REL 305: Mysticism (Dr. Halman): Internet Resources

Saints' lives are a major resource for anyone concerned with the history of the late ancient world, Byzantium, or the Latin Middle ages. Just as whole genres of ancient literature vanished or diminished, the genre of hagiography became a major form of literary production. Such saint's "Lives" - or "vitae" - survive in astonishing numbers. Careful reading of them reveals, as one might expect, a great deal about the religious life of the periods that produced them. Frequently, however, such Lives are also our best sources for basic social and cultural history. They provide information on, among other things:- details of daily life; food and drink; organization of local rural and urban society; the impact of commerce; gender relations; class relations; and even, on occasion, specific dates for military and political history.

"The Internet Archive is a non-profit informational entity that was founded to build an Internet library. Its purposes include offering permanent access for researchers, historians, scholars, people with disabilities, and the general public to historical collections that exist in digital format."

HathiTrust Digital Library is a digital preservation repository and highly functional access platform. It provides long-term preservation and access services for public domain and in copyright content from a variety of sources, including Google, the Internet Archive, Microsoft, and in-house partner institution initiatives.

This site presents an online manuscript on the mystical philosophy of St. John of the Cross as presented by Geoffrey Mondello, the assistant editor of the Boston Catholic Journal. The manuscript is a comprehensive and critical examination of the phenomena called "Mysticism" through a metaphysical and epistemological analysis of the writings of St. John of the Cross. It is a scholarly, philosophical work, indexed and hyperlinked, some 300 pages long.

The mission of this website, based within Calvin College, is to make classic Christian literature widely available and promote its use for edification and study by interested Christians, seekers and scholars. The CCEL accomplishes this by selecting, collecting, distributing, and promoting valuable literature through the World Wide Web and other media. By clicking on the Browse area, users can search by Title, Author, Format, Language and Subject.

Thomas of Celano was around Francis's age, and he joined the Franciscan order around 1215, or shortly after its founding. He was one of the brothers chosen to establish the order in Germany in 1221, but he returned to Italy a few years later. Thomas was asked by Pope Gregory IX (the bishop of Ostia mentioned in the biography) to write a biography of Francis, perhaps at the time of Francis's canonization in 1228. The life was completed in 1229. This is, therefore, the earliest view of Francis, one that would be subsequently revised. Thomas composed a second, revised life of Francis around 1246. Thomas also composed a collection of the miracles of St. Francis, a biography of St. Clare of Assisi (d. 1255), and the hymn Dies Irae.This translation is taken from M. L. Cameron, The Inquiring Pilgrim's Guide to Assisi, trans. A. G. Ferrers Howell (London, 1926).

Provides an alphabetical list of saints within the Catholic Church. Clicking on the name of the saint provides basic biographical information.

The Religious Institute is a multi-faith organization dedicated to advocating for sexual health, education, and justice in faith communities and society. More than 6,400 clergy, seminary presidents and deans, religious scholars and other religious leaders representing more than 70 faith traditions are part of the Religious Institute’s national network.

This is the official web site of the American Academy of Religion, a professional association of teachers and research scholars, dedicated to furthering knowledge of religion and religious institutions in all their forms and manifestations. Includes useful tools such as course syllabi, online articles, and various teaching resources.

This site is designed to advance research in matters of religion. It analyzes & highlights important content of religion-related web sites to speed research. Hyperlinks are provided not only to homepages but to major directories & documents within.