Question

'Hagiography' is a ________ of a saint or a religious leader.

• A. Biography
• B. Autobiography
• C. Excerpt
• D. Poem

Hint:

Terminology check:
Biography of a holy figure saint = Hagiography.
Historians use hagiographies not for literal chronological facts, but to reconstruct community beliefs, devotional culture, and saint veneration.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Concept:
Historical and religious texts encompass diverse literary genres, each characterized by specific narrative styles, audiences, and devotional purposes.
In the study of Bhakti and Sufi traditions, texts written by disciples about their spiritual masters provide invaluable historical data.

Step 1: Defining Hagiography:
A hagiography is formally defined as a biography of a saint, mystic, or religious leader.
The term derives from the Greek words hagios (meaning holy or sacred) and graphia (meaning writing).
Hagiographies often recount miracles, exceptional acts of piety, ascetic practices, and the spiritual aura of religious masters.
While they may not always represent strictly verifiable factual history, hagiographies are invaluable to historians because they reveal how a saint was perceived, revered, and remembered by devotees over successive generations.

Step 2: Evaluating the Options:
Option (A): Biography is the precise literary format of a hagiography, as it is written by a devotee or observer about the life of a holy person.
Option (B): An autobiography is an account of a person's life written by that person themselves, whereas hagiographies are composed by followers.
Option (C): An excerpt refers to a short extract from a text, not a specific biographical genre.
Option (D): A poem is a form of verse, whereas hagiographies can be composed in either prose or poetic verse.
Final Answer:
A 'hagiography' is a biography of a saint or religious leader.