This is the fifth volume in the series published since 1994 in the Corpus Christianorum and dedicated to the study of hagiographic literature and its creators (to be distinguished from the study of sanctity) in the west, from its origins to 1550, the era of the Reform. The subject matter of the series is organised both synchronically (eight different chronological periods) and geographically (all of western Europe, divided into fourteen regions, plus one dedicated to the Latin east). Works in Latin and the vernaculars are included (a fact that is not reflected in the English subtitle of the series). Contrary to the general practice, the various contributions have been published as they were ready, rather than according to the ordered index of the series. This volume contains the treatment of Italy, 300–500 by C. Lanéry (Passiones), and C. Gioanni (Vitae); Central Italy, 950–1130 by P. Licciardello (the chapters for southern Italy and northern Italy for this period were published in volumes ii and iii respectively); and central Italy, 1130–1220 by A. Degl'Innocenti (the parallel sections for southern and northern Italy were published in volumes ii and i respectively). Despite its exclusive focus on Italy, this volume is far longer than its predecessors, a testament both to the richness of the hagiographic literature of the peninsula, and also to the growth of scholarly attention to this literary genre. As is the hallmark of the series, great attention is paid to the identification and classification of texts, to their authors and to questions of dating and provenance. Invaluable bibliographies complete each section. Contrary to the original scheme, the series will not stop with volume v but will continue until all its planned contributions are published. Besides the large gaps in the coverage of Italy, the Scandinavian regions, Bohemia and Moravia, the Low Countries and Spain are also still incomplete. Clearly, no useful index could be included in any of the individual volumes, but a rich, all inclusive, comparative index will be prepared at the completion of the series, to allow the reader to search both thematically and diachronically all the synchronic and geographic treatments. This series continues to embody the extraordinary scope of vision and thoroughness of coverage established by its creator Guy Philippart, the most influential scholar of hagiographic literature of several generations, an approach which, we hope, will be continued by its next editor, Monique Goullet.