hagiographies

Noun

hagiography (countable and uncountable, plural hagiographies)

1. (uncountable) The study of saints and the documentation of their lives.
   • The second half of the eleventh century saw a notable surge of interest in hagiography throughout England, which meant that many of the Anglo-Saxon saints of earlier eras were furnished, often for the first time, with a Latin Vita.2004, Rosalind C. Love, Goscelin of Saint-Bertin: The Hagiography of the Female Saints of Ely, →ISBN
2. (countable) A biography of a saint.
3. (broadly, countable) A biography which expresses reverence and respect for its subject.
   • Churchill revisionism, of course, is almost as much of a cottage industry as Churchill hagiography.2021 October 26, Peter Baker, “The Case Against Winston Churchill”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
4. (derogatory) A biography which is uncritically supportive of its subject, often including embellishments or propaganda.
   • For an obsequious hagiography of [William] Byrd, see L. Wright 1940. For a more critical assessment, see Lockridge 1987, 1992.2006, Matt Wray, Not Quite White, page 151