hagiographic

Hagiographic is an adjective relating to hagiography, the writing of the lives of saints. The term derives from Medieval Latin hagiographia, from Greek hagios 'holy' and graphe 'writing'. In English, hagiography began to be used in the 17th century to describe religious biographies that idealize holy figures.

In religious contexts, hagiographic works are a literary genre that collects biographies of saints and martyrs, often emphasizing virtue, piety, miracles, martyrdom, and the founder's or community's legitimacy. Such texts narrate exemplary lives, promote devotion, and support cults, relics, or local church institutions. They frequently employ narrative conventions such as mirabilia (miracles), hagiographic topos, and the saint's vita. The aim is edification and inspiration rather than critical historical analysis.

In modern usage, hagiographic is used more broadly and sometimes pejoratively to describe writing that presents its subject in an unduly favorable, uncritical light, suppressing negative data or historical nuance. In academic contexts, hagiography is studied as a cultural and historical artifact that sheds light on religious communities’ values, political power, and social networks, even when the accounts are not historically reliable in all details.