Jacobus de Voragine

Jacobus de Voragine was born about 1230, either in Varazze or in Genoa, Italy. In 1244 he joined the Dominicans, the Order of Preachers founded by Saint Dominic. He became a well-known preacher in many parts of Italy, taught in the schools of his order, and served as prior of Dominican houses at Como, Bologna and Asti. From 1267 to 1286 he led the Dominicans of the province of Lombardy. In 1292 he was made archbishop of Genoa, where he worked hard to make peace between the city's quarrelling factions, the Guelfs and Ghibellines. His great work was the Golden Legend, a collection of the lives of the saints arranged around the feasts of the church year. It gathered stories from many older writers and became one of the most widely read books of the Middle Ages; in 1483 William Caxton printed an English translation. He also wrote sermons and a chronicle of Genoa. He died in 1298 and was beatified in 1816.

Jacobus de Voragine is also an author in the library: author page and works.

Faith: Archbishop of Genoa and medieval hagiographer who entered the Dominican order in 1244. Source: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)

See also: Francis of Assisi