The Penguin Dictionary of Saints

by Donald Attwater

SECOND EDITION. 1985 Penguin Books trade paperback, reprint. Donald Attwater (Christian Mystics of the Middle An Anthology of Writings). This reference work gives an account of the lives and legends of over 750 of the most notable saints as well as many of those who are less well-known.

Genres: Religion, Reference, Nonfiction, Spirituality

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1938

Reviews

[Min · Rating 4 out of 5]

A handy reference guide for the plethora of saints within the Roman Catholic Church. It is compact enough to keep during research, or to explore that menagerie of figures.
The introduction is a wonderful piece of explanation for those unfamiliar with the process, or meaning of a saint in the context of the Church. A list for Further Reading, and an Appendix offer fantastic resources needed to learn more.
Each entry offers birth, death, and feast dates as known, a biography, and marks within the text for when their lives intersect with other saints- for faster reference. The biogtaphies do not contain information regarding patronage, or much regarding veneration, however, there is a list at the back on a front-and-back page of a sampling patronages, and another front-and-back page of saint's emblems. The book ends with a list of the saint's days of only those mentioned in the text.

[Lise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brilliant dictionary of saints.