Jacobus de Voragine (1228/9–1298) was a Dominican friar, author, and archbishop of Genoa (1292–8). Best known for the collection of saints’ lives known as the
Golden Legend(Latin
Legenda aurea), which he compiled in the 1260s, he also wrote hundreds of model sermons, a chronicle of Genoa, and a number of short hagiographical treatises. While he is usually referred to in English-language scholarship by the Latinate form of his name,
Jacobus de Voragine, Jacobus refers to himself as
Jacobus de Varagine—that is, James from Varazze, a small coastal town west of Genoa. Modern Italian forms of his name such as
Jacopo da Varazzereflect those origins (depending on context, Jacobus’s first name can appear as Jacobus/Iacobus, Jacopo/Iacopo, or Giacomo and his toponym as Varazze,…
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Citation: Beneš, Carrie. "Jacobus de Voragine". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 August 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5550, accessed 12 October 2024.]