This course examines hagiographic sources to determine how various Italian localities (mainly cities) portrayed their pagan past, their conversion to Christianity and the sanctity of their patron saints. It considers hagiography as a literary genre, its origins, conventions, and development over time, but is also concerned to find the historical context for a number of saints' lives of obscure authorship and date: students will contribute to the formation of a new body of evidence from Italy's Dark Ages. The lives will be read in English, with attention to issues of Latin translation throughout, along with artistic representation of the saint(s), urban history and topography, archaeological sites, architecture of churches and cult sites, rituals, and ceremonies.