The Golden Legend is the Magnum Opus of the Middle-Ages. At least as Hagiography goes. Originally written by the Dominican friar and Archbishop of Genoa, Jacobus de Voragine, it was compiled between 1259 and 1266, with historians generally pinpointing its completion around 1260 to 1265. The work is a massive collection of saints’ lives, ecclesiastical history, and biblical episodes. The Golden Legend soon became one of the most widely read books of the Middle Ages, surpassed in popularity only by the Bible.
TGL is no weekend read either because The Golden Legend amasses a whopping seven volumes, making it a treasure trove of information to be discovered. Publishing this series has been a dream project of mine, and no easy task. Nearly every page contains extinct words in the Old English. Therefore, great care has been given to an updated version while still allowing the text to maintain its Medieval authenticity. We are pleased to present Jacobus de Voragine’s complete text here, cominbing Parts 1 and 2 into Volume 1, Parts 3 and 4 into Volume 2, and Parts 5, 6, and 7 into Volume 3.