"[The Golden Legend] came to serve as the literary equivalent of wall-paintings and stained glass... For the translation of the work in its entirety into English we have had to wait 700 years for the energy and learning of a distinguished American academic, William Granger Ryan."--Gerard Irvine, Times Literary Supplement "Art historians depend on it. Medievalists should know it inside-out... [F]or the rest of us it remains a treasure-house of European culture, crammed full of the things which everyone, once upon a time, used to know."--Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph "Princeton University Press's volume must rank as one of the most useful reprints of the year for church historians, art historians, and students of medieval and early modern literature."--Dr. Alison Shell, Church Times "[A]lthough this is a translation with a fine introduction, it also provides the reader with an understanding of the rich diversity of medieval culture. The text itself offers a glimpse of the imagination and dynamic life of Medieval Christian Europe and, therefore, has a real value for students of that era."--Donald J. Dietrich, European Legacy