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This book explores the development of the cult of the saints in western Europe between c.400 and 1000 AD. The main emphasis is upon Anglo-Saxon England, post-Roman Britain, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, but there are important contributions on Francia and on western Europe as a whole. No other volume combines such a broad geographical spread with such a wide range of disciplines and approaches - textual, archaeological, genealogical, onomastic, as well as historical. Veneration of innumerable local saints and martyrs is one of the defining characteristics of early medieval society. This book looks at how such saints came to be recognized and how they were enshrined, the circumstances in which they proliferated, and the factors leading to the development of their often extremely localized cults. Throughout, the aim is to emphasize the pan-European context, to place insular developments in a wider continuum extending from Ireland through to Rome and Byzantium. The volume combines wide-ranging surveys providing fundamental orientation on a variety of core subjects, with crucial reference material (including a handlist of all known Anglo-Saxon saints). It will be indispensable to all interested in Early Britain and Ireland, Anglo-Saxon England and to the culture of early medieval Europe as a whole.
This volume investigates the emergence and proliferation of local saint cults in the early medieval West, questioning how localized veneration shaped the religious and social landscape between 400 and 1000 AD. Editors Alan Thacker and Richard Sharpe compile a multidisciplinary collection of essays that examine the intersection of ecclesiastical development and regional identity. By synthesizing textual analysis, archaeology, and onomastics, the authors argue that these cults were not isolated phenomena but part of a broader, interconnected European continuum extending from the British Isles to the Mediterranean.
What You Will Find
Scholars and historians frequently cite this volume as a foundational reference for understanding the religious culture of early medieval Europe. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides both broad surveys and specific, evidence-based insights into the mechanics of saintly cults.
Page Count:
596
Publication Date:
2002-12-26
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0198203942
ISBN-13:
9780198203940
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