Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels

The Encyclopedia of Angels by Rosemary Ellen Guiley

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"What we know about angels," writes Rosemary Ellen Guiley, writer and lecturer on spirituality and human potential, "comes through our otherworldly contact with them." To bolster her claim, Guiley includes stories of some well-known recipients of angel charms--Dorothy McLean, founder of Findhorn; psychoanalyst Carl Jung; poet and visionary William Blake; and American pilot Charles Lindbergh--in this compendious volume.

Some might think of angels as our human pathway to the monotheistic God of our Western culture--a God who remains abstract and remote. All major cultures and religions, however, have intricately developed angel systems. Guiley covers all--comparing angels to analogous beings in non-western cultures in order to trace their evolution. The book is arranged alphabetically by topic, so readers can look up subjects such as angel hierarchy, individual angels, Judaic angelology, the supernatural manifestations of the Virgin Mary, and even--God forbid--sex with demons.

The Encyclopedia of Angels is thoroughly researched and pleasantly illustrated with photographs of sculpture and reproductions of some of the great medieval, Renaissance, and contemporary works of "angel" art. Believers and skeptics alike will treasure this encyclopedia of information on a luminous and mysterious subject!

The Oxford Dictionary of Saints

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More than 1,300 saints are profiled in this most readable, extensive, and enlightening of references. Curious about the saint you're named after? Attending a feast day for a saint you never heard of? Want an obscure saint to include in your historical novel? Or merely desirous of the kind of feet-up-by-the-fire perusal that only a well-written reference text can provide? David Farmer's compilation of saints includes all English saints; all saints of whom there is or was a notable cult; important saints from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the rest of Europe; and recently canonized saints. Arranged alphabetically... Fully updated and revised with over 100 new saints, the fifth edition of this well-respected and enjoyed dictionary features concise accounts of the lives, cults, and artistic associations of over 1,400 saints, from the famous to the obscure. This edition includes a new appendix on pilgrimage sights in Europe.

The Penguin Dictionary of Saints (Penguin Reference
Books) by Donald Attwater, Catherine Rachel John (Contributor)

This is far more than a dry hagiographical account of the lives of saints. This entertaining and authoritative dictionary breathes life into its subjects and is as browsable as it is informative. Critically acclaimed in its many editions, the dictionary is now reissued into the rebranded best-selling Oxford Paperback Reference series. The entries are concise accounts of the lives, cults, and artistic associations of over 1,400 saints, from the famous to the obscure, the rich to the poor, and the academic to the uneducated. From all walks of life and from all periods of history, the wide varieties of personalities and achievements of the canonized are reflected. Featuring maps of pilgrimage sights in Europe and fully updated appendices, this remains the standard reference paperback in its field. Recently-added saints include the Martyrs of Korea, Vietnam, and the Spanish Civil War, Andrew of Crete, and Emily Rodat, a female hermit of the 7th century. There are also more Scottish and Irish saints, and ancient Welsh saints; more European saints from all centuries, as well as more saints from Eastern Europe; more recently canonized saints and female saints from the USA.