GOLDEN LEGEND, collection of legend ary lives of saints, written by Jacobus de Voragine, archbishbp of Genoa. The work was entitled 'Legenda Sanctorum' by the author but was popularly christened 'Legenda Aurea' or 'Golden Legend' because of its estimated worth. It was called 'Lombardica Historia' in some early editions, due to the fact that a short history of the Lombards down to 1250 is added to the life of Pope Pelagius which forms next to the last chapter in the book. The work contains 177 chapters, or, by some estimates, 183, and is divided into five parts, from Advent to Christmas, to Septuagesima, to Easter, to the Octave of Pentecost, to Advent, and gives the lives of the saints in the order of their festi vals. The book was written with devotional rather than historical purpose and was not only widely popular in its day but exercised con siderable influence on the religious prose and poetry of later times. In 1500 it had run
through 74 editions in Latin, besides three trans lations into English, five French, eight Italian, 14 Low German and three Bohemian. The first English edition was printed by William Caxton for the Earl of Arundel (1483), which edition was revised by Ellis (New York and London 1900). The best Latin edition is that of Grasse (Dresden and Leipzig 1846, 1850; Breslau 1890); the first French edition was that of Jean Batallier (Lyons 1476), and recent French editions are those of Brunil (1843, 1908) and Roze (1902). The author, James of Viraggio, or Jacobus, or Jacopo de Voragine, was born at Viraggio (now Varazze), near Genoa about 1230 and died 13 July 1298. He entered the Order of Saint Dominic, was pro vincial of Lombardy in 1267-86 and held other high offices in the Church until 1292, when he became archbishop of Genoa.