Hagiography

biography of a saint or other venerated religious figure

A hagiography is a biography of a saint or leader, or an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions.[1][2][3] Early Christian hagiographies might consist of a biography or vita, a description of the saint's deeds or miracles or martyrdom or a combination of these.

By extension the word has come to mean an excessively flattering biography of a person that the author wishes to promote.

References

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  1. Rico G. Monge (2016). Rico G. Monge, Kerry P. C. San Chirico and Rachel J. Smith (ed.). Hagiography and Religious Truth: Case Studies in the Abrahamic and Dharmic Traditions. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 7–22. ISBN 978-1-4742-3579-2.
  2. Jeanette Blonigen Clancy (2019). Beyond Parochial Faith: A Catholic Confesses. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 137. ISBN 978-1-5326-7282-8.
  3. Rapp, Claudia (2012). "Hagiography and the Cult of Saints in the Light of Epigraphy and Acclamations". Byzantine Religious Culture. BRILL Academic. pp. 289–311. doi:10.1163/9789004226494_017. ISBN 978-90-04-22649-4.