Saints' Cults in the Celtic World: (Studies in Celtic History)

Saints' cults flourished in the medieval world, and the phenomenon is examined here in a series of studies. The way in which saints' cults operated across and beyond political, ethnic and linguistic boundaries in the medieval British Isles and Ireland, from the sixth to the sixteenth centuries, is the subject of this book. In a series of case studies, the contributions highlight the factors that allowed particular cults to prosper in, or that made them relevant to, a variety of cultural contexts. The collection has a particular emphasis on northern Britain, andthe role of devotional interests in connecting or shaping a number of polities and cultural identities (Pictish, Scottish, Northumbrian, Irish, Welsh and English) in a world of fluid political and territorial boundaries. Althoughthe bulk of the studies are concerned with the significance of cults in the insular context, many of the articles also touch on the development of pan-European devotions (such as the cults of St Brendan, The Three Kings or St George). Contributors: James E. Fraser, Thomas Owen Clancy, Fiona Edmonds, John Reuben Davies, Karen Jankulak, Sally Crumplin, Joanna Huntington, Steve Boardman, Eila Williamson, Jonathan Wooding

Table of Contents:
Editors' Preface Rochester, Hexham and Cennrígmonaid: the movements of St Andrew in Britain 604-747 - James E. Fraser The cults of Saints Patrick and Palladius in early medieval Scotland - Thomas O Clancy Personal names and the cult of Patrick in eleventh-century Strathclyde and Northumbria - Fiona Edmonds Bishop Kentigern among the Britons - John Reuben Davies Adjacent saints' dedications and early Celtic History - Karen Jankulak Cuthbert the cross-border saint in the twelfth century - Sally Crumplin David of Scotland: Virum tam necessarium mundo - Joanna Huntington The cult of Saint George in Scotland - Steven Boardman The cult of the Three Kings of Cologne in Scotland - Eila Williamson The medieval and early modern cult of St Brendan - Jonathan M Wooding

About the Author :
Steve Boardman is Professor in Medieval Scottish History at the University of Edinburgh. He has written monographs on the Early Stewart kings and the history of the Clan Campbell, edited several books, and published articles on various aspects of the political and cultural life of late medieval Scotland. Dr FIONA EDMONDS is Professor of History and Director of the Regional Heritage Centre at Lancaster University. Steve Boardman is Professor in Medieval Scottish History at the University of Edinburgh. He has written monographs on the Early Stewart kings and the history of the Clan Campbell, edited several books, and published articles on various aspects of the political and cultural life of late medieval Scotland.

Review :
In attempting to bridge large gaps of knowledge across the Celtic world and among those who study it, this edited volume succeeds admirably. . . . This volume would greatly benefit scholars in both religious studies and medieval studies. A diverse and challenging set of essays. Collectively, they illuminate little-known cults across the geographical area known as the Celtic world, contribute to existing debates about more renowned saints, show how hagiography can be combined with other types of evidence to reveal successive stages of devotion, and place the Celtic world firmly in the context of wider European movements. Offers something for everyone, from the specialist in Irish naming practices to the student interested in connections between the continent and the Celtic world. [It] offers many interesting insights into the Celtic world in the central middle ages.