Description
Book SynopsisThe saint's cult casts light on relations between Cornwall and Brittany - and Henry II's empire - in the 12th century.The historical, political, ecclesiastical, and religious relationships between medieval Cornwall, Brittany, Wales, Ireland and England are explored here through a study of the cult of St Petroc. Evidence for the cult in each areais thoroughly surveyed, but Cornwall and Brittany, the most important loci of the cult and most closely linked by language and culture, are the book's primary focus. The implications of the cult of a Celtic saint [generallyan intensely local phenomenon] shared between Cornwall and Brittany are discussed, and attention is given to the highly politically-directed twelfth-century account of the furtive translation of the saint's relics to Brittany, which offers invaluable evidence for relations between Cornwall and Brittany, and also for Brittany's position in the Angevin empire of Henry II. Dr KAREN JANKULAK lectures in the Department of Welsh, U
Trade ReviewA detailed and valuable analysis of the text. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *
Essentially an archaeological examination of Petroc's cult: a study of the many different chronological and ideological layers implicit in the sites and rituals devoted to him... Lots of ideas in this book and lots of challenges issued to received methodologies. * ALBION *
The chapter on Brittany is both fresh and revealing... a detailed study of Petroc's cult. * JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY *
Far-reaching, source-based cultural study... a good example of the gains that can be made when a focus on the 'life' of an early medieval saint is replaced by a focus on the cult. * CAMBRIAN MEDIEVAL CELTIC STUDIES *
It is an especial pleasure to see this excellent book examining the medieval hagiographic, onomastic and historical sources of evidence for St. Petroc.. A superior work of scholarship. * SPECULUM *
Table of ContentsThe hagiographic traditions of St Petroc; the cult of St Petroc in Cornwall; the cult of St Petroc in Brittany; St Petroc, Bodmin Priory, and England; Henry II, Brittany, and the theft of St Petroc's relics; St Petroc, his relics, and thefts pious and impious. Appendices: possessions of St Petroc's church at Domesday; liturgy and relics in other British houses; lands of Roland de Dinan in the pipe rolls.
