St David of Wales: Cult, Church and Nation

All aspects of the cult of St David, patron saint of Wales, are examined in this wide-ranging volume.

All aspects of the cult of St David, patron saint of Wales, are examined in this wide-ranging volume.

The cult of St David has been an enduring symbol of Welsh identity across more than a millennium. This volume, published to commemorate the fourteenth centenary of the death of the saint, traces the evidence for the cult of St David through archaeological, historical, hagiographical, liturgical, and toponymic evidence, and considers the role of the cult and church of St David in the history of Welsh society, politics, and landscape. The collection includesa new edition and translation of theLife of St David by Rhygyfarch, based on the text in British Library Ms. Cotton Vespasian A.xiv, as well as new evidence concerning the relics of the saint enshrined in St Davids Cathedral.

J. WYN EVANS is the Dean of St Davids Cathedral. JONATHAN M. WOODING is Director of the Centre for the Study of Religion in Celtic Societies at University of Wales Lampeter.

Contributors: JULIA BARROW,JANE CARTWRIGHT, FRED COWLEY, JOHN REUBEN DAVIES, OWAIN TUDOR EDWARDS, J. WYN EVANS, G.R. ISAAC, DANIEL HUWS, DAVID HOWLETT, T.F.G. HIGHAM, HEATHER JAMES, JOHN MORGAN-GUY, L.D.M NOKES, HUW PRYCE, C. BRONK RAMSEY, MARK REDKNAP, RICHARD SHARPE, BERNARD TANGUY, +GLANMOR WILLIAMS, JONATHAN M. WOODING, W.N. YATES.

The figure of David - Jonathan M Wooding
Transition and survival: St Davids and St Davids Cathedral - J. Wyn Evans
The geography of the cult of St David: a study of dedication patterns in the medieval diocese - Heather James
St Davids adn a new link with the Hiberno-Norse world - Mark Redknap
Which text is Rhygyfarch'sLife of St David? - Richard Sharpe
Rhygyfarch'sLife of St David - John Reuben Davies
Some observations on the `Nero', `Digby', and `Vespian' recensions ofVita S. David - John Reuben Davies
Armes Prydain Fawr and St David - Graham Isaac
The cult of St Non: rape, sanctity and motherhood in Welsh and Breton hagiography - Jane Cartwright
The cults of SS. Nonne and Divi in Brittany - Bernard Tanguy
St David in the liturgy: a review of sources - Daniel Huws
The office of St David in Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, ms. lat. 17294 - Owain Tudor Edwards
A triad of texts about St David - David R. Howlett
The relics of St David: the historical evidence - Fred Cowley
AMS radiocarbon dating of bones from St Davids cathedral - Thomas Higham
Shrine and counter-shrine in 1920s and 1930s Dewisland? - John Morgan-Guy
The archbishoprics of St Davids and the bishops ofClas Cynidr - John Reuben Davies
The dynasty of Deheubarth and the church of St Davids - Huw Pryce
The statutes of St Davids Cathedral 1224-1259 - Julia Barrow
The crisis of the sixteenth century - Glanmor Williams
The diocese of St Davids in the early nineteenth century: a reappraisal - Nigel Yates