues that were important to them through the medium of hagiography and the saints' cults, the purposes for which the texts were employed and how these aims were reflected in the retelling of saints' legends. By taking this approach, analysing a substantial body of valuable but under-studied source material over a period of 3 centuries, for an important region, it provides a new perspective on a range of issues, significant people and places. The regional approach helps to show the close interconnectedness between many of these people, places and texts, including those connections that exist over a period of centuries as well as those networks vital to early mediaeval society that existed between contemporaries. Close examination of the body of texts highlights the importance of the cult of saints at all levels of society and demonstrates the value and versatility of hagiography as a means of storytelling.

My thesis examines the function and development of the cult of saints in Coptic Egypt. For this purpose I focus primarily on the material provided by the texts forming the Coptic hagiographical tradition of the early Christian martyr Philotheus of Antioch, and more specifically - the Martyrdom of St Philotheus of Antioch (Pierpont Morgan M583). This Martyrdom is a reflection of a once flourishing cult which is attested in Egypt by rich textual and material evidence. This text enjoyed great popularity not only in Egypt, but also in other countries of the Christian East, since his dossier includes texts in Coptic, Georgian, Ethiopic, and Arabic. This thesis examines the literary and historical background of the Martyrdom of Philotheus and similar hagiographical texts. It also explores the goals and concerns of the authors and editors of Coptic martyr passions and their intended audience. I am arguing that these texts were produced in order to perform multiple functions: to justify and promote the cult of a particular saint, as an educational tool, and as an important structural element of liturgical celebrations in honour of the saint. Another aim of this work is to stress the entertainment value of such texts. I explore the sources used by Coptic hagiographers for creating such entertaining stories, as well as the methods they used to re-work certain theological concepts and make them more accessible to the audience. The thesis begins with description of the manuscript tradition of Philotheus and a brief outline and comparison of its main versions. The second chapter discusses the place of the Martyrdom of Philotheus in Coptic hagiography and its connection to the so-called cycles. The next two chapters explore the motifs and topoi characteristic of Coptic martyr passions, especially the legend of Diocletian the Persecutor and the image of Antioch as the Holy City in Coptic hagiography, as these two motifs appear in one way or another in the majority of the martyr passions. Chapter 5 is dedicated to one of the focal points in the Martyrdom - the miracle of resurrection and the tour of hell – and its literary and theological background. Chapter 6 discusses representations of magic and paganism in Coptic hagiography and some of the concerns of Coptic hagiographers. In the last chapter I explore the geography of the cult, its iconographic and hymnographic dimensions and the transformation of the perception of the saint; the second part of this chapter discusses the questions of performance, authorship and audience.

The subject of the thesis is to analyse the image of the Merovingian ruler in hagiographical sources concentrating on the period from the accession of Chlotar II. to the Frankish thrones in 613 until the fall of the dynasty in 751. While based on the texts, its task is to evaluate the nature of the Merovingian power, which underwent a process of Christianization by Church after baptism of Clovis I. The analysis reveals to what extent the inherited patristic ideas about political power were applied, and at the same time it comments on the issue of pagan and Christian sacrality. The study also deals with the relationship between royal power and ecclesiastical institutions in terms of administrative and spiritual, while referring to its important role in the change of dynasties. Key words: image of the ruler, hagiographical texts, Merovingians, pagan sacrality, Christian sacrality, cult of saints

El presente trabajo pretende trazar una panorámica de los santos a los que se rinde o se ha rendido culto en la actual Diócesis de Cartagena-Murcia sobre la base de un trabajo de campo lo más riguroso que ha sido posible realizar. La hagiografía, que estudia a los más eximios de los creyentes, es de gran relieve en la vida cristiana y en el pensamiento de la Iglesia. Pero además la hagiografía a veces es un elemento relevante de la historia del cristianismo en una zona y de la vida misma en esa zona. Y con frecuencia el culto a los santos constituye un capítulo esencial de la historia local y de su devenir histórico. El catálogo de santos a los que se ha dado culto en una diócesis es algo importante. Tal es el objeto de esta tesis. / This paper pretends to draw a panorama of the saints worshipped in the present or the past in the Diocese of Cartagena-Murcia on the basis of a fieldwork as more rigorous as possible. Hagiography, the discipline that studies the most eminent of believers, is of great importance in the Christian life and in the thought of the Church. But, apart from that, it is also a significant element in the history of Christianity, and of life itself, in a given area. And often the cult of saints is an essential part of local history and its development. The catalogue of saints worshipped in a diocese is something important. Such is the aim of this thesis.