SRC DATABASE
SAINTHOOD RECOGNITION CATALOGUE DATABASE
Sainthood Recognition Catalogue (SRC)—an online catalogue of acts of formalisation of saints —will constitute a major outcome of the project and will be central to achieving its broader aims. It will provide a comprehensive digital record of all cases of sainthood recognition within Latin Christendom during the High Middle Ages, structured as a network database to contextualise the diverse forms of interaction between ecclesiastical authorities and saints, and to identify patterns and correlations. The SRC will record details such as the form and authority of recognition, the time and place of occurrence, and relevant sources.
The SRC will serve as an essential instrument for managing and systematically processing the extensive data generated by the project. By collecting and organising this material, the SRC will enable the presentation of a complete and nuanced picture of the phenomenon, including its chronological and geographical variation. This will allow, for example, an examination of the extent to which monastic communities seeking recognition for their saints appealed to the authority of the local bishop, as opposed to pursuing other avenues. The data will also reveal whether the increasing centralisation of sainthood recognition—manifested in the growing frequency of papal canonisations—was accompanied by more frequent recourse by local bishops to provincial synods, or whether one development supplanted the other. Furthermore, to give one more example, the SRC will make it possible to trace the relationship between the geographical location of bishoprics and their recourse to the papacy for sainthood recognition. The SRC will therefore constitute a fundamental tool for testing the hypotheses underpinning RECOGNISING-SAINTS.
In addition, the SRC—freely accessible to the public after the project’s end—will provide lasting value beyond the scope of the project. It will serve as a verified and reliable resource for scholars of the Middle Ages, Church history, religious studies, and related disciplines, offering a robust foundation for future research.