The Acta Sanctorum is a scholarly series published by the Société des Bollandistes over a course of three centuries. It is one of the most authoritative sources for the study of the saints’ lives and for understanding the societies, cultures, and religious life of early Christian and medieval Europe. The collection offers insight into theology, literature, folklore, and art and reveals the enduring influence of hagiography on European identity. It is a unique source of information on every aspect of life from the beginning of the Christian era to the end of the sixteenth century. It records not only the spiritual and moral ideals of the time but also the practical details of everyday life: customs, rituals, beliefs, and traditions, through the lens of the lives of the saints.
Originally published in print, the Acta Sanctorum comprises sixty-eight volumes of text, critical apparatus, and indices, along with reference numbers from the Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina (BHL), a standard reference tool for hagiographic research used by scholars to identify hagiographical texts. The BHL includes literary accounts of the saints’ lives, the translations of their relics, and accounts of miracles. It is arranged alphabetically by saint’s name and covers texts composed before 1500. Together with the Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca (BHG) and the Bibliotheca Hagiographica Orientalis (BHO), it remains an essential tool for anyone studying the lives of the saints.
The Acta Sanctorum is organized according to the saints’ feast days, with each volume corresponding to a month of the liturgical year. The series begins with the two January volumes published in 1643 and concludes with the Propylaeum to December published in 1940. Each entry presents a critical edition of primary documents such as the Vitae, Passiones, Miracula, Translationes, and Gloria posthuma, often including the commentaries and notes from the Bollandist scholars.
Acta Sanctorum Database
Now available in digital format, the Acta Sanctorum Database provides students and scholars with convenient and comprehensive access to this corpus of hagiographical research. The database reproduces the entire printed edition, including prefatory materials, original texts, critical apparatus, and indices. It includes Latin hagiographical texts written before 1500 that appear in the BHL, as well as those written after 1500, not included in the catalog. The database allows users to search quickly and efficiently by name, topic, or theme.
All Latin text is fully searchable, with Unicode support ensuring accurate display of diacritics and enabling searches using Greek keywords. Texts in other languages, such as Syriac, Arabic, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Georgian, Slavic, and Celtic, are available as high-quality scanned images displayed at the appropriate point within the text.
The database offers both simple and advanced search options. A keyword search can be used to locate a saint, concept, or theme. The system automatically retrieves variant forms, such as plurals, adjectives, or alternative spellings. Quotation marks can be used to search for exact phrases. The advanced search function allows users to search by saint, lexicon term, feast day, gender, or BHL reference. Searches may also be limited by document type or by type of religious work.
The database also features Jan Frederik Niermeyer’s Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, which opens in a separate window when selected. This concise lexicon allows users to look up Latin terms quickly and explore their meanings through keyword searching or by browsing alphabetically.
Each entry provides detailed references, and related sources are displayed conveniently at the bottom of the screen, allowing users to expand their research to related materials, including works outside the Acta Sanctorum.
Several specialized indexes enhance the search experience, including the Index Chronologicus, Index Graeco Barbarum, Index Historicus, Index Moralis, Index Onomasticus, Index Sanctorum, and Index Topographicus, which can be searched individually or collectively.
Finally, a particularly useful feature for students and researchers is the ability to cite any document or passage with a single click, in the citation style of their choice. Citations can also be exported directly to RefWorks, EndNote, or Zotero.
Click here to search the Acta Sanctorum Database.