Nowadays, the word ‘saintly’ conjures up images of demure young virgins, bare-footed animal lovers andself-sacrificial philanthropists, allprepared to devote their lives – or give them up entirely – for the good of their fellow man. It was not always this way, however, and even just a cursory glance at the stories of the earliest saints reveals tales of extraordinary and barbaric violence that seems to have more in common with Game Of Thrones than tales of sainthood. Yet considering how brutal the Bible is at times, perhaps it shouldn’t be all that much of a surprise that the lives of the early saints are similarly steeped in bloodshed and iniquity.
