Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-1993

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

French

Major Professor

Paul Barrette

Abstract

This research attempted to draw parallels between certain medieval French texts concerning the lives of saints and particular modern English texts concerning the life of Elvis Presley. Its goal was to establish that many of the themes and conventions of the genre of medieval hagiography still exist and are in use in the twentieth century. Further it sought to suggest that the sociological and literary processes by which medieval saints were created are being applied specifically to the case of Elvis Presley, for similar reasons.

Such an endeavor necessitated an exploration of the history of sanctity and saints to determine how the concepts have been understood and recognized. It was also important to survey the genre of medieval hagiography in order to understand how the idea of sanctity is expressed in the literature. An in-depth reading of several of these texts confirmed that certain recognizable patterns and themes do exist in the genre. In addition, study of several versions of Elvis Presley's life and impact was important, as was an exploration of other phenomena associated historically with sainthood.

It was concluded that parallels between the two types of texts do indeed exist. It was further concluded that the mechanisms involved in saint-making in each of the two cases (medieval saints and Elvis), both sociological and literary, are similar enough in nature and in style as to support the belief that they are, in fact, the same processes.

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