Gericht auf Erden, Gnade im Himmel. Hagiografische
Sentence on Earth, Grace in Heaven. Historiographical Contexts of Medieval

Summary/Abstract: In biographies of saints it is a frequently used turn, that a person sentenced to death escapes in a miraculous way. In this present study mainly based on medieval sources, I discuss motifs about this subject. Comparing these stories, a lot of questions can be raised. Whether the convicted was guilty or innocent? If he was guilty, why was he saved by heavenly Grace, and what happened to him after his escape? These stories suggest, how important it was for the authors of the legends and for their heroes the protection of life and the possibility to the conversion.

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