The Hagiographer's Craft: Narrators and Focalisation in Byzantine Hagiography in Christa Gray and James Corke-Webster (eds), 'The Hagiographical Experiment: Developing Discourses of Sainthood' (Brill, 2020), pp. 300-32 (original) (raw)

This article redefines the craft of Byzantine hagiographers by using the narratological tools of voice and focalisation. Narratology theorises the human capacity to generate and process narratives in a variety of communicative practices and forms. By recognising and articulating the bonds narratology, communication, and hagiography share, we further our understanding of hagiographic discourse. I examine the metaphrasis of Tatiana of Rome and the 'vita' of Mary of Egypt to show how each author communicates with his audience.