Description
This book is a scholarly work that explains why the Cornish people honored a number of saints and how studying saints can provide insight into the history of Cornwall in medieval times. It provides a comprehensive list of saints who were venerated in Cornwall up to the Reformation, as well as information on every relevant church, chapel, altar, image, and holy well.
Cornwall is famous for its saintly place-names: St Austell, St Germans, St Ives, and St Michael's Mount. This book explains why the Cornish honoured so many saints--some famous, some obscure--and how studying saints uncovers the history of the county in medieval times. It provides an account of every saint who was venerated in Cornwall up to the Reformation--the first time this has ever been done for an English county. Every relevant church, chapel, altar, image, and holy well is listed, together with every relevant writing, folk-story and festival, from the earliest times to the present day.